Felisa Wolfe-Simon

Brainstormer, Musician, Scientist

Felisa Wolfe-Simon is currently a NASA Astrobiology Research Fellow in residence at the U.S. Geological Survey in Menlo Park, California. Her interests broadly cover the intersection between biology and geology with a focus on astrobiology and the study of life in a planetary context. As an active member of the NASA Astrobiology Institute, Dr. Wolfe-Simon’s research seeks to address geologically informed hypotheses to unravel the biogeochemical co-evolution of life and Earth. She applies tools from molecular biology, biochemistry and physiology as well as engages in close collaborations with colleagues that are experts in techniques that range from mass spectrometry to X-ray spectroscopy. Specifically, her work has addressed the evolution of metal-based enzymes and their role in globally relevant processes like photosynthesis. Building on these ideas, she has developed an interest in using “what-we-do-know” about biological processes to help uncover what “we-don’t-know” and promote approaches to search for and think about alternative biochemistries on Earth. She obtained her dual undergraduate degrees in Biology (B.A.) and Music Performance (B.M.) at Oberlin College and Conservatory of Music and went on to earn her Ph.D. in Oceanography at Rutgers University. She pursued postdoctoral work as an NSF Fellow in Biology at Arizona State and Harvard Universities. For more information about her research and current publications please visit www.geobiochemistry.org