Prebiotic Chemistry
I’m interested in 1) using the Archean rock record to constrain likely environmental conditions for the prebiotic Hadean Earth and 2) how minerals can stabilize molecules and enhance self-assembly and polymerization reactions to promote complexification.
My current work includes:
– High-resolution characterization of tourmalines from the ~3.3 Ga. Mendon Fm. to constrain sources for boron (a prebiotic stabilizer of saccharides) in a Paleoarchean environment with abundant carbonaceous matter.
Co-evolution of life and Earth
Life arose early in Earth’s history. For more than 3 billion years, the earliest ecosystems were represented by benthic communities of microorganisms known as microbial mats. Understanding the record of microbialites is key to reconstructing the eco-evolutionary history of microbes.
I focus on: 1) characterizing processes in modern microbial mat analog systems (experiments and natural environments) through meta-omics, physiological, and geochemical approaches, and 2) studying the rock record of stromatolites at multiple scales to evaluate biogenicity and infer details on ecology and biogeochemistry.
Currently, I work on:
– Understanding the transformations of arsenic in experimental cell cultures as a potential biosignature for the ~2.7 Ga. Tumbiana Fm. arsenic globules.
– Assesing the biogenicity and depositional environment of the post-impact event stromatolites from the ~3.3 Ga. Mendon Fm., South Africa.
