Meera Shah is a fourth-year Ph.D. student interested in studying subsurface microbes and their applications in astrobiology. She hopes to explore the relationship between microbial biosignatures, metabolisms, and habitats. In her spare time, Meera enjoys going for long walks, DIYing, and chilling with pets.

Esmée Kuiper is a second-year PhD student interested in furthering our understanding of the biogeochemical cycles that make life on Earth possible. To this end, she hopes to characterize microbial communities through approaches including metagenomics, metabolomics, microscopy, and the analysis of light stable isotopes. Esmée is also passionate about inclusivity in science, going on very long runs, true crime podcasts, and Lake Michigan. 

Anurup Mohanty is a second-year PhD student interested in studying microbes that live beneath the surface and understanding what makes these seemingly hostile places habitable. Anurup’s biotech background makes him hopeful about seeing his research translate into real-world applications. He is passionate about communicating science with the public and battling misinformation. For leisure, he loves listening to podcasts and going on (not so)challenging hikes.

Dominique Kelly is a first-year Ph.D. student with research interests in studying the biological and chemical dynamics among microbial communities that allow them to attach to various surfaces in subsurface environments. The objective of the research is to understand how microbial organisms interact with the environment to understand broader biogeochemical cycles on Earth. In her free time, she enjoys science communication through public outreach, gardening, weight lifting, and trying new restaurants.

Shailen Chugh is a third-year undergrad studying earth science and chemistry. He’s currently working with Maggie on extracting intracellular leaf water for stable isotope analysis. He spends his free time singing with his a cappella group and listening to audiobooks.

Chiara Corbo Galli is a fourth-year undergrad majoring in biology and minoring in Chinese, chemistry, and data science (interdisciplinary is her middle name). She is studying methanogens in the Paradox Basin, looking for isotopic signatures of microbes growing there. When she’s not neck deep in lab or class work, you can find her playing board games with friends, lost in a good fantasy novel, or listening to a podcast.

Amelia Freeland is a second-year undergraduate studying Biology and Journalism. She is working with Brad on studying microorganisms and is generally a huge fan of extremophiles. She also loves writing, caves, large bodies of water, and wandering off on hikes to explore (in a manner park rangers would approve of).

Dr. Kaycee Morra is a post doc in the Osburn lab where she is spearheading carbon, nitrogen, and hydrogen isotope analysis of amino acids from subsurface microbes and troglophiles in order to unravel complex food web dynamics in these unique environments. Broadly, her research interests lie in using amino acid-specific isotope data to answer questions related to ecology, physiology, and metabolism across a wide range of organisms—from seabirds to insects to microbes, and even humans. She is particularly curious about the role the gut microbiome plays in amino acid metabolism and how position-specific isotope analysis can help elucidate that role. She obtained her Ph.D. in biology at Michigan State University in 2018 and then completed a postdoc with Marilyn Fogel at the University of California, Riverside before joining Northwestern in 2021.

Dr. Bradley Stevenson joined the Osburn Lab as a Visiting Scholar in 2021 from the University of Oklahoma. Dr. Stevenson’s research interests and background include the combination of multi-omic technologies with field and laboratory-based experiments to study the role of microorganisms and their interactions in natural and managed ecosystems. He has used this approach in projects that included 1) exploring the ecology of antimicrobial-producing microorganisms for drug discovery, 2) studying the role of microbial metabolism in the lithification of modern stromatolites, and 3) developing better strategies for monitoring and mitigating microbial degradation and corrosion in fuel storage tanks. Dr. Stevenson got his Ph.D. in 2000 at Michigan State University, where he then became an Agouron Geobiology Postdoctoral Fellow. He joined the faculty at the University of Oklahoma as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Microbiology and Plant Biology at the University of Oklahoma in 2005, and Associate Professor with tenure in 2013. Dr. Stevenson was faculty of the Agouron International Geobiology Course from 2002-2016, where he and Dr. Osburn began their collaboration in the multi-disciplinary field of Geobiology. 

Dr. Brittany Kruger has been affiliated with the Osburn Lab since 2015, working closely with Dr. Osburn to design and implement borehole modification and sampling strategies in subsurface locations. She has served as Dr. Osburn’s fieldwork coordinator at the Deep Mine Microbial Observatory (DeMMO) since its establishment, organizing multi-researcher sampling teams and assisting in experiment installation and sample collection. Her personal research interests include carbon cycling between the geologic and biologic carbon reservoirs in subsurface environments.

Dr. Andrew Masterson was a Senior Research Associate and manager of the NU Stable Isotope Biogeochemistry Facility (NUSIBL). His professional interests include the development of analytical methods for the measurement of the isotopes of biogeochemically active elements (HNCOS) using continuous flow and dual inlet isotope ratio mass-spectrometry, particular with reference to compound-specific (lipids & amino acids) applications. His personal scientific interests include marine biogeochemistry, isotope selective reactive transport modeling, minor isotope systematics of the oxygen and sulfur cycles, and precision baking. Andy left us for the USGS where he resides today

Dr. Lily Momper was a post doc working on deep subsurface biosphere questions and is now working in environmental consulting. One of the major obstacles to a clearer understanding of the earliest history of life on Earth is uncertainty in the timing of major biological events. Identifying the births and deaths of major gene pathways will help place those events in context of relevant geochemical events in Earth history, and conversely help to constrain the timing of those events. She uses a combination of culturing, bioinformatics and lipidomics to understand how microorganisms and geochemical conditions have co-evolved through Earth history.

Floyd Nichols defended his PhD in the Spring of 2024. He primarily worked on lipid biosginature preservation in hypersaline environments. In his spare time, Floyd enjoys running, photography, cooking, birdwatching, and drinking coffee with senior citizens.

Jackson Watkins graduated with a Master’s degree. He worked on characterizing the subsurface microbial life of modern and ancient Earth through genomic, metabalomic, and proteomic analysis, as well as the cultivation of previously uncultured organisms. He is additionally interested in science communication and policy with a focus on community and collective involvement. In his free time he like writing music, cooking, and making zines.

Dr. Matt Selensky defended his Ph.D. on cave geomicrobiology in the Spring of 2023. Matt’s research spans cave microbial communities from Lava Beds National Monument, CA, Mammoth Cave National Park, KY, and the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico. He is particularly interested in the distribution, diversity, and activity of carbon- and nitrogen-cycling microbes throughout these cave systems. He combines methods from bioinformatics, stable isotope geochemistry, and organic geochemistry to understand the biogeochemical roles these enigmatic microbes play in the shallow subsurface. Outside of work, Matt loves to draw and be bullied by his very demanding cat, Daph Punk.

Dr. Niloufar Sarvian defended her Ph.D. in the spring of 2023. She studied the causative mechanisms behind the Neoproterozoic Snowball Earth. She uses radiogenic and stable strontium isotopes to investigate the levers of the carbon cycle and the factors that contributed to a worldwide glaciation event. Her work with Maggie involves studying Ca and Sr fractionation in microbially precipitated carbonate rocks and developing Ca and Sr records through the Shuram excursion. In her spare time, Nilou enjoys playing sports, hanging with pups and learning how to play bass guitar.

Jamie McFarlin received her Ph.D. in 2019 candidate dual-advised by Maggie Osburn and Yarrow Axford and is currently a post doc at UC Boulder. She works on reconstructing Quaternary interglacial climate in Greenland from lake records using coupled proxies, in particular chironomid-inferred temperature and compound-specific hydrogen isotopes. Her current focuses include an Eemian temperature and hydroclimate record in northwest Greenland and developing calibration data for modern leaf waxes along the western coast of Greenland. She enjoys sleeping at high latitudes in an orange tent during the summer, distance running, and bluegrass music.

Franny Bengtson graduated in 2024. For her undergraduate thesis, she worked on microbially influenced corrosion in biofuel reservoirs with Brad. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, baking, and playing the accordion.

Zoe Vincent graduated with honors in Earth and Environmental sciences in the Spring of 2023. She was focused on supporting Maggie and Matt with their research in Mammoth Caves and completed a thesis using isotope analyses of cave critters in order to produce a food web for the system. 

Mia Thompson graduated in the 2023 with honors studying earth science and biology. She greatly aided Floyd with his research on examining lipids from sulfate-dominated hypersaline lakes. She completed her honors thesis studying the microbes and lipids found in these lakes and how they can be applied to astrobiology. She is currently a Ph.D. student at Dartmouth College

Abby Hsiao graduated with honors in 2023 studying earth science. Their thesis project focused on characterizing microbes performing aerobic ammonia oxidation in the Mammoth Cave system.

Caroline Webster was undergraduate focused on helping the Osburn lab grow novel microbes who graduated in 2021. In addition to her own culture collection Caroline helped Maggie grown thermophiles and Caitlin characterize a novel species.

Hannah Dion-Kirschner gradated from Northwestern in 2019 and is currently a graduate student at Caltech. She is interested in using organic geochemistry and geobiology to understand Phanerozoic paleoclimate. Her undergraduate thesis sought to answer questions about Greenland’s Holocene climate using compound-specific isotopes of plant biomarkers. When she’s not in the lab or practicing her instrument, Hannah loves to go swing and blues dancing.

Sohyun Lee was an undergraduate student studying earth sciences and environmental policy & culture. Her research project examined lipids in lake sediments. Unfortunately, the challenges presented by Covid-19 have prevented the completion of her lab work in the Osburn Lab. In her free time, she likes to play the piano and take walks along the lake.

Dana Johnston –  Former Undergraduate, interested in microbial ecology, environmental geochemistry, and dangerous field work. Dana is currently a graduate student at UW Madison studying the microbe-plants-soil system and it’s response to fire.