We are a group of astrobiologists, evolutionary biologists, microbiologists, bioengineers, and more. We are committed to understanding life at the planetary scale and rebuilding extinct biochemistries. The goal of our work is to build new insight into the history and future of life in the universe.
Dr. Betül Kaçar
Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Director: NASA MUSE ICAR Co-Lead: Life RCN
Contact: bkacar@wisc.edu
Dr. Betül Kaçar is a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and leads a NASA-funded multi-institutional research center focusing on life’s early evolution. Her group pioneered innovative techniques to study the early evolution of life within a planetary context, revealing billion-year-old innovations that make our modern ecosystems possible. She received her Ph.D. in Chemistry at Emory University and completed her postdoctoral training in Evolutionary Biology and Paleobiology at Harvard University. Dr. Kaçar has partnered with the UN Women Generation Equality Campaign to support education of girls and women globally. Asteroid 284919 Kaçar, discovered by astronomers using the NASA WISE space telescope, was named in her honor.
Senior Scientist
Geosciences & Origins of Life
PhD, Montana State University, 2014
Website
zadam2@wisc.edu
Postdoctoral Associate
Computational Chemistry
PhD, Universidad Politecnica Madrid, 2021
cuevaszuviri@wisc.edu
NASA Astrobiology Postdoctoral Fellow
Microbiology and Biotechnology
PhD, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, 2022
msobol@wisc.edu
Scientist
Microbiology and Molecular Genetics
PhD, Michigan State University, 2018
maccready@wisc.edu
Graduate Student
Microbiology Doctoral Training Program
MS, METU, 2019
BS, ITU, 2016
fer@wisc.edu
Graduate Student
Cellular & Molecular Biology
MS, SUNY Stony Brook, 2021
BS, James Madison University, 2019
hrucker@wisc.edu
Graduate Student
Cellular and Molecular Biology
BS, Iowa State University, 2020
sabradley3@wisc.edu
Amanda Garcia (Scientist) — Senior Scientist I - Protein Engineering at AbbVie, Irvine, CA
Katie McGrath (Graduate student) — PostDoc, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
Dan Cove (Undergrad) — Graduate student, The Pennsylvania State University
Steven Russell (Lab Manager) — Research Supervisor, Promega, Madison, WI
Ali Hosgel (summer intern) — Medical student, Istanbul University
Zhen Peng (PostDoc) — Scientist I, Wisconsin Institute of Discovery, Madison, WI
Alex Rivier (Graduate student) — Research Staff, Lawrence Berkeley National
Joelie Van Beek (Undergrad) — Graduate student, Montana State University
Mila Matney (Undergrad) — Graduate student, The Pennsylvania State University
Brooke Carruthers (Undergrad, NASA Space Grant) — Grad student, University of Washington
Cathryn Sephus (Undergrad, BMSIS & Masters student) — Grad student, Scripps Oceanography
Maddie Paoletti (Summer Undergrad Student, BMSIS) — Grad student, MIT
Roza Surme Mizrak (Summer Undergrad Student, BMSIS) — Grad student, Charité Universitat Berlin
Ross Monasky (Lab Manager) — Arizona State University, Phoenix, AZ
Hanon McShea (Undergrad, Senior Thesis) — Graduate Student, Stanford University
Ryan Ward (Undergrad, Senior Thesis) — Graduate Student, Ecole Normale Supérieure (Paris)
Alex Plesa (Undergrad) — Graduate Student, Harvard Medical School
Ulku Uzun (MEME Visiting Scholar) — Graduate Student, Oxford University
Anna Donovan Undergrad Student, BMSIS, Senior Thesis) — Researcher, Silk Therapeutics, Inc.
Gokce Senger (Undergrad BMSIS, Senior Thesis) — Graduate Student, METU
We are always looking for explorers to join our team!
