The Laboratory for Agnostic Biosignatures (LAB) – a NASA-funded project consisting of 15 investigators at 7 Institutions – is seeking applicants for a postdoctoral fellowship in astrobiology, with a focus on life detection. The LAB Project is developing techniques to detect life in the universe that humans can’t conceive of. The LAB team includes biologists, chemists, computer scientists, mathematicians, and instrument engineers. Together, these scientific disciplines aim to define potential extraterrestrial biosignatures, or signs of life, by imagining beyond the molecular framework and underlying biochemistry of the only life we know of here on Earth. The team is designing tools and techniques for detecting these signatures as well as strategies for interpreting them, with the aim of advancing the in situ search for life on Mars, Titan, Enceladus, Europa and other bodies within our Solar System.

A postdoctoral scientist is sought to work on testing disequilibrium energy-transfer biosignatures using electrochemical methods. The postdoc will utilize a suite of electrochemical techniques to produce a robust set of electrochemical criteria that can be used to agnostically differentiate between biological and abiotic electrochemical reactions. These reactions are the basis of energy production in all known life, and may form the basis of life in any environment.

LAB is an equal opportunity employer dedicated to hiring a diverse team of researchers and research trainees. All qualified applicants are encouraged to apply and will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity and expression, and sexual orientation), disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. If you are a qualified individual with a disability and need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process, please don’t hesitate to contact Georgetown University’s Office of Institutional Diversity, Equity & Affirmative Action (IDEAA) at (202) 687-4798.

For more information, see www.agnosticbiosignatures.org.

Our graduate program provides students of diverse backgrounds with the opportunity to intensely engage in research in the biological sciences and contribute to the broader scientific community. Applications due in December of each year. Link for more information!

The Laidlaw Foundation partners with world-leading universities, including Georgetown, to select up to 25 outstanding undergraduates at each institution annually for the Laidlaw Undergraduate Leadership and Research Scholarship. Applications

for freshmen and sophomores open in November of each year.