Chair

Claire Cousins, University of St. Andrews

Claire is a Reader in the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of St Andrews. She uses planetary analogues and experimental research to develop the science and technology related to current and future robotic space missions within our Solar System, with a focus on how past and present planetary environments can either support or preserve microbial life. She is part of the Panoramic Camera and Enfys science teams for the ESA ExoMars Rover, and is also exploring the interface between art and science, collaborating with a variety of visual, audio and literary artists and academics to produce creative content. Please follow her on twitter at @ClaireCousins10.

Secretary

 Corentin Loron, University of Edinburgh

Corentin Loron is an International Newton Fellow of The Royal Society based at the University of Edinburgh (UKCA). His primary interest is the study of the apparition and evolution of complex life, notably of fungi. His axis of research include the investigation of organic signatures in fossils by the mean of benchtop and synchrotron infrared spectroscopy. Follow his twitter @CCLoron and find out more on his personal website https://corentinloron.co.uk/

Outreach Officer

 Lewis Dartnell, University of Westminster

Lewis is a research scientist based at the University of Westminster, and former UK Space Agency Aurora Fellow. His astrobiology research is studying how life, and signs of its existence known as biosignatures, might survive the cosmic radiation on the surface of Mars. He does this with a combination of computer modelling, working with biosignature detection instrumentation, and experimental irradiations. He also holds an STFC Science in Society Fellowship and alongside his astrobiology research engages in a lot of public outreach and science communication. He has published four popular science books, including the introductory astrobiology book, “Life in the Universe: A Beginner’s Guide”.

Treasurer

Louisa Preston, MSSL, University College London

Louisa is a UK Space Agency Aurora Research Fellow in Astrobiology based at The Natural History Museum, London. She has worked on projects for NASA and the Canadian, European and UK Space Agencies studying environments across the Earth, where life is able to survive our planet’s most extreme conditions, using them as blueprints for possible extra-terrestrial life forms and habitats. She is an avid science communicator having spoken about the search for life on Mars at the TED Conference in 2013, and her first book Goldilocks and the Water Bears: The Search for Life in the Universe is out now by Bloomsbury Sigma. Follow her on Twitter @LouisaJPreston and her personal webpage: louisa-preston.com

Membership & Website Officer

Mia Belle Frothingham, The University of Edinburgh

Mia is a PhD candidate at The University of Edinburgh in the School of Physics and Astronomy. She is investigating mineral false positives in the search for future exoplanet reflectance biosignatures. She attained her Research Master’s (MScR) from The University of Edinburgh, where she conducted research on astrobiology and exoplanet habitability. She is a Harvard University graduate with a Bachelor of Arts in Sciences with minors in biology and psychology. She had the amazing opportunity to intern at three NASA centres: Johnson Space Center, Ames Research Center, and Headquarters, to lead incredibly diverse and influential STEM research projects. As a passionate science communicator, she is the host of the UKCA’s podcast – the Tartan Tardigrade – interviewing astrobiologists from all over the world; and is also a scriptwriter and narrator for SpaceTV. She is a social media spokesperson for fun, educational space content on TikTok (@fellowearthian). Mia is also the editor-in-chief for the Astrosociological Insights Forum at the Astrosociology Research Institute. Follow her on BlueSky @astr0mia.bsky.social and check out her LinkedIn for sources to all her latest work: linkedin.com/in/mia-frothingham/

Industry Officer

David Summers, Thales Alenia Space in the UK

David Summers is the Industry Representative on the ASB Committee. David works for Thales Alenia Space in the UK. After spending ten years in academia (Particle Physics Phenomenology), David moved into industry – where he has been for the last 15 years – and started work on space projects. Inside the space industry, David’s role is quite unusual – with his training in science, he is the person to go to for new technologies in early stages of development. With a background in maths, he is often called on for his knowledge, particularly in statistics, and also interpretation of data. This latter work brought involvement with astrobiology, on ESA’s study on sterilisation limits for sample return planetary protection measures; there David takes measurements of sterilization in hypervelocity and radiation tests on organisms, and uses this to predict levels of possible life on Martian moons.

 Mark Fox-Powell, The Open University

Mark is a research fellow in the AstrobiologyOU group at The Open University who is interested in how life might be detected on icy bodies in our Solar System, such as Ganymede, Enceladus and Europa. With a background in geochemistry and microbiology, Mark’s work focuses on modelling and experimentally simulating cryovolcanic processes and ice formation processes to help interpret data from upcoming missions, such as the JUpiter Icy Moons Explorer (ESA) and the Europa Clipper (NASA). Mark also conducts field campaigns in polar and sub-polar environments in Canada and Iceland. Follow Mark on Twitter @MarkFoxPowell and find out more on his personal website https://www.markfoxpowell.com/

Jonathan Horner, University of Southern Queensland

Jonti is the Vice-Chancellor’s Senior Research Fellow at the University of Southern Queensland. He first became interested in astronomy at the age of five, having caught the end of an episode of a Sky at Night, and has been a passionate amateur astronomer ever since. Jonti obtained his DPhil. from the University of Oxford in 2004 for research studying ‘The Behaviour of Small Bodies in the Outer Solar System”. Since then, his research has broadened, covering topics from the formation and evolution of our Solar system to the various astronomical drivers that might affect the habitability of exoplanets. He is also actively involved in the search for planets around other stars, and is currently helping to lead the construction of the MINERVA-Australis observatory at USQ, with the goal of finding Earth-like planets around some of the Sun’s nearest neighbours. Jonti is a regular contributor the TheConversation, and regularly discuss recent research in astronomy and astrobiology on local and national radio in Australia, as well as on Twitter.

Marina Barcenilla, University of Westminster

Marina Barcenilla is an Astrobiology PhD student based at the University of Westminster. Her research is currently focused on the detection of spectroscopic biosignatures on Mars, but she also has an interest in the habitability of Europa and other icy satellites. She is a keen science communicator and started her own public engagement project, AromAtom, in 2017.

Zoe Emerland, The Open University

Zoe is a PhD student in the AstrobiologyOU group at The Open University who researches the potential transfer of biosignatures and other organics from Mars to it’s moon, Phobos. She achieves this using the light gas gun in the hypervelocity impact lab, for which she is also now a research assistant. Follow Zoe on twitter at @Zoe_Emerland.

Andrew Rushby, Birkbeck, University of London

Andrew is a lecturer in Earth and Planetary sciences with a research interest in processes that maintain the long-term climate stability of terrestrial planets, biogeochemical and climate/physical feedback mechanisms within the planet system, atmospheric dynamics and evolution, as well as biosignature detection. Follow Andrew on twitter at @andrewrushby.

Charles Cockell, University of Edinburgh

Charles is a professor of astrobiology and microbiology and his research and teaching focuses on extreme environments and the survival of microorganisms and their biosignatures in those hostile places which informs on the potential habitability of extraterrestrial environments. Follow Charles on twitter at @CharlesCockell.