PhD: Emory University, Department of Chemistry
Postdoctoral research: NASA Astrobiology Institute and Harvard University

Origins of life, astrobiology, early life and evolution, systems and synthetic biology, molecular paleobiology

The Kaçar Lab investigates the origins of life, the biology of early Earth and how understanding life’s emergence and early mechanisms may assist finding life beyond Earth. We are home to the NASA Astrobiology Center for Early Life and Evolution. Our integrative approach enables the study of biomolecule-scale macroevolutionary trends that span billions of years of history and is a fundamentally new methodology with which to study the origins and early evolution of life. The overall goal of our work is to assess the possible environmental impacts of ancient enzymes on global-scale signatures that record biological activity. Our work has been recognized by various media outlets, such as the UN Women, UNICEF, Library of Congress, European Union Delegation on Education, NOVA Science, BBC, NPR Science Friday, MIT Technology Review, Vice News, Wired, PBS, CNN and others.