Biography: Lynn Rothschild

Education:

National Research Council Postdoctoral Fellow
NASA Ames Research Center, 1987-90

Post doctoral Fellow
Brown University, 1985-87

Ph.D., Molecular and Cell Biology, 1985
Brown University

M.A., Zoology
Indianna University, Bloomington

Visiting Graduate Student, Dept. of Zoology
Univ. of Maryland, College Park, 1979

B.S., Biology, 1978
Yale University

Professional Experience :
2008-present Professor (Adjunct), Department of Molecular Biology, Cell Biology and Biochemistry, Brown University
2007-present Professor (Consulting),Human Biology, Stanford University
2005-7 Director, Astrobiology Strategic Analysis and Support Office
2003-2007 Associate Professor (Consulting), Human Biology, Stanford University
1997-present Research Scientist, NASA Ames Research Center
1990-1997 Research Scientist, Johnson Controls World Services
1977 Research Associate, Dept. of Zoology, Univ. of Cambridge
Honors:
2010 Distinguished Planetary Science Lecture, Univ. of Western Onatario (Canada)
2009 Tim Mutch Memorial Lecturer, Brown University
2005 Elected Corresponding Member, International Academy of Astronautics (Life Sciences)
2004 Elected Fellow, California Academy of Sciences
2004 Elected Fellow, The Explorer's Club
2004 NASA Outstanding Achievement Award
2002 Keynote Speaker: The Vatican and Windsor Castle
2002-3 President, Society of Protozoologists
2001 Auger Fellow, Hotchkiss School
2000 NASA Group Achievement Award, Astrobiology Team
1999 Elected Fellow, Linnean Society of London
1990, 1998 Jack N. Nielson Award, NASA Ames Research Center
1987-90 National Academy of Sciences NRC Research Associate
1987 National Research Council Fellowship, Canada
1979 University Fellowship, Indiana University
Professional Activities:

Journals and Societies

2001-2005 Founding co-Editor-in-Chief, International Journal of Astrobiology
2004-5 Executive Council, International Society of Protistology
2001-4 Executive Council, Society of Protozoologists
1998-2002 Editorial Board, Origins of Life and Evolution of the Biosphere
1995-1998 Grants and Fellowship Committee, Phycological Society of America
1995-2000 Board of Reviewers, Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology
1994-2000 Elected Secretary (3 terms), International Society for Evolutionary Protistology
2000-2002 North American Councilor, International Society for Evolutionary Protistology
1994-5 Elected Chairman of Nominating Committee, Society of Protozoologists
1993 Member, Global Emiliania Modelling Initiative
1992; 2000 Elected to Nominating Committee, Society of Protozoologists
1990-4 Executive Council, International Society for Evolutionary Protistology

Meetings Organized:

2005 Geology and Habitability of Terrestrial Planets, International Space Studies Institute, Bern
2004 Third Astrobiology Science Conference, NASA Ames Research Center
2002 Second Astrobiology Science Conference, NASA Ames Research Center
2001 NASA Astrobiology Institute/NIH joint conference, NIH, Bethesda, MD
2000 First Astrobiology Science Conference, NASA Ames Research Center
1999

Evolution on Planet Earth, The Impact of the Physical Environment, Linnean Society, London

1999 Evolution of the carbon cycle (International Botanical Congress)
1997 Responses of photosynthetic organisms to global changes in CO2, Silwood Park, UK
1988 Evolution of symbiosis (International Society for Evolutionary Protistology)

Representative Keynote Lectures, Invited Seminars and Symposia Lectures
(for last 2 years):

2010 Keynote, 26th Boulder Conference
2010 National Evolutionary Synthesis Center, Duke University
2010 Yale University, Frontiers in Paleontology and Geomicrobiology
2010 Distinguished Lecturer in Planetary Science, Univ. of Western Ontario, Canada
2010 Center for Integrative Planetary Science (CIPS), UC Berkeley Astronomy Department
2009 Silicon Valley Astronomers Lecture Series, Mountain View, CA
2009 Featured speaker, Helmholtz Alliance on Planetary Evolution and Life, DLR, Berlin
2009 Beckman Scholars invited speaker, Beckman Institute
2009 Commonwealth Club, Yale Club (with Dr. George Coyne, SJ)
2009 Ethical Culture Society
2009 Darwin Day, Stanford University
2008 SB4.0: the Fourth International Conference on Synthetic Biology, Hong Kong
2008 Indiana University
2008 NASA Ames Reserach Center Director's Colloquium
2008 2008 Polar Technology Conference, SRI
2008 University of San Francisco
2008 Chemical Evolution and Origin of Life, Roorkee IIT, India
2008 Cyanobacteria in a lunar environment, NASA Ames Research Center
Advisory Boards:
2009-present Advisor of the Brazilian Exobiology Program
2009-10 California Academy of Sciences MicroLife Initiative
2008-12 Center of Integrative Planetary Science (CIPS) at the University of California, Berkeley
2005 SHOT Mars Chambers
2005-8 Provosoli-Guillard Culture Collection (CCMP)
2001-4 New York Hall of Science
2000-3 Denver Museum of Nature and Science
Publications (for the last 10 years):

Leuko, S., Neilan, B.A., Burns, B.P., Walter, M.R. & Rothschild, L.J. Molecular Assessment of UVC Radiation-Induced DNA Damage Repair in the Stromatolitic Halophilic Archaeon, Halococcus hamelinensis. Photochem. Photobiol. (in press 10.10).

Vishnivetskaya, T., Pfiffner, S., Bryan, R.A., Dadachova, E., Whyte, L., Radtke, K., Chan, E., Tronick, S., Borgonie, G., Mancinelli, R.M., Rothshchild, L.J., Rogoff, D.A., Horikawa, D.D. & Onstott, T.C. Extended survival of several organisms and amino acids under simulated Martian surface conditions.  Icarus (accepted, 9.10)

Rothschild, L.J. 2010. A powerful toolkit for synthetic biology: over 3.8 billion years of evolution. BioEssays 32:304–313.

Leuko, S., Rothschild, L.J. & Burns, B.P.  2010. Halophilic Archaea and the Search for Extinct and Extant Life on Mars. J. Cosomology 5: 940-50. (http://journalofcosmology.com/SearchForLife113.html)

Balk, M., Bose, M., Ertem, G., Rogoff, D.A., Rothschild, L.J. & Freund, F.T.  2009. Oxidation of water to hydrogen peroxide at the rock-water interface due to stress-activated electric currents in rocks.  Earth and Planetary Letters 283: 87-92.

Rothschild, L.J.  2008. The evolution of photosynthesis….again?  Phil. Trans. Royal Soc. B363: 2787–2801. doi:10.1098/rstb.2008.0056.  pp. 1-15.

D’Antoni, H., Rothschild, L., Schultz, C., Burgess, S. & Skiles, J.W.  2007. Extreme environments in the forests of Ushuaia, Argentina.  Geophys. Res. Lett. 34: L.22704. doi:10.1029/2007GL031096.

Tarter, J. C., Backus, P. R., Mancinelli, R. L., Aurnou, J. M., Backman, D. E., Basri, G. S., Boss, A. P., Clarke, A., Deming, D., Doyle, L. R., Feigelson, E. D., Freund, F., Grinspoon, D. H., Haberle, R. M., Hauck, S. A. II, Heath, M. J., Henry, T. J., Hollingsworth, J. L., Joshi, M. M., Kilston, S., Liu, M. C., Meikle, E., Reid, I. N., Rothschild, L. J., Scalo, J. M., Segura, A., Tang, C. M., Tiedje, J. M., Turnbull, M. C., Walkowicz, L. M., Weber, A. L. & Young, R. E. 2007. A Re-appraisal of the Habitability of Planets Around M Dwarf Stars. Astrobiology 7: 30-65.

Southam, G., Rothschild, L. & Westall, F.  2007.  The geology and habitability of terrestrial planets: fundamental requirements for life.  Space Science Reviews 129(1-3): 7-34.

Foster, J.S., Singh, A.K., Rothschild, L.J. & Sherman, L.A. 2006. Growth-Phase Dependent Differential Gene Expression in Synechocystis sp. Strain PCC 6803 and Regulation by a Group 2 Sigma Factor. (online, DOI 10.1007/s00203-006-0193-6; Archives of Microbiology).

Bishop, J.L., Louris, S.K., Rogoff, D.A. & Rothschild, L.J. 2006. Iron Oxide: An Early Sunscreen for Photosynthetic Microbes? Internatl. J. Astrobiology 5: 1-12.

Rothschild, L.J. 2004. Protozoology (Protistology) at the dawn of the 21st Century.  J. Eukaryotic Microbiol. 51: 3-7.

Schuerger, A.C., Mancinelli, R.L., Kern, R.G., Rothschild, L.J. & McKay, C.P.  2003. Survival of Bacillus subtilis on Spacecraft Surfaces under Simulated Martian Environments: Implications for the Forward Contamination of Mars.  Icarus 165: 253-276.

Rothschild, L.J. 2003. The Sun: The Impetus of Life in Evolution on Planet Earth: The Impact of the Physical Environment, L. Rothschild and A. Lister, eds.  Academic Press, London. Pp. 87-107.

Rothschild, L.J. & Giver, L.J. 2003. Photosynthesis below the surface in a cryptic microbial mat. Intl. J. Astrobiology 1: 295-304.

Rettberg, P. & Rothschild, L.J. 2002. Ultraviolet radiation in planetary atmospheres and biological implications. In  Astrobiology: The Quest for the Conditions of Life. G. Horneck and C. Baumstark-Khan, eds. Springer-Verlag, Heidelberg.  Pp. 233-244.

Mok, E. H., Smith, H. S., DiBartolomeis, S. M. Kerrebrock, A. W., Rothschild, L.J., Lange, T.S. & Gerbi, S.A.  2001. Maintenance of the DNA puff expanded state is independent of active replication and transcription.  Chromosoma 110(3): 186-196.

Rothschild, L.J. & Mancinelli, R.L. 2001. Life in extreme environments.  Nature (London) 409: 1092-1101.

Rothschild, L.J. 2001. Microbial Physiology at High Temperature, Low pH, Low pCO2: Implications for evolution and ecology in Thermophiles. Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolution,  A.L. Reysenbach, M. Voytek and R.L. Mancinelli, eds., Kluwer Academic/ Plenum Publishers, New York. Pp. 125-142.

For the complete resume of Dr. Rothschild, please contact her at: Lynn.J.Rothschild@nasa.gov

 

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