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Osama Alian

Address:

4800 Oak Grove Drive

Pasadena, CA 91109

Phone:

626-437-0972

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Curriculum Vitae:

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Member of:

Laboratory Studies

Biography

Dr. Osama Alian is a postdoctoral fellow at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, studying the chemical processes that may have led to the origin of life. Prior to joining the Origins and Habitability Lab at JPL, his dissertation research specialized in understanding how microbes inhabiting deep-sea hydrothermal vents organized and harnessed energy within these extreme environments, and what that their patterns of activity can tell us about habitability and where to look for life beyond Earth. He has extensive field experience at sea and on land collecting samples with diverse tools from remotely operated submersibles to groundwater monitoring wells. As an astrobiologist, Dr. Alian is a member of the NASA Astrobiology Program’s Network for Life Detection (NFoLD) Early Career Committee, has been organizing committee for the Astrobiology Graduate Conference, and participated in multiple workshops and events within the astrobiology community. He maintains interest in teaching and mentoring, with a goal of helping the next generation of scientists enter and grow into the field and advance it. In his free time, he enjoys enduro and long-distance motorcycling, flying, skydiving, and spending as much time on mountains and in the outdoors as he can.

Education

  • PhD Microbiology and Molecular Genetics – Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI
  • B.A. Biological Sciences – Wayne State University, Detroit, MI
  • B.A. Art History – Wayne State University, Detroit, MI

Professional Experience

  • NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
    • 2024 – Present: JPL Postdoctoral Fellow, Laboratory Studies
  • Michigan State University
    • Graduate Research Assistant, Schrenk Geomicrobiology Laboratory
    • Graduate Teaching Assistant, Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics
    • Graduate Research Assistant, COVID-19 Surveillance and Early Detection Lab
  • Wayne State University School of Medicine
    • Research Assistant, Integrative Muscle Physiology Lab, Department of Physiology
    • Research Assistant, Ram Aquatic Sciences Lab, Department of Physiology
  • Michigan Science Center
    • Science Educator

Community Service

Dr. Alian is passionate about increasing access to the scientific discipline for all who are interested. He’s previously worked with Sciworthy, an initiative of Blue Marble Space to facilitate the general audience’s understanding of the latest scientific research. As part of this, he also helped partner with professors and teachers using research articles as a vehicle teaching their students how to distill and communicate complex technical ideas to broader groups. He’s volunteered at science centers, judged for competitions such as FIRST Lego League and the University Rover Competition of the Mars Society, spoken at classrooms and outreach events and continues to incorporate community engagement in all aspects of his work.

Research Interests

Within the Origins and Habitability Lab, Dr. Alian currently works on simulating hydrothermal vents and conditions on Early Earth to test the appearance and stability of critical molecules at the origin of life. With his experience in collecting and processing delicate samples from the ocean floor, he is particularly interested in using field analogs for tool and method development to ensure contextual spatial and chemical metadata are preserved during processing of potentially returned samples from other worlds.

Selected Awards

  • Michigan State University College of Natural Science Dissertation Fellowship (2020, 2021)
  • Russell DuVall Endowed Scholarship Award (2020)
  • Michigan Space Grant Consortium Graduate Fellowship (2019)

Selected Publications

  1. Osama M. Alian, William J. Brazelton, Karmina Aquino, Katrina I. Twing, Lizethe Pendleton, Gretchen Früh-Green, Susan Q. Lang, Matthew O. Schrenk. “Habitat mineral heterogeneity associated with microbial community differentiation in vent chimneys of the Lost City Hydrothermal Field”, Frontiers in Microbiomes (Accepted 2024)
  2. Joseph R. Patterson, […], Osama M. Alian, […], et al. “Large-Scale SARS-CoV-2 Testing Utilizing Saliva and Transposition Sample Pooling”, Journal of Visualized Experiments (2022)
  3. Tony Z. Jia, […], Osama M. Alian, […], et al. “AbGradCon 2021: Lessons in Digital Meetings, International Collaboration, and Interdisciplinarity in Astrobiology”, International Journal of Astrobiology (2022)
  4. Danielle J. Whittaker, Samuel P. Slowinski, Jonathan M. Greenberg, Osama M. Alian, Andrew D. Winters, Madison M. Ahmad, Mikayla J. E. Burrell, Helena A. Soini, Milos V. Novotny, Ellen D. Ketterson, Kevin R. Theis, “Experimental Evidence that Symbiotic Bacteria Produce Chemical Cues in a Songbird”, Journal of Experimental Biology (2019)