Microbiologist

Hi! I’m Dr. Karen Junge and I’m a Post-doctoral Research Associate in Seattle at the University of Washington's Department of Earth and Space Sciences and at the NASA Astrobiology Institute. I do sea-ice bacterial research focusing on extremely low temperatures. My research involves both laboratory work and fieldwork. I am especially interested in the ecology, physiology, and diversity of microorganisms in marine environments. I study extremophiles that live in the ice and how the impact of bacterial activities could affect the atmosphere. The field of astrobiology allows me to expand and extend my curiosity about microbial life beyond Earth to possible extraterrestrial habitats for life.

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