Francesca Cary
Postgraduate Student
Originally from Australia, I studied geology and genetics at the University of Western Australia before completing a masters at the University of Hawai’i (Mānoa) as a Fulbright scholar, working on Mars 2020 Perseverance. My thesis focused on how the unique conditions of Mars could have challenged prebiotic chemistry to evolve differently on Mars than on Earth. It is likely that life elsewhere is unimaginably different to us, and I am motivated to understand what life is so we can more effectively search for it. I joined the Cronin lab in October 2024 to study how selection and evolution operate in chemical systems and to help build tools to detect life unlike us.
Previous research advisors: Dr. Sarah Fagents, Prof. Dave Deamer, Dr. Bruce Damer
Background: origin of life / space exploration / geology / genetics / fine art
Hobbies: dancing Brazilian Zouk and galloping horses into the wilderness