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Luoth Chou
OGL Lab Alumni Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences University of Illinois at Chicago B.S. Microbiology, 2013, University of Maryland at College Park Ph.D. Earth and Environmental Sciences, 2019, University of Illinois at Chicago Email: lchou5@uic.edu , lc1174@georgetown.edu Personal Website: http://astrobio.lu |
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Microbiologist by training. Studying to become an organic geochemist. Aspiring to be an astrobiologist.
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My research focuses on characterizing the biogeochemistry of a cold, anoxic, and aphotic microbial ecosystem in Lake Vida’s ice-encapsulated brine (McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica). The current aim of my thesis is to integrate across three platforms: metabolomics, metagenomics, and geochemistry in this ecosystem in order to infer the survivability of microbial life in extremely cold habitats.
Ultimately, this project will test the usefulness of metabolomics studies in cryogenic systems containing life on the brink of existence, and provide instrumental and methodological constraints for the investigation of organics on icy planetary bodies. Aside from my academic life, I enjoy the outdoors, hiking, camping, kickboxing, and traveling. I am also a blogger, and an astronomy enthusiast. |
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