I apply a background in molecular biology, biochemistry, and phytoplankton physiology to uncover the sequence of events that shaped the evolution of the modern oceans phytoplankton and life itself. Essentially, I seek to unravel details regarding the co-evolution of life and Earth. Want to hear me talk about some details? Check out this podcast.

For my undergraduate work, I completed a double-degree program including a B.A. in Biology (Chemistry) along with a B.M. in Oboe Performance at Oberlin College and Conservatory of Music. I finished my Ph.D. in Oceanography as a member of the Environmental Biophysics and Molecular Ecology Group at the Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences at Rutgers University. My dissertation work focused on the evolution and selection of the powerful metalloenzyme antioxidant superoxide dismutase and its biogeochemical evolution in phytoplankton and was completed under the guidance of Dr. Paul Falkowski and Dr. Oscar Schofield. I was awarded a National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship which I have utilized to work under the mentorship of Dr. Ariel Anbar at Arizona State University and subsequently with Dr. Ann Pearson at Harvard University.

News Flash

Want to see and hear Felisa in action? On Tuesday, May 5 2009 she was at the Unviersity of Washington giving a lecture as part of their Astrobiology seminar series. Now even if you are millions of miles away (for example, on Titan perhaps. Or even Enceladus..), it is available to catch online. She went through some of the work related to Mn and diatoms, Cu and Fe and phytoplankton and also brought in her arsenic story and her recently funded NASA NAI Astrobiology proposal research. Enjoy! (Note: to see other great talks by some of the giants in this field, check out the NASA NAI website!)

As promised, the "Shadow Biosphere" paper is now out and Felisa encourages you to read it. She was fortunate to be part of a stellar group of scientists that Paul Davies assembled to go "BEYOND" and think deeply about how we might look for life we don't know. Enjoy! (Davies et al., Astrobiology 2009).

It is finally published! Read Felisa's recent manuscript at the International Journal of Astrobiology and the details of the hypothesis of arsenic-life she developed with Paul Davies and Ariel Anbar. Stay tuned for another recent paper where Felisa has joined forces with a diverse crowd of scientists interested in discovery of the "Shadow Biosphere" due out in Astrobiology soon. The projects are moving forward! Look for a few more manuscripts to come out shortly! (Wolfe-Simon, Davies, & Anbar, International Journal of Astrobiology 2009)

Interested in the evolution of the nitrogen cycle and trace metals? Read Jennifer Glass' recent sysnthesis (Glass, Wolfe-Simon & Anbar, Geobiology 2009) of what is known, what she is doing and what we need to do now to more fully explore and understand this incredibly complex biogeochemical cycle! Great job Jen!

Just out, Felisa was interviewed by Michael Reilly of New Scientist on the details of her recent arseno-life hypothesis. Check it out and enjoy comments by both Paul Davies and Steve Benner. Now let's get back in lab and dig in the field and test these ideas! Interested? Drop Felisa a line for a potential future project.

Hear Paul Davies, John Baross, David Grinspoon and Felisa talk about the possibility of alternative life here on Earth in this BBC World Report interview by Pauline Newman.

Contact

Evolutionary Metallomics and Geobiochemistry
Laboratory for Biogeochemistry and Organic Geochemistry
Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences
Harvard University
20 Oxford Street
Cambridge, MA 02138
Office: 617.495.8339
Fax: 617.496.4387
Email: wolfe [at] eps.harvard.edu

Why Ironlisa?

I received this pseudonym when I was working as an undergraduate intern in Dr. D. Wayne Coats' lab at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center. I was running experiments testing the affects of different iron concentrations on the dinoflagellate Gyrodinium uncatenum and the parasite Amoebophrya ceratii. Wayne labeled a few folders with my work as either Fe²⁺ lisa or Fe³⁺ lisa (spelling my name with the chemical symbol for iron- that is "Fe" in one of its two common redox states). Once a few colleagues found out- the name caught. Since I have continued a deep interest in iron cycling and synergistic iron and other metal interactions and phytoplankton- I acquiesced and kept the name. Because, in the end, my name Felisa really does translate to: ironlisa.