Victoria Orphan

Last updated
Victoria Orphan
NationalityAmerican
Alma mater University of California, Santa Barbara
Known forGeobiologist
Awards
  • American Association of Arts and Science
  • MacArthur Fellowship
  • Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation Investigator Award
  • DOE Early Career Research Award
  • National Research Council Fellowship
Scientific career
Fields Geobiology
InstitutionsCalifornia Institute of Technology

Victoria J. Orphan is a geobiologist at the California Institute of Technology who studies the interactions between marine microorganisms and their environment. [1] [2] As of 2020, she is the Chair for the Center of Environmental Microbial Interactions.

Contents

Early life and education

Victoria Orphan received her B.A. in Aquatic Biology (1994) and Ph.D. in Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology (2001) from the University of California, Santa Barbara. [3] She served as a National Research Council fellow at the NASA Ames Research Center (2002–2004) before joining the Geobiology faculty at California Institute of Technology. [4]

Career

Orphan is the James Irvine Professor of Environmental Science and Geobiology at the California Institute of Technology. [5] She has also been an adjunct scientist at Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) since 2009 [6] and Senior Scientist of the Center for Dark Energy Biosphere Investigations, a Science and Technology Center funded by the National Science Foundation and headquartered at the University of Southern California. [7] As of 2020, she is the Alan V.C. Davis and Lenabelle Davis Leadership Chair for the Center of Environmental Microbial Interactions. [8] [9] In 2023 she was named LGBTQ+ Scientist of the Year by Out to Innovate, a global organization of LGBTQ+ students and professionals in STEM. [10] She is the director of Caltech's Kerckhoff Marine Laboratory as well as the Center for Environmental Microbial Interactions (CEMI). [11]

Research

Orphan's research integrates molecular, microscopy, and geochemical techniques to improve understanding of various processes, including those that serve as the primary sink for the greenhouse gas methane in the ocean. [12] She focuses on microbially-mediated anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM) in deep sea sediment. [13] Specifically, she looks at the relationships between two groups of marine microbes: archaea and bacteria. Orphan uses tools such as nanoSIMS to visualize these organisms at the microscale and track how and when they exchange energy. [14] Through her research, Orphan has helped develop novel stable isotope applications that provide insight into the relationship between microbes and large-scale geochemical processes. [15]

Orphan appeared in the 2018 Netflix documentary The Most Unknown [16] on scientific research directed by Ian Cheney.

Personal life

Orphan is in a relationship with fellow scientist Shana K. Goffredi, who teaches biology at Occidental College and also studies deep-sea ecosystems. [17] [18]

Honors and awards

Selected Publications

Orphan, V., Hinrichs, K.-U., Ussler, W., Paull, C.K., Taylor, L., Sylva, S.P., Hayes, J.M. and DeLong, E., 2001. Comparative analysis of methane-oxidizing archaea and sulfatereducing bacteria in anoxic marine sediments. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 67(4): 1922-1934.

Orphan, V.J., House, C.H., Hinrichs, K.-U., McKeegan, K.D. and DeLong, E.F., 2001. Methane-consuming archaea revealed by directly coupled isotopic and phylogenetic analysis. Science, 293(5529): 484-487.

Orphan, V.J., House, C.H., Hinrichs, K.-U., McKeegan, K.D. and DeLong, E.F., 2002. Multiple archaeal groups mediate methane oxidation in anoxic cold seep sediments. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 99(11): 7663-7668.

Orphan, V., Goffredi, S., Delong, E. and Boles, J., 2003. Geochemical influence on diversity and microbial processes in high temperature oil reservoirs. Geomicrobiology Journal, 20(4): 295-311.

Orphan, V., Ussler III, W., Naehr, T., House, C., Hinrichs, K.-U. and Paull, C., 2004. Geological, geochemical, and microbiological heterogeneity of the seafloor around methane vents in the Eel River Basin, offshore California. Chemical Geology, 205(3): 265- 289.

Orphan, V., Jahnke, L., Embaye, T., Turk, K., Pernthaler, A., Summons, R. and Des Marais, D., 2008. Characterization and spatial distribution of methanogens and methanogenic biosignatures in hypersaline microbial mats of Baja California. Geobiology, 6(4): 376-393.

Orphan, V. and House, C., 2009. Geobiological investigations using secondary ion mass spectrometry: microanalysis of extant and paleo-microbial processes. Geobiology, 7(3): 360-372.

Orphan, V.J., 2011. Getting cozy: hidden microbial interactions in nature. Environmental Microbiology Reports, 3(1): 16-18.

Orphan, V.J. and Hoehler, T.M., 2011. Microbiology: Hydrogen for dinner. Nature, 476(7359): 154-155.

Cavicchioli, R., Ripple, W. J., Timmis, K. N., Azam, F., Bakken, L. R., Baylis, M., ... V. Orphan… & Crowther, T. W. (2019). Scientists’ warning to humanity: microorganisms and climate change. Nature Reviews Microbiology, 17: 569-586.

Leu, A.O., Cai, C., McIlroy, S.J., Southam, G., Orphan, V.J., Yuan, Z., Hu, S. and Tyson, G.W., 2020. Anaerobic methane oxidation coupled to manganese reduction by members of the Methanoperedenaceae. The ISME journal, 14(4), pp.1030-1041.

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References

  1. ↑ "MacArthur winner Victoria Orphan showed how deep-sea microbes keep greenhouse gas out of the atmosphere". Los Angeles Times. 2016-09-21. ISSN   0458-3035 . Retrieved 2017-03-08.
  2. ↑ "Orphan Lab". orphanlab.caltech.edu. Retrieved 2017-03-08.
  3. ↑ "Caltech Environmental Science and Engineering". www.ese.caltech.edu. Retrieved 2017-03-08.
  4. ↑ "Schmidt Ocean Institute". Schmidt Ocean Institute. Retrieved 2020-01-30.
  5. ↑ "Victoria J. Orphan | www.gps.caltech.edu". www.gps.caltech.edu. Retrieved 2016-12-08.
  6. ↑ "MBARI Adjunct Victoria Orphan receives "genius grant"" . Retrieved 2016-12-08.
  7. ↑ "People". www.darkenergybiosphere.org. Retrieved 2016-12-08.
  8. ↑ "Victoria J. Orphan | Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences". www.gps.caltech.edu. Retrieved 2020-03-07.
  9. ↑ "Center for Environmental Microbial Interactions". microbiology.caltech.edu. Retrieved 2020-03-07.
  10. ↑ "Victoria Orphan Named LGBTQ+ Scientist of the Year". California Institute of Technology. 2023-09-06. Retrieved 2023-10-10.
  11. ↑ "People". Kerckhoff Marine Laboratory. Retrieved 2023-10-10.
  12. ↑ "Schmidt Ocean Institute". Schmidt Ocean Institute. Retrieved 2020-01-30.
  13. ↑ "| NASA Astrobiology Institute". nai.nasa.gov. Retrieved 2017-03-08.
  14. ↑ "Superorganisms are changing our understanding of life — NOVA Next | PBS". NOVA Next. 2016-04-20. Retrieved 2017-03-08.
  15. ↑ "Simons Foundation | Advancing Research in Basic Science and Mathematics". Simons Foundation. Retrieved 2020-01-30.
  16. ↑ "The Most Unknown (2018) – IMDb". www.imdb.com. Retrieved 2021-06-09.
  17. ↑ "MacArthur winner Victoria Orphan showed how deep-sea microbes keep greenhouse gas out of the atmosphere". Los Angeles Times. 2016-09-22. Retrieved 2020-11-13.
  18. ↑ "Shana Goffredi". www.oxy.edu. Retrieved 2023-10-10.
  19. ↑ "Grant Detail". www.moore.org. Retrieved 2017-03-08.
  20. ↑ "DOE Early Career Awards". DOE. 2016-05-04. Retrieved 2017-03-08.
  21. ↑ "Grant Detail". www.moore.org. Retrieved 2017-03-08.
  22. ↑ "Celebration of Excellence". Center for Inclusion & Diversity. Retrieved 2023-10-10.
  23. ↑ "Victoria Orphan — MacArthur Foundation". www.macfound.org. Retrieved 2016-12-08.
  24. ↑ Stoeter, Author Sarah. "Victoria Orphan, NOMIS Distinguished Scientist Awardee 2018". The NOMIS Foundation. Retrieved 2019-03-26.{{cite web}}: |first= has generic name (help)
  25. ↑ Hatch, Avery S.; Liew, Haebin; Hourdez, Stéphane; Rouse, Greg W. (2020-12-05). "Hungry scale worms: Phylogenetics of Peinaleopolynoe (Polynoidae, Annelida), with four new species". ZooKeys (932): 27–74. Bibcode:2020ZooK..932...27H. doi: 10.3897/zookeys.932.48532 . ISSN   1313-2970. PMC   7237507 . PMID   32476973.
  26. ↑ "New 2020 Members Announced". American Academy of Arts & Sciences. 23 April 2020. Retrieved 2021-02-20.
  27. ↑ "2021 Class of AGU Fellows Announced". Eos. 28 September 2021. Retrieved 2021-09-29.
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