Kate Rubins Seminar

The Center for Synthetic Biology, in collaboration with the Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics (CIERA), is pleased to welcome Dr. Kate Rubins, microbiologist and retired NASA astronaut, for a seminar exploring how insights from space-based genomics and systems biology can inform synthetic biology approaches to waste reclamation, environmental sensing, and biological operation in remote, resource-constrained environments on Earth and beyond.

Dr. Rubins was selected as a NASA astronaut in 2009 and completed her first spaceflight on Expedition 48/49, during which she became the first person to sequence DNA in space. She holds a B.S. in Molecular Biology from the University of California and a Ph.D. in Cancer Biology from Stanford University School of Medicine, with training in biochemistry, microbiology, and immunology.

Her undergraduate research focused on HIV-1 integration at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, and she later served as a Fellow and Principal Investigator at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, where she led a team of 14 researchers studying viral diseases affecting Central and West Africa.

Dr. Rubins returned to the International Space Station as a flight engineer on Expedition 63/64, concluding her second long-duration mission in April 2021. Across two spaceflights, she accumulated 300 days in space and conducted four spacewalks, contributing significantly to both scientific research and space operations.

Event Details - Northwestern University, Evanston Campus
📅 Tuesday, February 3, 2026
🕒 3:00–4:00 PM | Seminar
📍 Pancoe Auditorium

🕒 4:00–5:00 PM | Reception
📍 Pancoe Café

🕒 5:00–6:30 PM | Tour & Observation ✨
📍 Dearborn Observatory*
*Guests who register for the Observatory will gather in Pancoe Café at 5:00pm and will be escorted to the Observatory at 5:15pm.

Please note these events are open to the Northwestern community only.

This seminar serves as a lead-up event to the Center for Synthetic Biology’s 10-Year Anniversary, to be celebrated May 13–14, 2026.

Questions? Please contact [email protected].

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Host or Publisher Center for Synthetic Biology