Gabriella Rizzo
She/Her
I am lesbian and I am an astrobiologist and geomicrobiologist.//
I was born and raised in New Jersey, where my natural curiosity was fueled by endless library trips and science fairs. I was always drawn to the unknown, fascinated by the microscopic world and the vastness of space. That passion led me to Western Massachusetts, where I fell in love with the rolling hills and the world of microbes at UMass Amherst. Then, a summer spent in the cornfields of Nebraska changed everything. I became invested in the research happening at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Now, I’m a PhD student in Dr. Karrie Weber’s lab.
I’ve studied life in extreme environments, from deep-sea vents to Martian regolith simulants, always drawn to the fundamental question: how does life persist in the harshest conditions? And what metabolisms play a key role in that survival? My work now focuses on microbial hydrogen cycling in naturally occurring subsurface hydrogen wells, with implications for astrobiology and renewable energy.
Beyond research, I’m committed to building inclusive scientific communities. I am one of the founders of the Agnostic Life Finding Association (ALFA), am a member of Pride in Microbiology, and am a fellow for NASA’s Network for Ocean Worlds Future Leaders (NOW FLOW). My goal is to become a NASA astrobiologist, searching for life beyond Earth. Until then, I’ll keep uncovering the secrets of Earth’s most extreme microbes – one experiment at a time.