PhD Candidate, MIT Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences
Email: fatima [at] mit.edu
Office: E25-618
Education:
Sc.B. Geology-Chemistry (Organic), Brown University, Providence, RI
S.M. Science Writing, MIT
Research: Organic Geochemistry and Geobiology
In my research, I work to decipher the fossil code that tracks the evolution of life on Earth at the intersection of molecular phylogenomics and molecular biogeochemistry. Some of the questions to which I have directed attention recently include: how can we most effectively characterize eukaryotic microbes in analog Cryogenian environments?; which enzymes can we examine to better understand the timing of local and global oxygenation in Earth’s Archaean?; what are the mechanisms that principally control isotopic fractionation in oxygen-producing microbes? In the past, I have worked with my close colleague, Ainara Sistiaga, to reconstruct the climate history of Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania, a site distinctly important for our early hominin ancestors, using archeological sediments. In addition to my research projects, I apply my S.M. in science writing (MIT graduate class of 2018) to share scientific innovations and address science skepticism in professional media outlets including MIT Abstracts, Possibly, which airs weekly on RI’s NPR Morning Edition, NOVA | PBS, MIT Technology Review, and MIT News.