Kellynn Tan

I joined the Ferrari lab in UNSW in 2023 as a PhD student after completing a Bachelor of Science with Honours degree in Microbiology at the University of Queensland. My broad research interests include elucidating the biological limits that are necessary to support life in harsh environments and on other planetary bodies.

Project: Cultivation and characterisation of Candidatus Dormibacterota and Candidatus Eremiobacterota survival in Antarctic soil

Supervised by: Belinda Ferrari. Co-supervisor Brendan Burns

Project Description: My research will focus on characterising the mechanisms underlying microbial trace gas oxidation and atmospheric chemosynthesis by using culture-based methods. These methods will be optimised by targeting key genomic features of phyla that have been genetically determined to be capable of atmospheric chemosynthesis. My project will provide insight into strategies for the sustenance of life in extreme terrestrial and extra-terrestrial environments.