The biennial conference of the global astrobiology research community brought together more than 1,000 attendees from diverse research backgrounds to share recent research findings and updates from missions by NASA and other space agencies. The conference covered a broad range of topics, including the origins of life, habitability of exoplanets, and biosignature detection, alongside town halls led by representatives of NASA and its astrobiology programs. Dr. Cassandra Marnocha, associate professor of Biology, recent graduate Caitlin Garrell, and rising senior Sierra Ashbaugh presented their research at the Astrobiology Science Conference (AbSciCon), May 17–22, 2026, in Madison, Wisconsin.
Garrell, an environmental science major, and Ashbaugh, a biotechnology major, presented a poster entitled “Quantifying Flagellar Motility Patterns in Bacteria to Inform Agnostic Biosignature Detection.” Their work was based on Dr. Marnocha’s NASA- funded project on movement as an agnostic biosignature.
Dr. Marnocha presented a mini-talk on “Fostering Field Science and Establishing Science Identity in Early Career Through the Lewis and Clark Fund for Exploration and Field Research in Astrobiology” as a former recipient of the grant, as well as a talk on “Persistence of Extracellular
Biogenic Sulfur and Associated Organics from Acidic Pprings” with co-author and Niagara University alum Haley (Parker) Hobble ’18.
“Presenting my undergraduate research at AbSciCon was an incredibly rewarding experience,” said Garrell. “It was exciting to engage with researchers and students who share a passion for astrobiology, and the conference gave me valuable insight into the collaborative nature of the field. I especially
appreciated the opportunity to gain a clearer understanding of the kinds of research I hope to pursue in graduate school and beyond.”
