Catharine Conley

Catharine Anastasia Conley was NASA's 6th Planetary Protection Officer from 2006 through 2018.

Catharine Conley
6th NASA Planetary Protection Officer
In office
2006–2018
President
Preceded byJohn Rummel
Succeeded byLisa Pratt
Personal details
Born
Catharine Anastasia Conley
NationalityAmerican
Other namesCassie Conley
Alma mater
Scientific career
FieldsBiology
InstitutionsAmes Research Center
ThesisSpatial and temporal localization of the defects associated with Petunia cytoplasmic male sterility (1995)

Education

Conley received her bachelor's from MIT, a Ph.D. in Plant Biology from Cornell University in 1994,[1] and obtained a postdoctoral fellow position at The Scripps Research Institute studying proteins involved in muscle contraction.[2][3] Conley conducted some of her research using the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans.[4][5]

NASA career

In 1999 Conley became a research scientist with the NASA Ames Research Center. Her research focuses on the evolution of motility, particularly animal muscle. One of her experiments was on board during the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster. The experiment, the fourteenth Biological Research In Canisters (BRIC-14), survived re-entry and the nematode cultures were still alive. Some scientific data was recovered.[6]

In 2006, Conley was appointed as NASA's Planetary Protection Officer (see Planetary protection), replacing John Rummel.[7][8][9][10][11][12] A NASA re-organization opened the job for competition in 2017, and Conley was replaced by Dr. Lisa Pratt in February 2018.[13][14]

References
  1. Conley, Catharine Anastasia (1995). Spatial and temporal localization of the defects associated with Petunia cytoplasmic male sterility (Ph.D.). Cornell University. OCLC 693242966 – via ProQuest.
  2. "Catharine Conley". Archived from the original on July 16, 2011. Retrieved May 4, 2009.
  3. Person Report: Catharine Conley
  4. International Caenorhabditis elegans Experiment: Physiological Study of Nematode Worms in Weightlessness (ICE-First) 2009-02-20
  5. Viso, Michel. "International Ceonorhabditis elegans Experiment First flight: Science Goals and Objectives". Dutch Experimental Support Center.
  6. Columbia Survivors 2006-01-01 Archived January 25, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  7. Leary, Warren E. (October 9, 2007). "In NASA's Sterile Areas, Plenty of Robust Bacteria". The New York Times.
  8. Shades of Gravity: Interview with Catharine Conley 2007-11-05
  9. Conley, Catharine A. (March 2008). "Planetary protection considerations for mars sample return" (PDF). Lunar and Planetary Institute.
  10. "Meet Cassie Conley". Archived from the original on April 20, 2009. Retrieved May 4, 2009.
  11. "Spaceward bound: Cassie Conley". Archived from the original on May 10, 2009. Retrieved May 4, 2009.
  12. "Catharine Conley Pipl Profile". Archived from the original on October 2, 2011. Retrieved May 4, 2009.
  13. Voosen, Paul (February 22, 2018). "NASA planetary protection officer suggests loosening limits on exploring Mars for life". Science. doi:10.1126/science.aat4041.
  14. "Indiana University astrobiologist named planetary protection officer at NASA". Indiana University. January 18, 2018.
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