Natuschka Lee

Natural Sciences Fellow, SCAS.
Researcher, Umeå University.
Affiliated Researcher, Faculty of Health and Society, Malmö University, and in Microbial Ecology,
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala

Natuschka Lee has a PhD in Biotechnology from Lund University. After her PhD, she spent many years
abroad as a guest researcher in Germany and Denmark. When she returned back to Sweden, she founded
a research group on microbial geoecology and astrobiology at Umeå University. Since 2023, she is an affili-
ated researcher at Malmö University and the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. Her research fields
span from microbiology, biotechnology, plant ecology, entomology to astrogeobiology. Within the space field,
she is interested in astroecology and astrobiotechnology, and how these can contribute to a sustainable techno-
logy and a healthy lifestyle on and beyond Earth. She is also interested in outreach of science and has collabo-
rated with media, artists, science fiction authors and arranged citizen science projects with museums and
schools. During her time in residence at SCAS, she will address the challenges for science and society when
exploring the origin and future of life on Earth in the universe. To reach this goal, she will work together with
researchers from different natural scientific disciplines and in humanities, addressing issues around detection
and identification of past and current life forms, their cognitive capabilities and how this can contribute to pro-
gress in space research.

Her publications include Baqué, M. et al. 2022. “Biosignature Stability in Space Enables Their Use for Life
Detection on Mars”. Science Advances 8(36); Horneck, G., et al. 2016. “AstRoMap European Astrobiology
Roadmap”. Astrobiology 16(3), and Lee, N. 2020. Biotechnological Applications of Extremophilic Micro-
organisms. Walter de Gruyter.

This information is accurate as of the academic year 2023-24.