Symposium ahead of EANA in Lisbon, Portugal in October!

Registration Open!
AbGradE will organise an adjacent event to the 25th European Astrobiology Network Association (EANA) conference. Both events will take place in person at Instituto Superior TĂ©cnico in Lisbon, Portugal, from 21–24 October 2025.

The topic is “Astrobiology: from the Field to the Labs and into Space“, the symposium will therefore encompass every field that is part of astrobiology.

If you do not want to miss this exciting opportunity to share your work, you can find the registration and more information here.

Hope to see you there!

Postdoctoral Fellow – School of Integrated Biology and Chemistry Sciences (Edinburg, Texas, USA)

The Astrobiochemistry Lab (https://eloicamprubi.com/) at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV), led by Dr. Eloi Camprubi, is looking for a postdoctoral researcher to join by Fall 2025, funded by the National Science Foundation.

Probe the capability of amphiphiles to self-assemble into vesicle compartments and develop a robust methodology for studying their individual and population composition.
Assess if vesicles display generational heredity – allowing for a primitive form of evolution by natural selection.
Custom-made microfluidic setups will be used to enable the precise control and manipulation of vesicle systems constrained to the microliter scale.

Required education:

A Ph.D. in Biochemistry, Chemistry, or related disciplines from an accredited University.

Required experience:

Expertise with vesicle/liposome study and manipulation, including confocal microscopy

Preferred experience:

Experience with microfluidics systems or dynamic mathematical modeling
Experience within the fields of astrobiology and abiogene

Salary

Commensurate with Experience

Get in contact:

đŸ“©: careers@utrgv.edu

🌐: careers.utrgv.edu

📞: +1 (956)665-2451 or +1 (956)882-8205

Application deadline: July 31st 2025.

PhD Studentship in Analytical Tools within Contamination in Spacecraft & Satellite Industry (UK)

The Open University (Milton Keynes, UK) would like to advertise the following PhD position:

Development and validation of innovative, near real-time analytical tools to enable mitigation of contamination within cleanrooms of the UK spacecraft & satellite industry.

Open University Supervisory team: Claire Batty; Vic Pearson; Geraint Morgan

Project Highlights: 

  • Opportunity to develop expertise in cutting edge volatile organic compound detection and analysis for contamination detection.
  • Opportunity to develop skills in analytical techniques, contamination control, and materials and process (M&P) protocols within the space sector.
  • This industrial CASE studentship is a collaboration between The Open University (OU) and Airbus Defence and Space Ltd (Airbus DS) providing both academic and industrial research experience.

The aims of this studentship are: 

  1. To identify, profile and catalogue volatile, semi-volatile and surface organic compounds in cleanrooms and understand the influence of VOCs on bonding, and cleaning methodologies.
  2. To develop techniques, in partnership with the Airbus technical team, to help identify individual contamination compounds, and assess risk of silicone contamination vs cure.
  3. To develop analytical strategies to then deal with real time contamination events.
  4. To develop and optimise analytical methods for flight hardware, cleanroom surfaces and air.

Application deadline: August 1st 2025, 5pm GMT

More information about the project and how to apply here.

Conference EANA in Lisbon, Portugal in October!

Registration Open!
The 25th European Astrobiology Network Association (EANA) conference will take place in person at Instituto Superior TĂ©cnico in Lisbon, Portugal, from 21–24 October 2025.

Join researchers from across Europe for keynote and contributed talks, the Space Factor contest, and poster sessions. This year’s theme is “Astrobiology: From the Field to the Labs and into Space,” but abstracts from all areas of astrobiology are welcome!

Questions? Contact: eana-conference (at) eana-net.eu

> More info here <

FALCON: Registration deadline soon!!!

Our co-organised FALCON event (26th to 29th of June on Iceland) is only 1 month away! That means that the deadline for registration is very soon, specifically 31st of May (next week)!

If you are planning to come, do not hesitate! Registration to our event can be done by the following link: FALCON registration form

The same deadline (31st of May) applies to the travel grant applications which are still OPEN. Grants are expected to be approximately €200 – 400 (final amount may vary). Our grants are not tied to EAI membership, so you are eligible to apply even if your University is not a member of the EAI. Please send your grant application of no more than 250 words as an attachment (PDF or Word document) to abgrade@eana-net.eu. Please title the email ‘FALCON Travel Grant’ and the attachment ‘Surname_Firstname_FALCON’.

Please include the following:
1. Funds available to you via your lab group/University
2. Your nationality/background
3. Distance you will travel to Iceland
4. Confirm whether you want to do a talk or poster (or neither, i.e. simply attending)

For more information please visit our event page https://abgrade.eu/falcon2025/ or send us a message via email at abgrade@eana-net.eu

We are looking forward to meeting you on Iceland!!!

Harding Essay Competition 2025

Are you a UK university student passionate about writing, science, and questioning humanity? The UK Centre for Astrobiology (UKCA) is now accepting entries for its 2025 Harding Essay Competition! This is a fantastic opportunity to showcase your perspective, get featured on the UKCA website, and win prizes.

🎓 Open to both undergraduate and postgraduate students enrolled in UK universities.

📅 Submission deadline: 31st July 2025

đŸ“© Submit your essay to: UKCA-info@ed.ac.uk. Topics can span culture, science, society, engineering, and more — whatever sparks your voice. Visit: www.astrobiology.ac.uk/opportunities/competitions

Update on FALCON: Frontiers in Astrobiology & Origins of Life Conference

Our co-organised FALCON event (26th to 29th of June on Iceland) is only 3 months away!

Registration to our event can be done by the following link until May 31st: FALCON registration form

We want to remind you that the abstract submission deadline of March 31st is approaching soon. For more information, refer to this link: FALCON website

Travel grant applications are now open. Grants are expected to be approximately €200 – 400 (final amount may vary). Our grants are not tied to EAI membership, so you are eligible to apply even if your University is not a member of the EAI. Please send your grant application of no more than 250 words as an attachment (PDF or Word document) to abgrade@eana-net.eu. Please title the email ‘FALCON Travel Grant’ and the attachment ‘Surname_Firstname_FALCON’.

Please include the following:
1. Funds available to you via your lab group/University
2. Your nationality/background
3. Distance you will travel to Iceland
4. Confirm whether you want to do a talk or poster (or neither, i.e. simply attending)

    The deadline for travel grants is May 31st, the same day as our registration deadline. However, we will award grants on a rolling basis from next week.

    Furthermore, event organised accommodation booking deadline has been extended to April 15th, and managed through the BEACON registration platform at the following link, which is also used for the processing of all associated payments of our event: Accomodation registration (through BEACON)

    We want to remind you that on those premises, accommodation will likely still be possible for the same dates but at different rates.

    For more information please visit our event page https://abgrade.eu/falcon2025/ or send us a message via email at abgrade@eana-net.eu

    We are looking forward to meeting you on Iceland!!!

    Postdoctoral Research Associate in Lunar Volatiles (Open University, England)

    An 18-month postdoc position funded by the UK Science and Technology Funding Council (STFC) is available. The research will involve mineralogical and isotopic studies of lunar samples, including measurements of light element volatiles by nanoSIMS. The deadline for application is 20th March 2025, with a notional start date of 1st May 2025. Follow the link below to see the full advert and how to apply.

    https://jobs.open.ac.uk/job/Post-Doctoral-Research-Associate-(Lunar-Volatiles)/630-en_GB/

    3rd OHP International Summer School (23-27th June 2025; Observatoire de Haute Provence, France)

    Institut Origines is pleased to announce the 3rd OHP International Summer School. This exceptional event invites you to explore the frontiers of life through an interdisciplinary approach!

    Program highlights: Lectures and round-table discussions featuring renowned experts in prebiotic chemistry, microbiology, exobiology, planetology, astrophysics, philosophy, and law. These sessions will be moderated by an award-winning science journalist, offering a unique opportunity to delve into the fundamental questions surrounding the origin and evolution of life.

    Don’t miss this chance to discover the latest research and connect with scientists from around the world in a unique setting!

    Pre-register via this link: https://institut-origines.univ-amu.fr/fr/formation/ecoles-ete

    Speakers: Chantal Abergel, Mélanie Baroni, James Bradley, Jean-Michel Claverie, Magali Deleuil, Simon Duval, David Ehrenreich, Gaël Erauso, Vincent Hue, Frédéric Laurie, Dominique Leglu, Martina Preiner, Pascal Taranto, Nicolas Thouveny, and more


    Poster credit: Sarah Anderson

    Post-doc position: Modelling Titan’s atmosphere (University of Amsterdam)

    Applications are invited for a postdoctoral (PD) position at the Anton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy (API) at the University of Amsterdam Netherlands (UvA) to work with assistant professor Alessandra Candian on modelling hydrocarbon evolution on Titan’s atmosphere.

    Deadline for applications:
    February 2nd, 2025

    Application and more information here