CV

  • Lecturer in Planetary Science - Mullard Space Science Laboratory, UCL (2022 - present)

  • UK Space Agency Aurora Research Fellow - The Natural History Museum London (2019 - 2021)

  • UK Space Agency Aurora Research Fellow - Birkbeck, University of London (2016 - 2019)

  • Author – “Goldilocks and the Water Bears” (January 2015 – present)

  • Postdoctoral Research Associate – The Open University (November 2011 – March 2014) ESA-funded CAFE project – Concepts for Activities in the Field for Exploration

  • Assistant Professor – Western University (January 2011 – May 2011) Astronomy 2021b the Search for Life in the Universe

  • CPSX Postdoctoral Research Fellow – Western University (February 2009 – September 2011) The preservation and identification of life within: impact craters such as the Haughton Impact Structure, Canada and Barringer Crater, Arizona; and other Mars analogue environments such as Rio Tinto, Spain; Iceland; The Ontong Java Plateau and carbonate speleothems of New Mexico.

Education

  • PhD – Imperial College London (October 2005 – December 2008) ‘A Multidisciplinary Study of Biomarkers in Hydrothermal Deposits: Applications to the Search for Life on Mars’.

  • MSci Geology – First Class Honours – Imperial College London (October 2001 – June 2005) ‘Olivine grains containing Fe-oxide grains: Micrometeorites or Meteorite Ablation products?’

Publications

1.     Macey, M.C., Nisha K. Ramkissoon, Simone Cogliati, Mario Toubes-Rodrigo, Ben P. Stephens, Ezgi Kucukkilic-Stephens, Susanne P. Schwenzer, Victoria K. Pearson, Louisa J. Preston, and Karen Olsson-Francis. (2023) Habitability and Biosignature Formation in Simulated Martian Aqueous Environments. Astrobiology. 23:2:144-154. http://doi.org/10.1089/ast.2021.0197.

2.     Tait, A. W., Wilson, S.A., Tomkins, A.G., Hamilton, J.L., Gagen, E.J., Holman, A.I., Grice, K., Preston, L.J., Paterson, D.J. and Southam, G. (2022) Preservation of terrestrial microorganisms and organics within alteration products of chondritic meteorites from the Nullarbor Plain, Australia. Astrobiology. (4):399-415. doi: 10.1089/ast.2020.2387

3.     Osinski, G.R., Ferriere, L., Hill, P.J.A., Prave, A.R., Preston, L.J., Singleton, A. and Pickersgill, A.E. (2021) The Mesoproterozoic Stac Fada Member, NW Scotland: An impact origin confirmed but refined. Journal of the Geological Society. https://doi.org/10.1144/jgs2020-056.

4.     Preston, L.J. and Rothschild, L.J. (2021) Astrobiology: An Overview. In: Young L.R., Sutton J.P. (eds) Handbook of Bioastronautics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-10152-1_119-2.

5.     Preston, L.J., Barcenilla, R., Dartnell, L.R., Kucukkilic-Stephens, E., Olsson-Francis, K. (2020) Infrared spectroscopic detection of biosignatures at Lake Tirez, Spain: Implications for Mars. Astrobiology. 20:15-25. DOI: 10.1089/ast.2019.2106.

6.     Stevens, A.H., McDonald, A., de Koning, C., Riedo, A., Preston, L.J., Ehrenfreund, P., Wurz, P., and Cockell, C.S. (2019) Detectability of biosignatures in a low-biomass simulation of martian sediments. Scientific Reports. 9:9706. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-46239-z.

7.     Balme, M.R., Curtis-Rouse, M.C., Banham, S., Barnes, D., Barnes, R., Bauer, A., Bedford, C.C., Preston, L.J. et al. (2019) The 2016 UK Space Agency Mars Utah Rover Field Investigation (MURFI). Planetary and Space Science. 165:31–56. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.PSS.2018.12.003.

8.     Fox-Powell, M.G., A. Channing, D. Applin, E. Cloutis, L.J. Preston, and C.R. Cousins. (2018) Cryogenic Silicification of Microorganisms in Hydrothermal Fluids. Earth and Planetary Science Letters. 498:1–8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2018.06.026.

9.     Coates, A.J., Jaumann, R., Griffiths, A.D., Leff, C.E., Schmitz, N., Josset, J.L., et al. and the PanCam Team (2017), The PanCam Instrument for the ExoMars Rover. Astrobiology, 17, 511-541.

10.  Preston, L.J., Johnson, D., Cockell, C.S., Grady, M.M. (2015) Fourier Transform Infra-Red (FTIR) Spectral detection of life in polar subsurface environments and its application for Mars exploration. Applied Spectroscopy. 699:1059-1065. https://doi.org/10.1366/14-07843.

11.  Preston, L. J., Melim, L.A., Polyak, V., Yemane, A., Southam, G. (2014) Infrared Spectroscopic Biosignatures from Hidden Cave, New Mexico: Possible Applications for Remote Life Detection. Geomicrobiology Journal. 31:929-941.

12.  Preston, L.J. and Dartnell, L.R. (2014) Planetary habitability: lessons learned from terrestrial analogues. International Journal of Astrobiology. 13:81-98.

13.  Sapers, H.M., Osinski, G.R., Banerjee, N.R. and Preston, L.J. (2014) Enigmatic tubular features in impact glass. Geology. 42:471-474.

14.  Preston, L.J. (2012) Mission to Mars. The Biologist. 59:16-20.

15.  David C. Fernández-Remolar, Louisa J. Preston, Mónica Sánchez-Román, Matthew R. M. Izawa, Gordon Southam, Neil R. Banerjee, Gordon R. Osinski, David Gómez-Ortíz, Olga Prieto Ballesteros, Nuria Rodríguez, Andrew Hill, Ricardo Amils, and Christopher Romanek. (2012) Carbonate precipitation under acidic conditions opens new windows for searching life on Mars. Earth and Planetary Science Letters. 351:13-26.

16.  Osinski, G.R., Tornabene, L.L., Banerjee, N.R., Cockell, C.S., Flemming, R., Izawa, M.R.M., McCutcheon, J., Parnell, J., Preston, L.J., Pickersgill, A.E., Pontefract, A., Sapers, H.M., and Southam, G. (2013) Impact-generated hydrothermal systems on Earth and Mars. Icarus. 224:347-363.

17.  Melissa M. Battler, Gordon R. Osinski, Darlene S. S. Lim, Alfonso F. Davila, Frederick A. Michel, Michael A. Craig, Matthew R. M. Izawa, Lisa Leoni, Gregory F. Slater, Alberto G. Fairén, Neil R. Banerjee, and Louisa J. Preston. (2012) Characterization of the acidic cold seep emplaced jarositic Golden Deposit, NWT, Canada, as an analogue for jarosite deposition on Mars. Icarus. 224:382-398.

18.  Moores, J.E., Francis, R., Mader, M., Osinski, G.R., Barfoot, T., Barry, N., Basic, G., Battler, M.,  Beauchamp, M., Blain, S., Bondy, M., Capitan, R-D., Chanou, A., Clayton, J., Cloutis, E., Daly, M., Dickinson, C., Dong, H., Flemming, R., Furgale, P., Gammel, J., Gharfoor, N., Hussein, M., Grieve, R., Henrys, H., Jaziobedski, P., Lambert, A., Leung, K., Marion, C., McCullough, E., McManus, C., Neish, C.D., Ng, H.K., Ozaruk, A., Pickersgill, A., Preston, L.J., Redman, D., Sapers, H., Shankar, B., Singleton, A., Souders, K., Stenning, B., Stooke, P., Sylvester, P., and Tornabene, L. (2012) A Mission Control Architecture for Lunar Sample Return as Field Tested in an Analogue Deployment to the Sudbury Impact Structure. Advances in Space Research. 50:1666-1686.

19.  Antonenko, I., Osinski, G.R., Battler, M., Beauchamp, M., Cupelli, L., Chanou, A., Francis, R., Mader, M.M., Marion, C., McCullough, E., Pickersgill, A.E., Preston, L.J., Shankar, B., Unrau, T., and Veillette, D. (2012) Issues of Geologically-Focused Situational Awareness in Robotic Planetary Missions: Lessons from an Analogue Mission et Mistastin Lake Impact Structure, Labrador, Canada. Advances in Space Research. 52:272-284.

20.  Battler, M.M., Mader, M.M., Preston, L.J., Moores, J., Osinski, G.R., Cormier, D., McCollough, E., Tornabene, L. and Pontrefract, A. (2012) Evaluation of communication protocols between mission control and astronauts during a series of science driven simulated lunar missions. 63rd International Astronautical Congress. Conference paper.

21.  Mader M. M., G. R. Osinski, B. Shankar, L. L. Tornabene, A.E. Pickersgill, C. L. Marion, T. Barfoot,, M. Beauchamp, R. Francis,  N. Ghafoor, E. McCullough, J. Moores,  L. J. Preston and ILSR team. (2012) Baseline Scientific Requirements for a Lunar Robotic Precursor Mission: Lessons Learned from Analogue Missions at the Mistastin (Kamestastin) Lake Impact Structure, Canada. 63rd International Astronautical Congress. Conference paper.

22.  Preston, L. J., Banerjee, N.R., and Izawa, M.R.M. (2011) Infrared spectroscopic characterization of organic matter associated with microbial bioalteration textures in basaltic glass. Astrobiology Special Edition. 11. 585-599.

23.  Preston, L. J., Shuster, J., Fernández-Remolar, D., Banerjee, N.R , Osinski, G.R., and Southam, G. (2011) The preservation and degradation of filamentous bacteria and biomolecules in iron oxide deposits from Rio Tinto, Spain. Geobiology. 9. 233-249. DOI: 10.1111/j.1472-4669.2011.00275.x.

24.  Preston, L. J. and Genge, M. J. (2010) The Rhynie Chert, Scotland and the search for life on Mars. Astrobiology. 10 (5). 549-560.

25.  Preston, L. J., Benedix, G., Genge, M. J. and Sephton, M. A. (2008) A combined mineralogical, textural and mid-infrared spectroscopy study of silica sinter deposits: applications to silica identification on Mars. Icarus. 198. 331-350.

Books and Book Chapters

1.     Ten Kate, I.L., Preston, L.J. (2015) Earth Analogues. In: Generation and Applications of Extra-Terrestrial Environments on Earth Eds. Beysens, D. and van Loon, J. River Publisher.16: 165-171.

2.     Goldilocks and the Water Bears: The Search for Life in the Universe – 2016

Louisa Preston, Bloomsbury Sigma.

3.     Aliens: Science Asks: Is There Anyone Out There? - 2016 Ed. Jim Al-Khalili,

Chapter 8 – Further Out: Could the Moons of the Gas Giants harbour life?

4.     Ad Astra –2017 Ed. Dallas Campbell

Chapter 15 - Ten exciting places to visit in the Universe

5.     What’s Next? –2017 Ed. Jim Al-Khalili

Chapter 15 – Space Colonisation and Interstellar Travel

6.     Preston, L.J., Rothschild, L. (2021) Astrobiology: An Overview. In: Encyclopaedia of Bioastronautics. Eds. Young, L.R. and Sutton, J.P. Springer. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-10152-1_119-1.

Catalogues

1.     Preston, L.J., Barber, S.J., Grady, M.M. and Angerer, O. (2013) The Catalogue of Planetary Analogues. European Space Agency. http://esamultimedia.esa.int/docs/gsp/The_Catalogue_of_Planetary_Analogues.pdf