Team Members

Ikerbasque Research Professor at the Donostia International Physics Center (DIPC), his main fields of study are the phenomena of self-organization in biological and geological structures, with implications from the origin of life to the synthesis of new materials. Is an internationally recognized expert in mineral genesis, highlighting their studies on the formation of giant crystals and on crystallization of drugs and proteins. He has been chairman of several space crystallization projects coordinating more than 30 European and Japanese laboratories, and has several licensed patents. He is the founder of Triana Science & Technology, a company that offers technology and services in crystallization.

Personal webpage: Link

Professor of Petrology in the Department of Geosciences and project leader at the Center for Marine Environmental Research (MARUM) at the University of Bremen. An overarching theme of his research is the role of hydrothermal alteration of the ocean crust in the evolution of our planet. He has spent 40 months at sea mapping and sampling magmatic and hydrothermal systems on the ocean floor. On land, he uses experimental and theoretical approaches to study the pathways and mechanisms of water-rock interactions, with a particular focus on serpentinization and related processes. He has also been involved in the development of bioenergetic approaches to study microbial metabolism in fluid-mineral-microbe interactions.

Personal webpage: Link

Senior Researcher at the Naturalis Biodiversity Center in Leiden and Visiting Scientist at the Department of Earth Sciences at Utrecht University, The Netherlands. His main fields of study are the geobiology and geochemistry of the early Earth. He seeks to define the fundamental differences between life and non-life processes, and the traces they leave in the early rock record. For this purpose he uses a multi-disciplinary approach, carrying out geologic fieldwork in ancient terrains and modern analog settings, and performing geochemical micro-analysis and laboratory experiments mimicking ancient environments and biosignature preservation processes.

Personal webpage: Link

Denis Gebauer is Professor at the Institute of Inorganic Chemistry of Leibniz University Hannover (Germany). After completing his PhD at the Max-Planck-Institute of Colloids and Interfaces (Potsdam-Golm, Germany) in 2008, he stayed at Stockholm University (Department of Materials and Environmental Chemistry, Arrhenius Laboratory, Stockholm, Sweden) as a postdoctoral researcher for two years. He was a Zukunftskolleg Research Fellow at the University of Konstanz (Germany) during 2014-2019, and Assistant Professor at the University of Konstanz (Department of Chemistry) in 2011-2019. His research interest is currently focussed on non-classical concepts of nucleation and crystallization as well as biomineralization and materials chemistry in general. The application and development of analytical techniques for answering questions in these areas are core expertises.

Researcher at the Andalusian Institute of Geosciences of Granada (IACT) of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC). His research has explored various aspects of crystallization and pattern formation, from fractal aggregates to the microgravity growth of protein crystals. His work on mineral patterns combines the study of the mechanisms of crystal formation and self-organisation with the use of the properties of the resulting crystals as proxies for the formation conditions during crystal growth, allowing the study of environmental conditions in inaccessible or vanished environments, as in the case of Precambrian crystals grown in the formations where the first evidence of life on Earth has been reported. Interesting results have been obtained from the crystallization of evaporitic materials, mainly gypsum, halite and calcium carbonate, to solve geological problems related to the Precambrian (3.5 Ga) Dresser Formation in Australia, the salt ponds of the Atacama Desert, the alkaline lakes of the Kenyan Rift, the Cave of the Giant Crystals in Mexico or the Dallol salt volcano in Ethiopia. The study of the crystallisation processes involved in the formation of mineral self-organised structures (MISOS) completes his expertise in the context of PROTOS.

CNRS Research Scientist at the Laboratoire de Génie Chimique de Toulouse, with over 10 years of expertise in pioneering microfluidic approaches and non-invasive characterization techniques to study crystallization phenomena. He has led or contributed to 22 high-impact R&D projects, including three major European initiatives and 19 national programs across France and Spain. His current research delves into nucleation mechanisms during phase transitions, using confinement strategies and cutting-edge time-resolved photonics to advance understanding in this fundamental area. His work is at the intersection of innovation and application, driving insights that shape both academic knowledge and industrial processes.

Stefan Lalonde is a tenured researcher with the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) specializing in Precambrian sedimentology, geochemistry, and early microbial life. He is part of the Geo-Ocean laboratory at the European Institute for Marine Studies, a major French oceanographic institute situated on the outskirts of Brest, France. After undergraduate studies and graduate work in biology, geomicrobiology, and sedimentary geochemistry at McGill University and the University of Alberta, Stefan joined the Geo-Ocean laboratory in 2010, first as a postdoc in metal and metalloid stable isotope geochemistry, and then as CNRS researcher in 2013. His research program is focused on reconstructing environmental conditions and biospheric evolution on the primitive Earth, with particular focus on fossil records of early microbial life, the oxygenation of Earth’s atmosphere and oceans, and the evolution of Earth’s biogeochemical cycles. He has been heavily involved in international drilling projects targeting Archean and Proterozoic sediments of geobiological interest worldwide and led an ERC Starting Grant project from 2017 to 2023 examining the Archean origins of oxygenic photosynthesis and Earth’s carbonate factory. He has served on various national and international committees, including the French INTERRVIE and National Planetology Programs and the International Continental Scientific Drilling Program (ICDP). In 2019 he was awarded the EAG’s Houterman’s medal for early career contributions to geochemistry. 

Dr. Christian Jenewein is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Donostia International Physics Center (DIPC) in the research group of Prof. Juan Manuel García Ruiz. His research centers on the origin of life, focusing on early Earth and Martian environments. Using Miller-type experiments, he recreates diverse atmospheric and mineralogical conditions in the laboratory, to study the molecular and morphological prebiotic chemistry characteristic of the Hadean and Noachian eras, uncovering essential preliminary stages in the emergence of life. In collaboration with the European Space Agency, Dr. Jenewein’s work also supports the ExoMars Science Working Team by refining our understanding of molecular and morphological biosignatures and supplying critical abiotic reference samples for instrument reference and analysis.

I am a research scientist developing mathematical and computational models of mineral-water interactions. I have developed a novel methodological approach for multi-scale modelling of reactions at mineral surfaces based on the kinetic Monte Carlo (kMC) method. The approach is to bring molecular scale information and microscopic data altogether to parametierize and verfy microkinetic kMC models, and thus, prove a mechanistic research hypothesis. Currently I am working on mathematical models of self-organization processes and pattern formation in mineral-water systems. I explore Cellular Automata techniques for studing behavior of reactive systems. I have received my PhD from Rice University, United States. My research experience in mineral-water interaction is 15 years, 6 years in the US, 9 in Europe. Currently I am working at the University of Bremen under the PROTOS project.

Borja Aparicio Gil is a postdoctoral researcher in the group of Prof. Juan Manuel García Ruiz. In 2016, he obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from the Complutense University of Madrid. In 2017, he completed his Master’s studies in Organic Chemistry at the same university. He then moved to San Sebastián, where he pursued his doctoral studies at the University of the Basque Country under the supervision of Prof. Fernando Cossío and Dr. Iván Rivilla. After earning his PhD in 2022, he joined the University of Santiago de Compostela as a postdoctoral researcher under the guidance of Prof. Diego Peña. Following two years of postdoctoral research, he became a member of the PROTOS team. Dr. Aparicio Gil has advanced expertise in organic chemistry, particularly in synthesis, purification, and characterization using a wide range of techniques.

Scientist at University of Bremen. As a petrologist, he has worked for the past 7 years on volcanoes – from the Central Andes to the Eifel volcanic field. He has applied a combination of geochemical analyses, high pressure-temperature experiments and physical modelling to constrain magmatic processes and melt-mineral reactions. His models tend to link microscopic diffusive processes to macroscale processes like magma underplating and mixing. Since his PhD in 2020, he has worked in Universities of Kiel and Bonn as PI of his own project funded by the German research foundation and has supervised several bachelor and master projects. As part of the PROTOS project, he is conducting a series of experiments and numerical modelling to constrain the Hadean environment and reactions that may have favoured the beginning of life.

He holds a bachelor degree in Journalism from the University of Seville and a MSc in Culture of Peace, Conflict, Education, and Human Rights from the UNESCO Chair in Conflict Resolution at the University of Córdoba. Additionally, he earned a MSc in Teacher Training for Secondary and High School Education (specializing in French). Currently, he is pursuing his doctoral thesis at the Institute of Migration at the University of Granada. He has experience managing scientific projects funded by Horizon Europe, as well as in the dissemination and communication of research results.

In 2021, Sina Nolte received her Bachelor of Science in Chemistry at Leibniz University Hannover. Between August 2022 and January 2023 she spent a semester abroad at the University of Stockholm, Sweden. In 2023, she graduated her Master of Science degree in Chemistry with a focus on Materials and Nanochemistry at Leibniz University Hannover. Since July 2024 she has been a PhD student at Leibniz University Hannover, working on PROTOS’ WP2.

Jannik Marris completed his Bachelor of Science in Chemistry in 2019 and continued at Leibniz University Hannover, where he earned his Master of Science in Chemistry with a specialisation in Materials and Nanochemistry in 2024. His Master’s thesis explored the nucleation behaviour of aluminium(oxy(hydr)oxides. In August 2024, he began his PhD at Leibniz University Hannover, working on PROTOS’ WP2.

Maxence Le Picard is a PhD student at the Geo-Ocean laboratory in Brest (CNRS, France) since August 2024, specializing in the geochemistry of silica and silicon isotopes with a focus on the Archean environment. His research focuses on silicon isotopes and the geochemistry of silica, aiming to unravel the precipitation mechanisms, sources, and diagenetic processes that shaped silica-rich rocks in the Archean. He investigates how these processes influenced the preservation of organic matter. Maxence’s research includes studies of Archean rocks (cherts) and modern geothermal systems, to contribute to a deeper understanding of silica cycling on the early Earth, closely aligning with PROTOS’ interdisciplinary objectives.