Allyson Brady
Assistant Professor
| Degrees: | B.Sc. (Guelph), M.A. (Western), Ph.D. (McMaster) |
| Phone: | 613-520-2600 x 3002 |
| Email: | allysonbrady@cunet.carleton.ca |
| Office: | NB 246 |
Research
Microorganisms are the backbone of ecosystems, driving biogeochemical cycling, and represent a wealth of unexplored biodiversity. My research falls within the interdisciplinary field of geobiology, understanding the interaction of biology and the Earth, with an emphasis on microbial environments with relevance to biotechnology and astrobiology. Microbes are widely recognized as having the ability to remediate pollutants and have the potential to play a key role in addressing pressing environmental needs. Microbes also represent the earliest forms of life on Earth and may have once existed on other habitable planets. Identification of biosignatures, or unambiguous signs of life, is key to the study of early Earth and for future planetary missions.
I use organic biomarkers (e.g. lipids) and natural abundance isotope analysis as tools to investigate microbial interactions, metabolism, and biodiversity in naturally occurring and human impacted extreme environments. Research outcomes enhance our understanding of fundamental ecosystem function, critical to developing innovative biotechnology applications, and inform astrobiology site selection through the characterization of associated biosignatures.
Selected Publications
Brady AL, Andersen DT, Slater GF Biosignatures of in situ carbon cycling driven by physical isolation and sedimentary methanogenesis within the anoxic basin of perennially ice-covered Lake Untersee, Antarctica. Submitted Biogeochemistry.
Slater GF, Goad CA, Lindsay MBJ, Mumford KG, Colenbrander Nelson TE, Brady AL, Jessen GL, Warren LA (2021) Isotopic and chemical assessment of the dynamics of methane sources and microbial cycling during early development of an oil sands pit lake. Microorganisms 9, 2509 doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms9122509
Brady AL, Gibbons E, Sehlke A, Renner CJ, Kobs Nawotniak SE, Lim DSS, Slater GF (2020) Microbial community distribution in variously altered basalts: insights into astrobiology sample site selection. Planetary and Space Science doi.org/10.1016/j.pss.2020.105107
Brady AL, Kobs Nawotniak SE, Hughes SS, Payler S, Stevens A, Cockell C, Elphic R, Sehlke A, Haberle C, Slater GF, and Lim DSS (2019) Strategic planning insights for future science-driven Extravehicular Activity on Mars. Astrobiology 19, 347-368.
Belan M, Brady AL, Kim ST, Lim DSS, Slater GF (2019) Spatial distribution and preservation of carbon isotope biosignatures in freshwater microbialite carbonate. ACS Earth and Space Chemistry 3, 335-343. DOI: 10.1021/acsearthspacechem.8b00182
Brady AL, Goordial J, Sun HJ, Whyte L, Slater GF (2018) Variability in carbon uptake and (re)cycling in Antarctic cryptoendolithic microbial ecosystems demonstrated through radiocarbon analysis of organic biomarkers. Geobiology 16, 62-79.
Sharp CE, Urschel S, Dong X, Brady AL, Slater G, Strous M (2017) Robust, high-productivity phototrophic carbon capture at high pH and alkalinity using natural microbial communities. Biotechnology for Biofuels 10, 84 DOI: 10.1186/s13068-017-0769-1
Eloe-Fadrosh EA, Paez-Espino D, Jarett J, Dunfield PF, Hedlund BP, Grasby SE, Brady AL, Dong H, Briggs BR, Li W-J, Goudeau D, Malmstrom R, Pati A, Rubin EM, Woyke T, Kyrpides NC, Ivanova NN (2016) Global metagenomic survey uncovers unexpected taxonomic novelty in geothermal springs. Nature 7, 10476
Brady AL, Sharp CE, Grasby SE, Dunfield PF (2015) Anaerobic carboxydotrophic bacteria in geothermal springs identified using stable isotope probing. Frontiers in Microbiology 6, 897. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2015.00897
Brady AL, Laval B, Lim DSS, Slater GF (2014) Autotrophic and heterotrophic associated biosignatures in modern freshwater microbialites over seasonal and spatial gradients. Organic Geochemistry 67, 8-18.