Europlanet Distributed Research and Technology Infrastructure (RTI) Facility – Open University (OU) Microbiology Labs
Average Transnational Access (TA) visit: 5 days
Preferred timeframe for TA visits: April/May and December 2026
The AstrobiologyOU facilities include fully equipped microbiology laboratories. There has recently been a significant investment in developing capabilities in anaerobic culturing and culture-independent analysis of low biomass samples.
Contact
You must get in touch with the host facility (email the Facility Lead with the Administrative Contact in cc) to discuss the technical feasibility of your proposal before submitting an application. If you do not contact the host, your proposal will not be approved.
Lead Facility Contact: Karen Olsson-Francis, School of Physical Sciences, Robert Hooke Building, Open University, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes, MK7 6AA. Karen.Olsson-Francis@open.ac.uk
Administrative Contact: Louise Thomas. Louise.Thomas@open.ac.uk
Images
Publications
- Macey, M. C., Fox-Powell, M., Ramkissoon, N. K., Stephens, B. P., Barton, T., Schwenzer, S. P., Pearson, V. K., Cousins, C. R. and Olsson-Francis, K. (2020). “The identification of sulfide oxidation as a potential metabolism driving primary production on late Noachian Mars.” Scientific reports, 10, article no. 10941.
- Ilieva, V., Gomez, F., Read, D., Olsson-Francis, K. and Macey, M. C. (2025). “Draft genome sequence of Solidesulfovibrio sp. strain C21 isolated from Laguna Grande (Lagunas de Villafranca), Spain.” Microbiol Resour Announc 14:e00165-25.
- https://doi.org/10.1128/mra.00165-25
- Macey, M., Ilieva, V. and Loy, D. (7 January 2025). “Mars analogues and where to find them.” The Microbiologist. Feature article. https://www.the-microbiologist.com/features/mars-analogues-and-where-to-find-them/4836.article
- Leite, M., Dobrijevic, D., Macey, M. C., Maheshwarappa, M., Ward, J. and Dartnell, L. (2025). “Analysis of microbial diversity and evidence of contamination at a Mars analogue habitat.” Environmental Microbiology Reports, 17(4), article no. e70146 https://doi.org/10.1111/1758-2229.70146
