Anna-Lisa Paul

ICBR Director

Anna-Lisa Paul is the Director of the Interdisciplinary Center for Biotechnology Research (ICBR) at the University of Florida and a Research Professor in the department of Horticultural Sciences in the program of Plant Molecular and Cellular Biology. Paul has served the space research community as the President of the American Society for Gravitational and Space Research, as a member of the ISS Standing Review Board, on NASA’s GeneLab Science Council, on an advisory board for the Commercial Spaceflight Federation (SARG), and on the Advisory Committee for Plants for Space (P4S) International Research. Paul serves on the National Academies Committee on Biological and Physical Sciences in Space (CBPSS) and is Co-Chair of a National Academies Panel for “A Science Strategy for the Human Exploration of Mars”. Paul’s research is focused on plant gene expression in Arabidopsis thaliana in response to environmental change, with emphasis on spaceflight and planetary analogs. Paul has launched 12 orbital experiments to study the molecular genetics (including epigenetics) of how plants respond to the spaceflight environment, taken her science to extreme terrestrial environments (the Arctic and Antarctica) as planetary analogs, and worked with true lunar regolith from the Apollo era (Apollo 11, 12 and 17) to evaluate plant molecular responses to that novel environment. She also uses suborbital launch vehicles to explore the effect of the transition to space on the molecular processes of plants. Paul is a recipient of the NASA Medal of Honor for Exceptional Scientific Achievement. She is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and a Fellow of the American Society for Gravitational and Space Research (ASGSR). Paul is active in public outreach associated with space research and has been invited to present in a wide variety of national and international venues; most recently, she gave the keynote public science lecture at the National Academy of Sciences for Space Science Week 2024. Paul earned a PhD in plant molecular genetics in 1989. Paul’s fundamental belief is that humans are explorers, and when we leave Earth’s orbit, plants will help us make the journey. 

Dr. Paul’s role on the Administrators council of the Astraeus Space Institute is to use her experience and network in the field of space biology research to help connect the University of Florida research community with Kennedy Space Center scientists and administration, as well as with wider national and international space science research groups. As Director of UF ICBR, Dr. Paul connects UF scientists with enabling biotechnology tools to further their research goals.