{
  "name": "Bradley Lab",
  "institution": "Washington University in St. Louis",
  "department": "Earth, Environmental & Planetary Sciences",
  "url": "https://bradleylab.org",
  "description": "We study how life and Earth have changed together over four billion years, using molecular fossils, stable isotopes, remote sensing, computation, and AI-enabled discovery, grounded in field and laboratory work.",
  "pi": {
    "name": "Alex Bradley",
    "title": "Associate Professor",
    "email": "abradley@wustl.edu",
    "website": "https://eeps.washu.edu/people/alexander-s-bradley",
    "google_scholar": "https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=zInPZhUAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao",
    "orcid": "0000-0002-4044-2802",
    "bio": "Alex is a biogeochemist with a background in organic geochemistry and microbiology. He studies how life and Earth have changed together over four billion years, using molecular fossils, stable isotopes, remote sensing, and fieldwork. He also directs the [Fossett Laboratory](https://fossettlab.org)."
  },
  "members": [
    {
      "name": "Alex Stapley",
      "role": "staff",
      "title": "Research Lab Supervisor",
      "email": "stapley@wustl.edu",
      "bio": "Alex keeps the lab running. She has a Master's in physics from Brigham Young University, where she worked on space instrumentation and materials science, and she brings that experimental rigor to everything from thin-film SIMS standards to microbial growth experiments."
    },
    {
      "name": "Maggie Hinkston",
      "role": "phd",
      "title": "Graduate Student",
      "email": "hinkston.m@wustl.edu",
      "bio": "Maggie came to WashU through the Joint Post-Baccalaureate Program after studying Physics & Astronomy at the University of Tennessee. She's interested in how ideas from information theory can help us understand the origin and ambiguity of molecular biomarkers — essentially, how much can a single fossilized molecule really tell us about the organism that made it?"
    }
  ],
  "research": [
    {
      "title": "Understanding Records of Life",
      "slug": "records-of-life",
      "url": "/research/records-of-life",
      "description": "Life leaves chemical traces in rocks. We figure out how those traces are produced and what information they carry.",
      "tags": [
        "biogeochemistry",
        "molecular fossils",
        "stable isotopes",
        "geobiology"
      ]
    },
    {
      "title": "Investigating Metabolic Heterogeneity",
      "slug": "metabolic-heterogeneity",
      "url": "/research/metabolic-heterogeneity",
      "description": "Genetically identical bacteria don't all do the same thing. We use SIMS to measure metabolism one cell at a time and find out why.",
      "tags": [
        "microbiology",
        "SIMS",
        "single-cell",
        "isotope probing"
      ]
    },
    {
      "title": "Spatial Methods for Geochemical Proxies",
      "slug": "spatial-proxies",
      "url": "/research/spatial-proxies",
      "description": "Proxy calibrations can be fooled by geography. We build Bayesian spatial models that separate real environmental signals from spatial confounding.",
      "tags": [
        "spatial statistics",
        "paleoclimate",
        "isotope geochemistry",
        "Bayesian modeling"
      ]
    },
    {
      "title": "AI and the Molecular Fossil Record of Petroleum",
      "slug": "oil-ai",
      "url": "/research/oil-ai",
      "description": "Every oil sample is a molecular fossil record. We are training artificial intelligence on large petroleum geochemistry databases to find patterns that traditional biomarker ratios miss.",
      "tags": [
        "machine learning",
        "artificial intelligence",
        "organic geochemistry",
        "molecular fossils",
        "biomarkers"
      ]
    },
    {
      "title": "Remote Sensing and Ecosystem Structure",
      "slug": "remote-sensing-ecosystems",
      "url": "/research/remote-sensing-ecosystems",
      "description": "Most ecological measurements flatten 3D ecosystems into 2D maps. We use lidar and drones to capture the full spatial structure of forests, outcrops, and landscapes.",
      "tags": [
        "remote sensing",
        "lidar",
        "drones",
        "forest ecology",
        "photogrammetry"
      ]
    },
    {
      "title": "The Information Content of Molecular Fossils",
      "slug": "molecular-information",
      "url": "/research/molecular-information",
      "description": "Many different organisms can produce the same molecule. We use information theory and biosynthetic network analysis to quantify how much a molecular fossil can actually tell you about its source.",
      "tags": [
        "biomarkers",
        "information theory",
        "biosynthesis",
        "molecular fossils"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "courses": [
    {
      "title": "AI Inference in Geoscience",
      "number": "EEPS 5000",
      "semester": "Fall",
      "description": "A project-based seminar applying pretrained AI models to real geoscience datasets and judging when AI inference adds value to a workflow."
    },
    {
      "title": "Biogeochemistry",
      "number": "EEPS 3230",
      "semester": "Spring",
      "description": "How elements cycle among Earth's crust, oceans, and atmosphere, including perturbations due to human activities."
    },
    {
      "title": "Field Geology",
      "number": "EEPS 4960",
      "semester": "Spring",
      "description": "Hands-on application of geological field methods, culminating in an international spring break field trip."
    },
    {
      "title": "Geospatial Field Methods",
      "number": "EEPS 4684",
      "semester": "Fall",
      "description": "Methods for making and analyzing precise geospatial measurements in field settings."
    },
    {
      "title": "Organic Geochemistry",
      "number": "EEPS 4454",
      "semester": "Fall",
      "description": "Composition and analysis of organic material in the environment and geological record."
    }
  ],
  "recruitment": {
    "last_updated": "2026-10-07",
    "opportunities": [
      {
        "audience": "phd",
        "status": "open",
        "summary": "Recruiting graduate students for Fall 2027",
        "detail": "PhD students join through the EEPS graduate program. The best applications start with a conversation — email us before you apply and tell us which questions pull at you and why. We welcome people coming from geology, chemistry, biology, or computing; curiosity and persistence matter more than any one background.",
        "link": "https://eeps.washu.edu/graduate-program",
        "position": {
          "title": "Fully funded PhD: AI, organic geochemistry, and the molecular record of Earth history",
          "url": "https://www.bradleylab.org/phd-ai-organic-geochemistry",
          "degree": "PhD in Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences",
          "start": "Fall 2027",
          "funding": "Fully funded",
          "application_deadline": "2026-12-01"
        }
      },
      {
        "audience": "postdoc",
        "status": "inquire",
        "summary": "Fellowship partnerships welcome",
        "detail": "Funded postdoc lines come and go, but the door is open to good ideas. If your work touches what we do — molecular fossils, stable isotopes, microbial metabolism, remote sensing, or geochemical data science — write to us with a sketch of what you'd want to pursue. We're happy to build a fellowship application with you (NSF, NASA, NOAA, and the like); start the conversation months ahead, not at the deadline."
      },
      {
        "audience": "undergrad",
        "status": "open",
        "summary": "Research spots most semesters",
        "detail": "If you're a WashU undergraduate curious about how life and Earth shape each other, there's likely a project here for you — in the lab, with field and satellite data, or in code. You can join for credit or through a summer program, and you don't need prior research experience, just curiosity and follow-through. Tell us what's caught your interest."
      }
    ]
  },
  "publications": [
    {
      "title": "Biogeochemistry of sulfur",
      "authors": [
        "Bradley, A. S."
      ],
      "year": 2026,
      "journal": "The role of sulfur in planetary processes: From cores to atmospheres",
      "url": "https://link.springer.com/book/9783032077042"
    },
    {
      "title": "Refining classification of complex agroforestry mosaic landscape from drone-based imagery: Implications for landscape management and conservation",
      "authors": [
        "Paige, L.",
        "Hedger, K.",
        "Adinda, E.",
        "Sulistyawati, E.",
        "Bradley, A.",
        "Winston, B.",
        "DeMatteo, K.",
        "Nekaris, K. A. I.",
        "Wroblewski, E."
      ],
      "year": 2026,
      "journal": "Journal of Applied Ecology",
      "doi": "10.1111/1365-2664.70290",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.70290"
    },
    {
      "title": "The fast destruction of methane by heterogeneous electrochemistry induced by martian dust activity: An experimental approach",
      "authors": [
        "Wang, A.",
        "Yan, C. Y. C.",
        "Qu, Q. H. K.",
        "Bradley, A. S.",
        "Ravula, T.",
        "Smith, M. D.",
        "Olsen, K."
      ],
      "year": 2026,
      "journal": "Earth and Planetary Science Letters",
      "doi": "10.1016/j.epsl.2026.120263",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2026.120263"
    },
    {
      "title": "Geospatial insights into the controls of microbialite formation at Laguna Negra, Argentina",
      "authors": [
        "Beeler, S. R.",
        "Gomez, F. J.",
        "Bradley, A. S."
      ],
      "year": 2023,
      "journal": "Geobiology",
      "doi": "10.1111/gbi.12529",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1111/gbi.12529"
    },
    {
      "title": "Statistical uncertainty in paleoclimate proxy reconstructions",
      "authors": [
        "McClelland, H. L. O.",
        "Halevy, I.",
        "Wolf-Gladrow, D. A.",
        "Evans, D.",
        "Bradley, A. S."
      ],
      "year": 2021,
      "journal": "Geophysical Research Letters",
      "doi": "10.1029/2021GL092773",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1029/2021GL092773"
    },
    {
      "title": "Effects of early marine diagenesis and site-specific depositional controls on carbonate-associated sulfate: Insights from paired S and O isotopic analyses",
      "authors": [
        "Richardson, J. A.",
        "Lepland, A.",
        "Hints, O.",
        "Prave, A. R.",
        "Gilhooly, W. P.",
        "Bradley, A. S.",
        "Fike, D. A."
      ],
      "year": 2021,
      "journal": "Chemical Geology",
      "doi": "10.1016/j.chemgeo.2021.120525",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemgeo.2021.120525"
    },
    {
      "title": "Isotopic fractionation associated with sulfate import and activation by Desulfovibrio vulgaris str. Hildenborough",
      "authors": [
        "Smith, D. A.",
        "Fike, D. A.",
        "Johnston, D. T.",
        "Bradley, A. S."
      ],
      "year": 2020,
      "journal": "Frontiers in Microbiology",
      "doi": "10.3389/fmicb.2020.529317",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2020.529317"
    },
    {
      "title": "Sulfur isotope analysis of microcrystalline iron sulfides using SIMS imaging: Extracting local paleo–environmental information from modern and ancient sediments",
      "authors": [
        "Bryant, R. N.",
        "Jones, C.",
        "Raven, M. R.",
        "Gomes, M. L.",
        "Berelson, W. M.",
        "Sessions, A. L.",
        "Bradley, A. S.",
        "Fike, D. A."
      ],
      "year": 2019,
      "journal": "Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry",
      "doi": "10.1002/rcm.8375",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1002/rcm.8375"
    },
    {
      "title": "Proteomic and isotopic response of Desulfovibrio vulgaris to DsrC perturbation",
      "authors": [
        "Leavitt, W. D.",
        "Venceslau, S. S.",
        "Waldbauer, J.",
        "Smith, D.",
        "Pereira, I. A. C.",
        "Bradley, A. S."
      ],
      "year": 2019,
      "journal": "Frontiers in Microbiology",
      "doi": "10.3389/fmicb.2019.00658",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2019.00658"
    },
    {
      "title": "Paired organic matter and pyrite δ³⁴S profiles reveal mechanisms of carbon, sulfur, and iron cycle disruption during Ocean Anoxic Event 2 ( 94 Ma)",
      "authors": [
        "Raven, M. R.",
        "Fike, D. A.",
        "Bradley, A. S.",
        "Gomes, M. L.",
        "Owens, J. D.",
        "Webb, S. M."
      ],
      "year": 2019,
      "journal": "Earth and Planetary Science Letters",
      "doi": "10.1016/j.epsl.2019.01.048",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2019.01.048"
    },
    {
      "title": "Geomicrobiology of sulfur",
      "authors": [
        "Fike, D. A.",
        "Bradley, A. S.",
        "Leavitt, W. D."
      ],
      "year": 2015,
      "journal": "Ehrlich's geomicrobiology",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1201/b19121"
    },
    {
      "title": "Determination and application of the equilibrium oxygen isotope effect between water and sulfite",
      "authors": [
        "Wankel, S. D.",
        "Bradley, A. S.",
        "Eldridge, D. L.",
        "Johnston, D. T."
      ],
      "year": 2014,
      "journal": "Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta",
      "doi": "10.1016/j.gca.2013.08.039",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gca.2013.08.039"
    },
    {
      "title": "Influence of subsurface biosphere on geochemical fluxes from diffuse hydrothermal fluids",
      "authors": [
        "Wankel, S. D.",
        "Germanovich, L. N.",
        "Lilley, M. D.",
        "Genc, G.",
        "DiPerna, C. J.",
        "Bradley, A. S.",
        "Olson, E. J.",
        "Girguis, P. R."
      ],
      "year": 2011,
      "journal": "Nature Geoscience",
      "doi": "10.1038/ngeo1183",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo1183"
    },
    {
      "title": "Multiple origins of methane at the Lost City Hydrothermal Field",
      "authors": [
        "Bradley, A. S.",
        "Summons, R. E."
      ],
      "year": 2010,
      "journal": "Earth and Planetary Science Letters",
      "doi": "10.1016/j.epsl.2010.05.034",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2010.05.034"
    },
    {
      "title": "Adenosylhopane: The first intermediate in hopanoid side chain biosynthesis",
      "authors": [
        "Bradley, A. S.",
        "Pearson, A.",
        "Sáenz, J. P.",
        "Marx, C. J."
      ],
      "year": 2010,
      "journal": "Organic Geochemistry",
      "doi": "10.1016/j.orggeochem.2010.07.003",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.orggeochem.2010.07.003"
    },
    {
      "title": "Expanding the limits of life",
      "authors": [
        "Bradley, A. S."
      ],
      "year": 2009,
      "journal": "Scientific American",
      "doi": "10.1038/scientificamerican1209-62",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1038/scientificamerican1209-62"
    },
    {
      "title": "Extraordinary ¹³C enrichment of diether lipids at the Lost City Hydrothermal Field indicates a carbon-limited ecosystem",
      "authors": [
        "Bradley, A. S.",
        "Hayes, J. M.",
        "Summons, R. E."
      ],
      "year": 2009,
      "journal": "Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta",
      "doi": "10.1016/j.gca.2008.10.005",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gca.2008.10.005"
    },
    {
      "title": "A serpentinite-hosted ecosystem: the Lost City Hydrothermal Field",
      "authors": [
        "Kelley, D. S.",
        "Karson, J. A.",
        "Fru, G. L.",
        "Yoerger, D. R.",
        "Shank, T. M.",
        "Butterfield, D. A.",
        "Hayes, J. M.",
        "Schrenk, M. O.",
        "Olson, E. J.",
        "Proskurowski, G.",
        "Jakuba, M.",
        "Bradley, A.",
        "Larson, B.",
        "Ludwig, K.",
        "Glickson, D.",
        "Buckman, K.",
        "Bradley, A. S.",
        "Brazelton, W. J.",
        "Roe, K.",
        "Bernasconi, S. M.",
        "Elend, M. J.",
        "Lilley, M. D.",
        "Baross, J. A.",
        "Summons, R. E.",
        "Sylva, S. P."
      ],
      "year": 2005,
      "journal": "Science",
      "doi": "10.1126/science.1102556",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1102556"
    },
    {
      "title": "The fast destruction of methane by heterogeneous electrochemistry induced by martian dust activity: An experimental approach",
      "authors": [
        "Wang, A.",
        "Yan, C. Y. C.",
        "Qu, Q. H. K.",
        "Bradley, A. S.",
        "Ravula, T.",
        "D․ Smith, M.",
        "Olsen, K."
      ],
      "year": null,
      "journal": "Earth and Planetary Science Letters",
      "doi": "10.1016/j.epsl.2026.120263",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2026.120263"
    }
  ],
  "links": {
    "github": "https://github.com/bradleylab/",
    "fossett_lab": "https://fossettlab.org",
    "eln": "https://eln.bradleylab.org",
    "google_scholar": "https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=zInPZhUAAAAJ&hl=en"
  }
}