Read the original Behind the Breakthroughs profile on the Berkeley Lab Biosciences Area website.
From thermal vents at the bottom of the ocean to the highly polluted soils and groundwater surrounding the site where the first atomic bombs were tested, microbes have adapted to survive in virtually every environment on Earth.
“Biology is always happening, regardless of intense stress,” said Hira Lesea, a senior research associate in the Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology (EGSB) Division. “I draw a lot of strength from that.”
Lesea knows a thing or two about surviving, and thriving, under stress. She’s followed her enduring curiosity and creativity through turbulent circumstances, underground punk music scenes, tight-knit artist communities, and stints as a personal chef to her current role doing microbiology research in the lab of EGSB senior faculty scientist Adam Arkin.
