Alumna Looks to the Stars for the Origins of Life

Written By: Tina Alvey Dale

When Shelby Osborne, ‘16, began college at the University of Arkansas – Fort Smith, she had many interests but no clear idea what she wanted to do with them. 

She changed her major five times. And then she found biology. 

“I genuinely had no idea what my final major decision would be,” Osborne said. “When I entered the biology department at UAFS, I realized the instructors would take time to make sure I understood the very complicated subject matter. This is what allowed me to truly become enamored with biology.” 

That decision set Osborne on a journey that has taken her from UAFS to industry, NASA Headquarters, and, most recently, the completion of a Ph.D. focused on one of science’s biggest questions: How did life begin? 

However, her path to a Ph.D. was not immediate. 

After earning her bachelor’s degree, Osborne spent time in industry, where she worked across engineering, policy, thermodynamics, and materials science. The experience made her realize she wanted a deeper understanding of the science behind the problems she was working to address. 

“When I realized there was still much I needed to learn, that inspired me to pursue higher education,” she said. 

Her master’s research introduced her to climate change and the interconnectedness of life and the environment. During her doctoral studies, that interest evolved into a fascination with habitability, or the conditions that allow life to emerge and persist. 

That led her to astrobiology. 

For the non-scientist, Osborne describes her research simply as an investigation into the origins of life. Her work examines how proteins behave in brine solutions containing different salts. 

Scientists have theorized that life may have emerged in salty-water environments, and previous research has shown that salts can help stabilize biomolecules. Osborne’s research builds on that work by examining which types of saltwater environments may be more likely to support the stabilization of the molecules necessary for life. 

“Studying habitability is important because it allows us to understand where we came from and where we are going,” Osborne said. 

As exploration continues farther into the solar system, understanding habitability could help scientists determine which environments warrant further investigation and how to explore them without inadvertently contaminating environments that could potentially harbor or develop life. 

For Osborne, the most exciting part is the scale of the questions. 

“I am literally peering into the dawn of time, billions of years ago, at the conditions that we know were most likely to lead to emergence of life,” she said. 

Her research also connects to her professional goal of working in planetary protection, an area concerned with preventing biological contamination of spacecraft and other environments during space exploration. 

That interest was reinforced during an internship at NASA Headquarters, where Osborne learned about policies surrounding forward and backward contamination and the importance of maintaining the sterility of the space environment. 

Her scientific journey may be beyond the stars, but it began much closer to home. 

At UAFS, Osborne found faculty members who encouraged her curiosity and gave her opportunities to participate in research. She ultimately chose to work with UAFS biology professor Dr. Ragupathy Kannan on a field project studying cliff swallow nesting success under bridges and overpasses in Fort Smith. 

The research was later published in a peer-reviewed journal, giving Osborne an early introduction to conducting and publishing scientific research, Kannan said. 

“This experience during her undergraduate program at UAFS set her on the path to becoming the top scientist that she has become today,” Kannan said. “The fact that she has mastered fields as diverse as bird conservation and astrobiology and biochemistry is a testament to the well-rounded scientist that she has become. 

“Shelby is one of our finest,” he added. 

Osborne credits Kannan and several other UAFS faculty members, including Drs. Amy Skypala, Sandhya Baviskar, and Jim Belcher, with helping shape the scientist she became. 

“They supported my interests every step of my bachelor's degree,” Osborne said. 

Their influence went beyond helping her master difficult coursework. Osborne said their willingness to work with her learning style made a lasting difference. 

Her undergraduate journey was not easy. While working multiple jobs, it took her six years to complete her bachelor’s degree. She said concepts that might take another student an hour to learn sometimes took her three hours. 

That experience has made her especially appreciative of the people who helped her along the way. 

So, when it came time to defend her dissertation, Osborne invited her former UAFS professors. 

Having them there was a full-circle moment, she said. 

“I wanted all my UAFS mentors to know that their time and effort was not wasted on me,” she said. “It was very important to me that they all knew I had made it to the Ph.D. level.” 

Osborne said staying connected to those mentors also reminds her not to take her accomplishments for granted. 

Her road to a Ph.D. required sacrifices, including missing birthdays, holidays, family trips, and other important events. But those sacrifices also reinforced the grit and determination she says has carried her forward. 

“If someone had told me as a UAFS student that one day I'd be defending a Ph.D., interning at NASA Headquarters and pursuing a career in astrobiology, I would have said, ‘Be ready to work for it!’” Osborne said.  

She now is applying for postdoctoral positions at NASA and considering other opportunities as she looks toward the next stage of her career. 

Whatever comes next, Osborne said she intends to remain open to the possibilities. 

After all, the path that began with five major changes eventually led her to the origins of life and potentially to the stars.