Seán Jordan

(He/Him)

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Seán Jordan is Associate Professor in Chemistry in the School of Chemical Sciences at Dublin City University (DCU), Ireland. He obtained his BSc (Hons) in Environmental Science from DCU in 2009. Following this he gained practical experience as a research assistant in the National Centre for Sensor Research. In 2012, after a short time in Australia, he returned to DCU to complete his PhD in Biogeochemistry which was awarded in 2016. That same year he accepted a position as Postdoctoral Research Associate at University College London, investigating the first cell membranes at the origin of life. In 2021 he secured a ‘la Caixa’ Foundation Postdoctoral Junior Leader Fellowship (Marie Skłodowska-Curie COFUND) to pursue his work on protocells, organic biomorphs, and biosignature detection at Instituto Superior Técnico in Lisbon, Portugal. He is currently a member of the Life Science Institute in DCU, the Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) Research Centre in Applied Geosciences (iCRAG), and the Origin of Life Early-career Network (OoLEN). In 2024 he was awarded an SFI Pathway Award and a European Research Council Starting Grant to establish his ProtoSigns Lab in DCU. He is fascinated by the transition from geochemistry to biochemistry eventually leading to the origin and evolution of life, and how we can trace these events through a combination of experimentation and advanced analytical techniques. The ProtoSigns Lab, is focused on pushing the boundaries of membrane formation at the origin of life, investigating how the resulting structures may be preserved in the rock record, and the potential effects this may have on our interpretation of biosignatures from the early Earth and elsewhere in our Solar System.

Experience

  • 2023–present
    Associate Professor in Biogeochemistry and Astrobiology, ProtoSigns Lab, Dublin City University
  • 2022–2023
    Assistant lecturer, ATU
  • 2021–2022
    Postdoctoral research associate, IST
  • 2016–2021
    Postdoctoral research associate, UCL
  • 2016–2016
    Research Scientist, NCSR

Education

  • 2016 
    Dublin City University, PhD in Biogeochemistry
  • 2012 
    Dublin City University, BSc in Environmental Science

Publications

  • 2024
    Prebiotic membrane structures mimic the morphology of alleged early traces of life on Earth, Communications Earth and Environment
  • 2022
    Spontaneous assembly of redox-active iron-sulfur clusters at low concentrations of cysteine, Nature Communications
  • 2021
    Nutrient Analysis in Arctic Waters Using a Portable Sensing Platform, Frontiers in Sensors
  • 2021
    Production of methane and gaseous compounds by surface microbial activity in a small pockmark field, Dunmanus Bay, Ireland, Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science
  • 2019
    Isoprenoids enhance the stability of fatty acid membranes at the emergence of life potentially leading to an early lipid divide, Interface Focus
  • 2019
    Geophysical and geochemical analysis of shallow gas and an associated pockmark field in Bantry Bay, Co. Cork, Ireland, Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science
  • 2019
    Possible mechanisms of CO2 reduction by H2 via prebiotic vectorial electrochemistry, Interface Focus
  • 2019
    Promotion of protocell self-assembly from mixed amphiphiles at the origin of life, Nature Ecology and Evolution
  • 2017
    Iron catalysis at the origin of life, IUBMB Life
  • 2017
    Large perturbations in CO2 flux and subsequent chemosynthesis are induced in agricultural soil by the addition of elemental sulfur, Scientific Reports
  • 2017
    Evidence for cosmic airburst in the Western Alps archived in Late Glacial paleosols, Quaternary International
  • 2017
    Mid-Holocene climate change and landscape formation in Ireland: Evidence from a geochemical investigation of a coastal peat bog, Organic Geochemistry
  • 2016
    Biostratigraphic evidence relating to the age old question of Hannibal's invasion of Italy II: Chemical biomarkers and microbial signatures, Archaeometry
  • 2016
    The occurrence of PAHs and faecal sterols in Dublin Bay and their influence on sedimentary microbial communities, Marine Pollution Bulletin
  • 2016
    Biostratigraphic evidence relating to the age old question of Hannibal's invasion of Italy I: History and geological reconstruction, Archaeometry
  • 2016
    A Microbial Link to Weathering of Postglacial Rocks and Sediments, Mount Viso Area, Western Alps, Demonstrated through Analysis of a Soil/Paleosol Bio/Chronosequence, The Journal of Geology
  • 2015
    Abundance and diversity of sedimentary bacterial communities in a coastal productive setting in the Western Irish Sea, Continental Shelf Research
  • 2014
    Polybius' 'Previous Landslide': Proof that Hannibal's invasion route crossed the Col de la Traversette, Mediterranean Archaeology and Archaeometry
  • 2014
    Shallow water methane-derived authigenic carbonate mounds at the Codling Fault Zone, western Irish Sea, Marine Geology
  • 2014
    Biomarkers reveal the effects of hydrography on marine and terrestrial organic matter sources and fate in the western Irish Sea, Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science
  • 2011
    A Bacterial Enrichment Study and Overview of the Extractable Lipids from Paleosols in the Dry Valleys, Antarctica: Implications for Future Mars Reconnaissance, Astrobiology

Grants and Contracts

  • 2024
    ERC Starting Grant
    Role:
    PI
    Funding Source:
    European Research Council
  • 2023
    Pathway Award
    Role:
    PI
    Funding Source:
    Science Foundation Ireland
  • 2021
    Postdoctoral Junior Leader Fellowship
    Role:
    PI
    Funding Source:
    'la Caixa' Foundation
  • 2020
    Humboldt Research Fellowship
    Role:
    PI
    Funding Source:
    Alexander von Humboldt-Stiftung

Professional Memberships

  • Origin of Life Early-career Network
  • Research Ireland Centre in Applied Geosciences (iCRAG)

Contact Seán for

  • General
  • Media request
  • Speaking request
  • Consulting / Advising
  • Research collaboration
  • Research supervision