Alberto Vazquez-Salazar – Searching for the Origins of Life, One RNA Molecule at a Time
Alberto Vazquez-Salazar, PhD, is a NASA postdoctoral fellow working at UCLA in the lab of Professor Irene Chen. He studies how life may have started on Earth by focusing on a molecule called RNA, or ribonucleic acid, which is a critical molecule that exists in all living things. His work is a part of astrobiology that explores how life began on Earth and how we might find signs of life elsewhere in the universe. In this episode of Further Together, Vazquez-Salazar talks to host Michael Holtz about how science has always seemed to be part of his life. Growing up in Mexico City, his mom, a botanist, kept books and plant specimens everywhere. “Science was just part of everyday life,” he says. “It was as normal as finding cereal in the pantry.” Listen to learn more about Vazquez-Salazar’s journey to NASA.
Center: Astrobiology
For Alberto Vazquez-Salazar, PhD, science has always felt natural. Growing up in Mexico City, his mom, a botanist, kept books and plant specimens everywhere. “Science was just part of everyday life,” he says. “It was as normal as finding cereal in the pantry.”
Today, Vazquez-Salazar is a NASA postdoctoral fellow working at UCLA in the lab of Professor Irene Chen. He studies how life may have started on Earth by focusing on a molecule called RNA, or ribonucleic acid, which is a critical molecule that exists in all living things. His work is a part of astrobiology that explores how life began on Earth and how we might find signs of life elsewhere in the universe.
In the lab, Vazquez-Salazar and his team use RNA and small bubbles called vesicles to try and recreate early life-like systems. “We’re trying to understand how simple molecules could have supported life in the very beginning,” he says.
One popular idea is the RNA world hypothesis, which is the belief that RNA came before proteins and DNA, or deoxyribonucleic acid, which contains genetic information for development of an organism. The hypothesis proposes that RNA could have done both of their jobs of carrying genetic information and helping chemical reactions happen. “RNA is amazing,” Vazquez-Salazar says. “It can store information like DNA and act like an enzyme, like protein. It simplifies the big question: how did life start?”
His passion for RNA began in college at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). In a biology class, he read about the origin of life and was shocked to learn that RNA could act as a catalyst. “It blew my mind,” he says. “I didn’t know scientists were studying this. I thought only philosophers asked those kinds of questions.”
From that point on, he was hooked. He joined the lab of Professor Antonio Lazcano, a well-known expert in the field, and completed both his undergraduate and doctoral research there. Lazcano became a mentor and a major influence on Vazquez-Salazar’s career. “He helped me turn my interest into something real,” Vazquez-Salazar says.
Later, at a conference in San Diego, Lazcano introduces him to Irene Chen. They stayed in touch, and after completing his doctoral degree, Vazquez-Salazar joined her lab as a postdoctoral fellow.
NASA’s interest in the origin of life comes from its mission to find life elsewhere in the universe. “To find life out there, we first need to understand what life looks like here – especially in its simplest forms,” Vazquez-Salazar explains. His work helps build a picture of what early life might have looked like, which could help scientists recognize life on other planets.
Getting to this point wasn’t smooth sailing, as Vazquez-Salazar is honest about the many rejections he faced. “People don’t talk about the times they didn’t get the job, the grant, the fellowship. But those moments are part of the process. I’m proud of my failures, they helped me grow,” he says.
His advice for students and young scientists is, “Dare to try. And if you fail, try again. Rejection isn’t the end, it’s part of the journey.”
Outside of science, Vazquez-Salazar finds joy in the simple things like playing soccer, going to the movies, being with his family, and enjoying good food. “I need balance”, he says. “The lab brings me joy, but so does life outside of it.”
Through curiosity, resilience, and a deep passion for RNA, Alberto Vazquez-Salazar is helping us understand not just how life on Earth began, but how we might recognize it elsewhere in the universe.
The NASA Postdoctoral Program (NPP) through Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU) offers unique research opportunities to highly-talented U.S. and non-U.S. scientists to engage in ongoing NASA research projects at a NASA Center, NASA Headquarters, or at a NASA-affiliated research institute. These fellowships, awarded annually up to three years, are competitive and are designed to advance NASA’s missions in space science, Earth science, aeronautics, space operations, exploration systems, and astrobiology.