Joan Lyn Slonczewski (born August 14, 1956)[1] is an American microbiologist at Kenyon College and a science fiction writer who explores biology and space travel.

Their books have twice earned the John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel: A Door into Ocean (1987) and The Highest Frontier (2011).

Slonczewski's research focuses on the pH (environmental) stress response in Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis using genetic techniques.

[3] Their 1986 Campbell Award-winning novel A Door into Ocean shows their command of genetics and ecological science, as well as their commitment to pacifism and feminism.

Brain Plague tells of a future in which genetic engineering, combined with nanotechnology, can do everything from shaping our bodies to growing enormous buildings for us.

Some political factions are promoting space habitats as a solution, but the spacehabs can only accommodate a tiny percentage of the human population.