Paula Veronica Welander is a microbiologist and professor at Stanford University[1] who is known for her research using lipid biomarkers to investigate how life evolved on Earth.
[3] She went on to do postdoctoral studies at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the Departments of Biology and of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences.
[8][9] Her research has further expanded our understanding of the organisms that produce triterpenoid lipids in aquatic environments.
[11][12] Collectively, her research on lipids can be used to characterize how microbial life on Earth has changed over time.
[13] In 2018, Welander received the Geobiology and Geomicrobiology Division Award for Outstanding Research from the Geological Society of America.