Richa Guleria is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Delaware. She develops sustainable biomanufacturing systems for deep space exploration. In this Postdoc Portrait interview, she shares unexpected results from her work and the research question she is most excited to tackle next.
Engineering Microbial Genomes for Space
Q | What drew you to biotechnology?
A single laboratory visit changed everything. In high school, I toured the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology; as I watched researchers studying living cells, science transformed from abstract textbook concepts to reality for me. That moment ignited a conviction: this was the work I wanted to dedicate my life to.
I pursued Biotechnology as an undergraduate, where genome editing and recombinant DNA technology captivated me completely. The audacity of rewriting life's blueprint, reaching into an organism's DNA and precisely editing it to achieve desired outcomes, felt both revolutionary and inevitable. This fascination led me to Jawaharlal Nehru University’s School of Biotechnology for PhD, where I worked on improving recombinant protein yields in bacteria. Here, I learned to truly edit microbial genomes, programming bacterial cells for protein production and viewing microorganisms not as research subjects but as programmable, adaptable biological platforms.
Today, we can engineer microbial species to thrive under extraordinary conditions: extreme temperatures, resource scarcity and even the low gravity of space, while simultaneously manufacturing valuable compounds at scale. The boundaries between biology and engineering have dissolved in the most exciting way. We are no longer just observing life; we are designing it. To me that represents the most compelling scientific frontier of our time.
Q | What scientific problem are you trying to solve?
Long-duration space missions demand in-situ biomanufacturing, the ability to produce mission-relevant biologics (nutraceuticals, pharmaceuticals) on-demand in space, rather than depending on resupplies from Earth. However, the microbial systems used for biological production are inherently self-limiting: cells perceive high-level production as a threat and mount stress responses that shut down the very metabolic machinery needed to sustain it. In microgravity environments, where altered fluid dynamics, radiation exposure, and metabolic shifts further stress biological systems, these limitations are likely compounded. My research directly addresses that problem by engineering the cell's metabolism to allocate resources between survival and biosynthesis, and to sustain productive metabolic flux in a low-gravity space environment. Solving this problem would enable reliable, long-duration biological production of critical compounds aboard spacecraft, supporting astronaut health and mission sustainability beyond low Earth orbit.
Beyond Earth: When Waste Becomes a Bio-Asset
Q | What’s one thing you learned from working on microbial growth that you didn’t expect?
Honestly, I was shocked by how well the alternative feedstocks like Martian and Lunar regolith simulants actually worked. Going into this, I expected regolith and waste streams to be barely adequate substitutes for conventional growth media. I always thought this is something we would have to tolerate for space missions, not something that would actually perform well. But when I tested engineered bacteria on Martian regolith simulant, pre-treated fecal waste, and plastic hydrolysate in simulated microgravity conditions, the cells didn't just survive, they thrived. In some cases, the production of desired chemicals was actually enhanced compared to standard lab media. It completely flipped my assumption that space biomanufacturing would mean compromising on performance. Instead, it suggested that the stress of unconventional feedstocks might actually trigger beneficial metabolic responses. That discovery fundamentally changed how I think about designing biological systems for resource-constrained environments.
The Multi-Generational Challenge of Space Bioproduction
Q | If your research succeeds, what could it change for science or society?
If this works, it fundamentally changes the economics and feasibility of deep space exploration. Right now, every Mars mission is essentially a very expensive trip. Mission-crew pack everything they need and hope nothing goes wrong. Reliable space biomanufacturing would flip that paradigm. Instead of shipping pharmaceuticals that degrade over two-year journeys, astronauts could produce them fresh, on demand, from the waste streams and local materials already present. But the implications extend far beyond space. The engineering principles I am developing and designing biological systems to thrive in resource-constrained environments are directly applicable to sustainability challenges here on Earth. I am essentially contributing to building the blueprint for truly circular bioeconomies where waste becomes the input for valuable products. My research is pushing the boundaries of synthetic biology by engineering organisms for environments that evolution never prepared them for.
Q | What question are you most excited to answer next?
I'm obsessed with the question of genetic stability over multi-generational timescales in space environments. We have shown that our engineered strains can produce target compounds in simulated microgravity, but what happens after six months or two years or a decade of continuous operation? In space, it would be difficult to restart a culture if genetic drift causes the production strain to lose function. The radiation exposure, metabolic stress, and selective pressures we can't fully predict on Earth could fundamentally alter how these engineered organisms evolve. Will our carefully designed genetic circuits remain stable, or will natural selection favor faster-growing variants that abandon production entirely? This is not just an academic question, it's mission critical. If we are relying on biological systems for life support infrastructure, we need iron-clad confidence in their long-term reliability.
Responses have been edited for length and clarity.
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