Natsumi Noda's page

Natsumi Noda

Postdoctoral Researcher of Matsuura Laboratory,Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI), Institute of Future Science, Institute of Science Tokyo (formerly Tokyo Institute of Technology)

東京科学大学未来社会創成研究院地球生命研究所松浦研究室博士研究員

Natsumi Noda is a postdoctoral researcher bridging planetary geochemistry and bottom-up biophysics to explore how living systems could emerge from environmental processes. During her PhD under Prof. Yasu Sekine, she experimentally investigated fluid–rock interactions to assess redox-driven habitability on early Mars. Her recent work, supervised by Prof. Tomo Matsuura, tests how slow freeze–thaw cycles drive the assembly of proto–biomolecules as potential pathways toward molecular systems capable of Darwinian evolution. Beyond research, she has been recognized for inspiring public outreach, dedicated student mentoring, and leadership in academic conference organizing.

Professional career

Educations / Degrees

Grants / Awards

Additional Experiences

Professional career

Research scientist / 博士研究員 (April 2025 – present)
Affilication: Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI), Tokyo Institute of Technology
Supervisor: Prof. Tomoaki Matsuura
JSPS (Japan Society for the Promotion of Science) Research Fellow PD / 日本学術振興会特別研究員 PD (April 2022 – March 2025)
Affilication: Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI), Tokyo Institute of Technology
Supervisor: Prof. Tomoaki Matsuura
JSPS (Japan Society for the Promotion of Science) Research Fellow DC1 / 日本学術振興会特別研究員 DC1 (April 2019 – March 2022)
Affilication: Department of Earth and Planetary Science, The University of Tokyo
Supervisor: Prof. Eiichi Tajika

Educations / Degrees

Doctor of Science | The University of Tokyo (March 2022)
Department of Earth and Planetary Science, Graduate School of Science (2019 – 2022)
Supervisor: Prof. Eiichi Tajika
- Doctoral dissertation (2022年3月博士(理学) 取得): "Hydrogen generation through interactions of ferrous saponite with H₂S-rich fluids on early Mars: Implications for planetary climate, environmental evolution, and habitability"
  (初期火星における二価鉄サポナイトと硫化水素含有流体との化学反応による水素生成：惑星気候、環境進化、ハビタビリティへの示唆)

Committee: Professor Shogo Tachibana (Chair), Professor Eiichi Tajika, Associate Professor Takaaki Itai, Associate Professor Yohey Suzuki, Professor Yasuhito Sekine of Tokyo Institute of Technology, and Professor Tomohiro Usui of Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency

Special research student | Tokyo Institute of Technology (June 2018 – March 2022)
Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI) (Supervisor: Prof. Yasuhito Sekine )
Master of Science | The University of Tokyo (March 2019)
Department of Earth and Planetary Science, Graduate School of Science (2017 – 2019)
Supervisor: Prof. Yasuhito Sekine and Prof. Eiichi Tajika

Master thesis: "Groundwater hydrology and water-rock reactions around Gale Crater on early Mars: Implications for paleoclimate, paleoenvironments, and habitability"

Bachelor of Science | The University of Tokyo (March 2017)
Department of Earth and Planetary Physics, School of Science (2015 – 2017)
Natural Science II, College of Arts and Sciences (Junior Division) (2013 – 2014)

Grants / Awards

GRANTS

JSPS 特別研究員奨励費「化学的非平衡環境が駆動するリボザイム進化の実験的検証」
Period：April 2022 – March 2025 Amount：5,200,000 JPY
JSPS 特別研究員奨励費「惑星や衛星の熱水環境がもたらすハビタビリティに関する研究」
Period：April 2019 – March 2022 Amount：3,100,000 JPY

SCHOLARSHIPS

JASSO(日本学生支援機構) 平成30年度大学院第一種奨学金における特に優れた業績による返還免除 (May 2019)

AWARDS

東京都私学財団　文化・スポーツ活動賞 (March 2013)
23rd International Biology Olympiad (IBO) Silver medal (July 2012) / 第23回国際生物学オリンピック銀メダル
Selected as Japanese delegate student from 2800 participants. / 国内大会参加者2800名から3段階の選抜試験を経て4名の日本代表メンバーに選出。(前年度には補欠メンバーとして日本代表団に参加。)

日本生物学オリンピック2011 金賞・東広島市長賞(総合成績第2位) ・レタープレス株式会社社長賞(本選成績第2位) (August 2011)

生物チャレンジ2010 銅賞 (August 2010)

Additional Experiences

Research Visits

1-week visit to Biofisika Institute (October 2023)
Made seminar talk, hosted by Prof. Kepa Ruiz-Mirazo.
2-month visit to LMU Munich (January 2023 – March 2023)
Visited AG Dieter Braun, Systems Biophysics, Physics Department, LMU Munich to proceed collaborative experiments related to RNA oligomerization via dry-wet nonequilibrium environments in interaction with multiple types of minerals. Traveling expenses were supported by the ELSI Research Exchange Program and JSPS Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research.
Trainee of National Institute for Material Science (NIMS) (July 2020 – March 2022)
2-week visit to Harvard University (March 2018)
Visited the department of earth and planetary sciences (host: Robin Wordsworth) to learn about planetary climate modeling and discuss hydrology on early Mars. Traveling expenses were supported by the International Network of Planetary Sciences (JSPS Core-to-Core program)

Short Courses

第63回生物物理若手の会夏の学校2023 (September 2023)
太陽系天体若手研究会（SSBW2022）(November 2022) (招待講演者として参加)
生命の起原および進化学会主催 2022年度夏の学校 (September 2022)
第62回生物物理若手の会夏の学校2022 (August 2022)
The 2nd International Winter School for Aquaplanetology (February 2020)
Joined the lectures focused on planetary surface processes (e.g., fluvial processes, volcanoes, and tectonics) on terrestrial planets and icy bodies in the Solar System.
GeoPlaNet Analogue Field School - Fluid-Rock Interactions in the Solar System (September 2019)
9-days traveling field excursion focused on observations and discussions of fluid-rock interactions (e.g. hydrothermal weathering, fluvial/glacial erosion and sedimentation, aeolian sedimentation). Selected to receive a travel grant.
The 1st International Winter School for Aquaplanetology (February 2019)
Joined the lectures focused on the formation and evolution of aqueous environments on early Mars.
2018 Eon-ELSI Winter School In Earth-Life Science (January 2018)
2-weeks program about "Origin of life and Earth" (including astronomy, geology, prebiotic chemistry, microbiology, genome science, etc.) composed of lectures, field trips, and research projects.
Special training for Japanese delegates to the International Biology Olympiad (IBO) (March 2011 – July 2011, March 2012 – July 2012)
6 training camps and additional individualized training at universities/colleges, composed of lectures and laboratory experiments on biology.

Publications

Reviewed, First Author

*: Corresponding author. All publications are listed here.

[6] Noda N.*, Sekine Y., Takahashi Y., Fukushi K., Sakuma H., Kawai T., Nakagawa M., Kitadai N., Johnson-Finn K., & McGlynn S.E. (2025), Hydrogen Generation From Ferrous Saponite in Reaction With H2S-Containing Fluid: Relevance to Early Martian Habitability. Journal of geophysical research. Planets, 130, e2024JE008538. DOI: 10.1029/2024JE008538

[5] Noda N., Nomura K., Takahashi N., Hashiya F., Abe H., & Matsuura T.* (2024), Slow freeze– thaw cycles enhanced hybridization of kilobase DNA with long complementary sticky ends. ChemSystemsChem e202400025. DOI: 10.1002/syst.202400025

[4] Noda N.*, Sekine Y., Tan S., Kikuchi S., Shibuya T., Kurisu M., Takahashi Y., Fukushi K., & Rampe E. B. (2022), Characterization of groundwater chemistry beneath Gale Crater on early Mars by hydrothermal experiments. Icarus 386, 115149. DOI: 10.1016/j.icarus.2022.115149

[3] Noda N.*, Yamashita S., Takahashi Y., Matsumoto M., Enokido Y., Amano K., Kawai T., Sakuma H., Fukushi K., Sekine Y. ,& Nakamura T. (2021), Anaerobic Microscopic Analysis of Ferrous Saponite and Its Sensitivity to Oxidation by Earth’s Air: Lessons Learned for Analysis of Returned Samples from Mars and Carbonaceous Asteroids, Minerals 11(11), 1244. DOI: 10.3390/min11111244

[2] Noda N.†, Imamura S.†, Sekine Y.*†, Kurisu M., Fukushi K., Terada N., Uesugi S., Numako C., Takahashi Y., & Hartmann J. (2019), Highly Oxidizing Aqueous Environments on Early Mars Inferred From Scavenging Pattern of Trace Metals on Manganese Oxides, Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets 124(5), 1282-1295. DOI: 10.1029/2018JE005892

(†: Equally contributed to this work )

[1] 野田夏実*, 今村翔子, 関根康人, 上杉宋一郎, 栗栖美菜子, 高橋嘉夫, 寺田直樹, 福士圭介 (2018),マンガン酸化物と室内実験から示唆される初期火星の酸化的表層環境, 日本惑星科学会誌遊星人 27(3), 138-146.

Presentations

International, Selected

All presentations are listed here.

[4] Noda N., Shinoda T., & Matsuura T., Exploring Freeze-Thaw Cycles as a Driver of Genetic Complexity: Can Icy Conditions Promote DNA Elongation? The second Biennial European Astrobiology Conference (BEACON2025) (Reykjavik, 2025.7, Oral)

[3] Noda N., Sekine Y., Takahashi Y., Sakuma H., Kawai T., Nakagawa M., Kitadai N., Johnson-Finn K. & McGlynn S., Hydrogen generation through interactions of ferrous saponite with H₂S-rich fluids on early Mars: Implications for planetary climate, environmental evolution, and habitability, AGU Fall Meeting 2021 (New Orleans, LA & online, 2021.12, Oral)

[2] Noda N., Sekine Y., Tan S., Shibuya S., Genda H. & Wordsworth R., Semiarid climate and upwelling hydrothermal groundwater as a driving force for silica-rich deposits in early Gale lakes on Mars, AGU Fall Meeting 2019 (San Francisco, USA, 2019.12, Oral)

[1] Noda N., Imamura S., Sekine Y., Uesugi S., Kurisu M., Murakami T.& Takahashi Y., High-O2 atmosphere on early Mars? Interpretation of Mn-oxide on Gale crater by laboratory experiments, Goldschmidt2017 (Paris, France, 2017.8, Oral)

Domestic, Selected

All presentations are listed here.

[3] Noda N., Takahashi N., Nomura K., Hashiya F., Abe H. & Matsuura T., Effective DNA hybridization via freeze-thaw cycles and implication for prebiotic formation of large information molecules, The 61th Annual Meeting of the Biophysical Society of Japan (名古屋, 2023.11, Oral in English)

シンポジウム「01 From molecules to systems, and eventually to life: high resolution Origins of Life research (分子の集合からシステムへ、そして生命へ：高解像な生命の起源研究)」にて発表

[2] 野田夏実, 関根康人, 高橋嘉夫, 佐久間博 , 福士圭介, 河合敬宏 , 中川麻悠子, 北台紀夫 , Kristin Johnson Finn, Shawn McGlynn (2022), 二価鉄サポナイトの還元力がもたらす新しい水素供給過程: 実験室で復元した初期火星環境から迫るハビタビリティ, ISAS宇宙生命探査シンポジウム, 招待講演

[1] Noda N., Sekine Y., Takahashi Y., Sakuma H., Fukushi K., Kawai T., Nakagawa M., Kitadai N., Johnson-Finn K. & McGlynn S. (2022), Hydrogen generation through interactions of ferrous saponite with H₂S-rich fluids on early Mars: Implications for planetary climate, environmental evolution, and habitability, 第23回惑星圏研究会(SPS2022), 招待講演

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