#  People 

 



  [### Dimitar Sasselov

 ](/people/dimitar-sasselov) <dsasselov@cfa.harvard.edu> Phillips Professor of Astronomy

 Director, Harvard Origins of Life Initiative

 

 

 Dimitar Sasselov is the Phillips Professor of Astronomy at Harvard University. He explores stars and planets, and how life emerged on Earth, by specializing in the modes of interaction between light and matter, and the uses of remote sensing. Sasselov and... 

 

 

      ![Sasselov Headshot](/sites/g/files/omnuum1451/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/sasselovlab/files/sasselov.jpg?itok=2mszinq4) 

 

 

 

   [### Sarah Crucilla

 ](/people/sarah-crucilla) <scrucilla@fas.harvard.edu>Graduate Student

 

 

 Sarah received her BS in Geology from the California Institute of Technology. Her research now focuses on the interfaces between water, minerals, and biomolecules relating to the origin of life. In the Sasselov lab, she is studying the photophysics of RNA... 

 

 

      ![Sarah headshot](/sites/g/files/omnuum1451/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/sasselovlab/files/sarah_crucilla_0.jpg?itok=RwkdBZ6r) 

 

 

 

   [### S. Furkan Ozturk

 ](/people/furkan-ozturk) <sukrufurkanozturk@g.harvard.edu>Kavli-Laukien Fellow

Lab Safety Officer (LSO)

 

 

 Furkan completed his undergraduate degree in physics at Bilkent University in Ankara, Turkiye. During his time there, he focused on studying the theory of ultracold dipolar Bose-Einstein condensates using the Hartree-Fock Bogoliubov method. Later, in 2018... 

 

 

      ![SFurkanOzturk](/sites/g/files/omnuum1451/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/sasselovlab/files/profile_harvard.jpg?itok=kOXB5Etv) 

 

 

 

   [### Jonah Peter

 ](/people/jonah-peter) <jonahpeter@g.harvard.edu>Graduate Student in The Biophysics Program

 

 

 Jonah received his BA in Physics from the University of Pennsylvania. His research is focused on theoretical atomic, molecular, and biophysics as it pertains to the origin of life and astrobiology. Current research interests include symmetry breaking in... 

 

 

      ![Jonah headshot](/sites/g/files/omnuum1451/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/sasselovlab/files/headshot2018.jpg?itok=wdl8wiIE) 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

##  Sasselov Lab Alumni 

 



  [### Oren Ben Dor

 ](/people/oren-ben-dor)Postdoctoral Fellow

 

 

 

      ![OREN BEN DOR](/sites/g/files/omnuum1451/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/sasselovlab/files/orenbendor.jpg?itok=fzkggGWE) 

 

 

 

   [### Matthew Heising

 ](/people/matthew-heising)In Master's Teaching Program at Tufts

Previous CFA Role: Graduate Student

 

 

 

      ![heising-photo-square.png](/sites/g/files/omnuum1451/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/sasselovlab/files/heising-photo-square.png?itok=E08iWRgo) 

 

 

 

   [### Corinna L. Kufner

 ](/people/corinna-kufner)Postdoctoral Fellow

 

 

 

      ![Corinna Kufner Headshot](/sites/g/files/omnuum1451/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/sasselovlab/files/kufner_2.jpg?itok=uJ-t0C6c) 

 

 

 

   [### Amit Levi

 ](/people/amit-levi-0)Research Associate

 

 

 

      ![Amit headshot](/sites/g/files/omnuum1451/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/sasselovlab/files/img_0852_1.jpg?itok=GGEhF0ir) 

 

 

 

   [### Gabriella Lozano

 ](/people/gabriella-lozano)Research Assistant

 

 

 

      ![Lozano headshot](/sites/g/files/omnuum1451/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/sasselovlab/files/51434706.jpg?itok=xnlbrkeE) 

 

 

 

   [### Zoe Todd

 ](/people/zoe-todd)Postdoctoral Fellow

 

 

 

      ![Zoe Todd Headshot](/sites/g/files/omnuum1451/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/sasselovlab/files/022818_todd_0802.jpg?itok=Xe_Gf3fi) 

 

 

 

   [### Daniel Yahalomi

 ](/people/daniel-yahalomi)Undergraduate Researcher

 

 

 

      ![Daniel Yahalomi Headshot](/sites/g/files/omnuum1451/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/sasselovlab/files/yahalomi.jpg?itok=WCwhO0k7)