Gage Owens has worked in the fields of synthetic biology and organic chemistry. He is currently working on his Ph.D. in Chemistry at the University of Washington, where he is also a part of the UW Astrobiology journal club. Gage presented research at AbSciCon 2022 at the Foundation for Applied Molecular Evolution (FfAME). This research focused on the fate of organic carbon in sulfuric acid and contributed to the science behind the Venus Life Finder Mission set for launch in May 2023. When not considering life on other planets, Gage appreciates life on Earth through hiking, climbing, and other outdoor activities. As a first-year graduate student, he is not currently working on research but would like to study nonstandard amino acids and unnatural DNA base pairs.