SETI Institute Welcomes Three New Postdoctoral Fellows
The new fellows will study the evolution of viruses and cells, habitability on Mars and the formation of planetary systems.
September 29, 2026, Mountain View, CA — The SETI Institute has welcomed three new postdoctoral fellows: Mino Fellow L. Felipe Benites and Frank Drake Fellows Genesis Berlanga and Dingshan Deng.
Their research covers three very different areas. Benites studies the evolution of viruses and cells. Berlanga studies the physical and chemical conditions that constrain the potential for life. Deng studies protoplanetary disks and the conditions in which planets form.
“What excites me about this new group of fellows is the extraordinary range of scales they bring to one of humanity’s oldest questions: how does life emerge, evolve and persist in the universe,” said Dr. Nathalie Cabrol, Director of the Carl Sagan Center at the SETI Institute. “Their research takes us from viruses and genomes, through the environments that can sustain life, all the way to the disks where planets themselves are born. Following the question of life across these scales is essential if we want to understand not just where life might exist, but how it becomes possible in the first place. This is exactly the kind of interdisciplinary science we want to foster at the SETI Institute.”
L. Felipe Benites
L. Felipe Benites investigates the evolution of viruses and cells, with a particular interest in biological systems that fall outside traditional models of genetic inheritance.
His research includes eukaryotic algae, the viruses associated with them and the genetic material exchanged between them. He uses large-scale genomic data to study how these interactions influence evolution.
Viruses lie outside the traditional tree of life, but they have had a significant role in shaping it. That makes them useful for investigating questions about the evolution and complexity of life.
Benites has also expanded his research to the origins of genomic complexity and the early evolution of proteins. His work combines computational, phylogenetic, comparative and environmental genomic approaches.
“I’m thrilled to join the SETI Institute and have their support to pursue fascinating questions such as: Could there still be hidden forms of life on our own planet,” said Benites. “Exploring this hidden diversity on Earth may change how we search for life beyond Earth."
His Mino Fellowship project is SETI with microscopes: illuminating ‘dark genomic lineages’ with computational and optical methods .
Genesis Berlanga
Genesis Berlanga studies how planetary environments physically and chemically constrain the potential for life, and how scientists might identify those constraints beyond Earth.
His research focuses on the mineralogical and geochemical conditions that regulate water availability, chemical gradients and environmental stability. These factors help determine whether an environment is habitable.
Mars provides Berlanga with a natural laboratory for studying these processes. His work draws on laboratory experiments, terrestrial field sites that serve as Mars analogs and observations from spacecraft on Mars.
“I study other planets to better understand our own-to appreciate Earth's beauty, understand what makes it unique, and help protect it,” said Berlanga. “By following the water, we can broaden our search for extraterrestrial life and better understand our place in the universe. I'm excited to embark on that search with the SETI Institute.”
His Frank Drake Fellowship project, Coordination of lab, field, and Mars rover datasets and machine learning-assisted prediction of brine evolution and habitability metrics in Mars analog systems will bring together laboratory, field and Mars rover datasets and use machine learning to predict brine evolution and habitability in Mars analog environments.
Dingshan Deng
Dingshan Deng studies protoplanetary disks, the disks of gas and dust around young stars where planetary systems form.
His research focuses on how the physics and chemistry of these disks establish the initial conditions for planet formation and planetary atmospheres. He combines observations from ALMA and the James Webb Space Telescope with thermochemical modeling to study how planet-building materials are distributed and transported through disks.
Understanding the mass and composition of these disks can help scientists determine what material was available as planets formed, including the volatile compounds that can influence planetary composition, atmospheres and habitability.
His Frank Drake Fellowship project, Tracing Planet-building Materials from Gas to Ice with Self-Consistent Thermochemical Models , will develop physics- and chemistry-based models with AI and machine-learning tools to trace planet-building materials from molecular gas to icy solids and determine what is ultimately available to forming planets.
“I’m excited to join the SETI Institute and use the Frank Drake Fellowship to follow the journey of planet-building materials in protoplanetary disks to forming planets,” said Deng. “By understanding how these materials evolve, we will learn why planetary systems are so diverse and what conditions may ultimately allow habitable worlds to emerge.”
Postdoctoral Research at the SETI Institute
Benites, Berlanga and Deng join four other postdoctoral researchers at the SETI Institute.
The Frank Drake Postdoctoral Fellowship supports early-career scientists pursuing research connected to the questions embodied in the Drake Equation and the search for life in the universe.
The Mino Postdoctoral Fellowship supports cross-disciplinary research into the origins and nature of life, planetary habitability and the relationship between life and its environment.
“Supporting the next generation of scientists is an important part of what we do at the SETI Institute,” said Cabrol. “These fellowships give early-career researchers the opportunity to pursue ambitious ideas, work across disciplines and grow into independent scientists. By investing in them, we are also investing in the future of the questions we explore.”
Together, the Institute’s postdoctoral fellows work across a range of disciplines related to understanding life and its place in the universe.
About the SETI Institute
Founded in 1984, the SETI Institute is a non-profit, multi-disciplinary research and education organization whose mission is to lead humanity’s quest to understand the origins and prevalence of life and intelligence in the Universe and to share that knowledge with the world. Our research encompasses the physical and biological sciences and leverages expertise in data analytics, machine learning and advanced signal detection technologies. The SETI Institute is a distinguished research partner for industry, academia and government agencies, including NASA and NSF.
Contact information
Rebecca McDonald
Director of Communications
SETI Institute
rmcdonald@seti.org