Toby Ann Halamka (she/her) is a PhD student in the Department of Geological Sciences working in the Organic Geochemistry and Geomicrobial Physiology and Evolution lab. Her research focuses on determining the source organisms for the orphaned lipids brGDGTs. Toby’s work centers on connecting the physiological roles of tetraether lipids in soil bacteria with the genetic basis for biosynthesizing brGDGTs. Her work is motivated by the need to further the organic geochemistry community’s understanding of the environmental distribution of bacterial tetraether lipids and their utility in paleoenvironmental reconstructions. Toby is also passionate about increasing the visibility and support of LGBTQ+ geoscientists and encourages anybody that is interested in this mission to join her organization Geo+.