J. Nick Benardini

James Nick Benardini is an American microbiologist who serves as the 8th and current Planetary Protection Officer for NASA since 2021. He has a Bachelor of Science in microbiology from the University of Arizona and a PhD in microbiology, molecular biology and biochemistry from the University of Idaho. In 2016, he won the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers for his contributions to planetary protection at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California. His research is focused on microbiological detection and ecology in extreme environments, such as Mars. He is the lead for the lab team in charge of sampling for the InSight 2016 and Mars 2020 missions.