Victoria Orphan

Victoria J. Orphan is a geobiologist at the California Institute of Technology who studies the interactions between marine microorganisms and their environment. As of 2020, she is the Chair for the Center of Environmental Microbial Interactions.
Education.
Victoria Orphan received her B.A. in Aquatic Biology (1994) and Ph.D. in Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology (2001) from the University of California, Santa Barbara. She served as a National Research Council fellow at the NASA Ames Research Center (2002-2004) before joining the Geobiology faculty at California Institute of Technology.
Career.
Orphan is the James Irvine Professor of Environmental Science and Geobiology at the California Institute of Technology. She has also been an adjunct scientist at Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) since 2009 and Senior Scientist of the Center for Dark Energy Biosphere Investigations, a Science and Technology Center funded by the National Science Foundation and headquartered at the University of Southern California. As of 2020, she is the Alan V.C. Davis and Lenabelle Davis Leadership Chair for the Center of Environmental Microbial Interactions.
Research.
Orphan's research integrates molecular, microscopy, and geochemical techniques to improve understanding of various processes, including those that serve as the primary sink for the greenhouse gas methane in the ocean. She focuses on microbially-mediated anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM) in deep sea sediment. Specifically, she looks at the relationships between two groups of marine microbes: archaea and bacteria. Orphan uses tools such as nanoSIMS to visualize these organisms at the microscale and track how and when they exchange energy. Through her research, Orphan has helped develop novel stable isotope applications that provide insight into the relationship between microbes and large-scale geochemical processes.
Personal life.
Orphan is in a relationship with fellow scientist Shana K. Goffredi.