Dominic Papineau is a Senior Research Scientist in Deep Sea Biogeochemistry and Extraterrestrial Biology at the Institute of Deep Sea Science and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China. He earned his Ph.D. in Geological Sciences and Astrobiology from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 2006. Following his Ph.D., he was a postdoctoral fellow at the Carnegie Institution of Washington and then served as an assistant professor at Boston College. In 2013, he moved to University College London (UCL), where he was affiliated with the London Centre for Nanotechnology and the Department of Earth Sciences. At UCL, he managed the Geological Spectroscopy Laboratory and utilized micro- and nanoscale analytical techniques to study mineral compositions and potential biosignatures in some of Earth's oldest rocks. His research focuses on the origin and early evolution of life, with an aim to advance exobiological studies. He taught modules such as ‘Earth Materials’ and ‘Origin of Life and Exobiology’ and served on the board of the Centre for Planetary Sciences at UCL-Birkbeck.