Annie Shelton
- PhD Postgraduate Student
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Annie Shelton is a PhD Postgraduate Student at the Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge.
Biography
Annie Shelton is a multidisciplinary scientist advancing resilient food production for Earth, the Moon, Mars, and microgravity environments. With experience across academia, government, non-profits, and industry, Annie has led projects spanning plant physiology, fungal biology, biological systems engineering, and mission design. Her work includes developing spaceflight payloads, creating NASA-approved agricultural technologies, directing the first oyster mushroom cultivation experiment in space, contributing to NASA’s LEAF mission for Artemis III, serving as President of the American Society for Gravitational and Space Research’s student body, and is the current science and research lead for the Deep Space Food Consortium.
As a Gates Cambridge Scholar, her thesis aims to advance controlled crop production systems in space and on Earth by aligning plant circadian rhythms with the external environment. Her research forms a key component of the international collaborative research programmes of the ARC Centre of Excellence in Plants for Space. Annie combines deep scientific research with practical systems innovation to address food security challenges and enable sustainable human life beyond Earth.
Qualifications
2024 - MPS in Integrative Plant Science and Controlled Environment Agriculture - Cornell University, New York, USA
2022 - BSc in Neuroscience with a minor in Plant Biology - UC Riverside University of California, USA
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Awards & Fellowships
2025 - Gates Cambridge Scholar
2025 - SpaceX Fram2 Payload Awardee, Mission MushVroom
2024 - NASA's Technology Transfer Development
2024 - Winner of NASA’s Deep Space Food Challenge Final Phase 3
2023 - Winner of NASA’s Deep Space Food Challenge Phase 2
2023 - Dr. Tom Scott Award, American Society for Gravitational Space Research
2023 - 1st Place, Graduate Poster Competition, American Society for Gravitational Space Research
2021 - Winner of NASA’s Deep Space Food Challenge Phase 1