Michael Roberts, PhD is the chief scientific officer of the International Space Station National Laboratory and the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space, Inc. (CASIS). As managers of the ISS National Laboratory in partnership with NASA, CASIS is responsible to the nation for enabling access to the International Space Station for research, technology development, commercial innovation, STEM education and workforce development for U.S. academia, industry, and government agencies. Before joining CASIS in 2013, Michael worked as a principal investigator and research group lead in the NASA Advanced Life Support program at the Kennedy Space Center, acting as Principal or Co-Principal Investigator for research projects focused on technologies for bioregenerative life support systems and microbial ecology in natural and engineered systems on and off Earth. Prior to arriving at the Kennedy Space Center in 1999, Michael completed an undergraduate degree in biology at Maryville College, a doctorate in microbiology at Wesleyan University and post-doctoral research at the Center for Microbial Ecology at Michigan State University and the RIKEN Institute in Wako-shi, Japan.