About Sarah Crump
Sarah was a driving force and rising star within the sedimentary ancient DNA community. She recently established a lab at the University of Utah after receiving her PhD from the University of Colorado Boulder and completing an NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of California Santa Cruz. Sarah will be fondly remembered for her endless enthusiasm, positivity, and kindness, in addition to her authoritative knowledge and insights into Arctic paleoecology, lipid biomarkers, and paleo-community reconstructions. Her pioneering work on Baffin Island demonstrated that ancient DNA can preserve in lake sediments of last interglacial age, thus opening up this previous warm period to our toolbox for understanding past ecological dynamics.
Sarah has been a pillar of the sedaDNA society since its inception, and was always supportive of collaborative projects and the building of a strong and joyful community.
With help from Sarah, her family, and several of her close colleagues, Sarah’s alma mater, the Institute for Arctic and Alpine Research (INSTAAR), has established the Sarah Crump Graduate Fellowship Fund, which aims to raise enough money to fully support one INSTAAR grad student each year. The fellowship will focus on the study of Earth or environmental science in Arctic or alpine regions and also be a lever for equity and underserved communities. We ask that you consider donating to the endowment.
Sarah´s main papers
Crump et al. 2019
Arctic shrub colonization lagged peak postglacial warmth: Molecular evidence in lake sediment from Arctic Canada
Crump et al. 2020
Glacier expansion on Baffin Island during early Holocene cold reversals
Crump et al. 2021
Ancient plant DNA reveals High Arctic greening during the Last Interglacial
Crump 2021
Sedimentary ancient DNA as a tool in paleoecology
Comments from our members
"This is extremely sad news. Sarah was a great young scientist, and she will be greatly missed. She started from scratch to learn sedaDNA techniques for her work in Baffin when nobody else was doing it in Boulder, and she achieved amazing things in a short time." - Mary E Edwards.
"I am deeply sorry to hear about the passing of Sarah, Even though I never met and know her, I would like to offer my deepest sympathy to the family and to the society too." - Onja Razanamaro.
"What a sad sad news. I did not know her personally but she set an ideal for "how driven a scientist should be" through her acheivements. Extemely sad day. Deepest condolences to Sarah's family." - Kuldeep More.
"For her family and friends I like to express my sincere condolences." - Marco Coolen.
"This is sad and shocking news; her studies were very helpful to me. My condolences." - Barbara Moguel.
"Sarah was a colleague and a friend. She was a rising star in the ancient DNA research field and her research will survive her for the centuries to come. Rest in piece Sarah." - Eric Capo.
"A very sad news. Its difficult to believe that she left us so early. She was not only very good researcher but also a friendly and kind person. My deepest condolences to her family. May her soul rest in peace." - Dilli Prasad Rijal.
"I'm very sorry to hear these sad news. My condolences to Sarah's family and friends." - Linda Armbrecht.
"My deepest condolences to her family and friends. Very sad news." - Vilma Perez.
"I am very sad to hear of Sarah's passing, and I would like to express my sincere condolences." - Hai Xu,
"I would really like to join everyone in expressing my condolences, and also my personal grief, although I never met Sarah in person. I was in some contact over the past years, as were other members of my working group, and it was always really very nice. She left us much too early, and in the time that she was with us in our scientific endeavor managed to set up so much and bring the field forward in an exceptional way. Equally, her awareness of human problems and dedication to making things better, was known to her colleagues - even those further away in the world. I find it extremely difficult to understand this, and I am very sad. I would like to send heartfelt condolences to Sarah’s family, friends and loved ones." - Laura Epp.
"I was very sad and shocked by this new. Could you please send the following to her family: I didn't know Sarah personally but through her research and career path. I am very impressed by what she achieved and by her work and research, she is truly a model to follow as a woman in science. My sincere condolences to her partner, family and friends." - Cecilia Barouillet.
"My prayers that Sarah's Soul Rest in Peace. She will definitely be remarked as a sign of reverence by the Almighty for her struggle throughout & she is definitely going to be with us through her untiring Research findings." - Bhavatharini Shanmuganathan (India).
"I'm very sorry to hear this sad news. My condolences to Sarah's family and friends." - Ebuka Casinius Nwosu.
"A brilliant young scientist, wonderful friend, and inspiring adventurer left us after a fierce battle with cancer. Sarah Crump was part of our UCSC Paleogenomics Lab family. She did amazing postdoctoral work on ancient sedimentary DNA, with hardcore fieldwork in the Arctic and in remote lakes in the lower 48. She helped me and many many others get to know and feel welcome in paleobiology. We were so excited for her to start her professorship at the University of Utah this last Fall. We are heartbroken and will miss her constantly, but it soothes the soul to know that every day she will be making a difference for another arctic and alpine scientist in training. Please help her legacy continue by supporting the Sarah Crump Graduate Fellowship, which she was able to help set up and launch on her last day." - Rachel Meyer
"What a big loss! My condolences go to the family and friends. May her soul rest in eternal peace. She will surely and sorely be missed!" - Allassane (Ivory Coast, West Africa).
“Even though me and Sarah never met in person, we have exchanged mails and participated in digital meetings through years. Sarah left a heart-warming impact on me, people, and members of the sedaDNA society by her spark for science, engaging personality, and inspiring presentations. I wish strength to Sarah’s family and friends" - Kevin Nota.
"Sarah Crump's sedimentary ancient DNA work was a source of inspiration for a graduate student starting out in paleogenetics research. Sarah and I met only briefly during an online meet-up of the SedaDNA Grad/Post-Doc Seminar Series, but it was an exciting moment to finally meet Sarah, who I looked up to from a distance as a role model in early-career research. We will remember and continue to learn from Sarah's contributions to developing a nascent scientific field." - Anonymous member.
"Sarah was and will continue to be a source of inspiration for me in my early career as a researcher and as a person. Sarah was kind and inclusive when I was new to the sedimentary DNA community and invited me to join on a coring trip in the Tetons I will never forget. It was there I got to know her more as a person and how she fostered community around her. She was truly unique, strong, and bright. She will be dearly missed by those she influenced around her in her science community" - Jordan Von Eggers.