Born of bedrock. Driven by data. Forged in CHAOS.
The Washburn CHAOS Lab studies
Complex Host And abiOtic Systems.
Bioprospecting extremophiles, shredding the mold, and doing feral science is kind of our thing.
Welcome to The Washburn CHAOS Lab
We’re not your typical research lab.
Founded by Dr. Rachel Washburn—a combat intelligence veteran turned biomedical geoscientistist—the CHAOS Lab blends biomedicine, geochemistry, and fearless fieldwork to uncover the hidden ecosystems shaping life in Kentucky and beyond.
We sequence DNA to Slipknot, investigate microbes in extreme places, and explore the connections between geology and human health. Around here, curiosity runs deep, the science gets messy, and every discovery is personal.
Chaos Meets Science
Exploring the impact of geologic systems on microbial life and human health through fieldwork and advanced omics analyses.
Feral Scientists Unite
We sequence to metal music, driving discovery in microbial ecology, earth processes, and bioprospecting.
In the Field
We go where science gets gnarly - caves, mines, and toxic springs. Field boots on. Let's get dirty.
We run extractions, informatics, and geochem like a live set. Collaborators welcome. Volume guaranteed.
In the Lab
Latest in CHAOS
We’ve been getting dirty—crawling through caves, whipping the lab into shape, and rallying local citizen scientists to join the mission.
Can I lick it?
It might look like marshmallow fluff, but this is a cave-cricket eating fungus.
Meet a Scientist
Meet caver Jay Pruitt, one of the guides that takes us to science in the underworld.
We published a paper looking at the microbiome of IUDs after different types of removal.
We force science to explain how evolution happens so fast in the movie evolution.
Peer Reviewed Chaos
Scientifically Speaking
Check out our popular video series!
@WashburnChaosLab
Incoming CHAOS
Science doesn’t rest—and neither do we. Here’s a sampling what’s next from the CHAOS zone: science briefings, data drops, and a whole lot of noise.
Talks | Presentations Volunteering | Papers SideQuests | Chaos
Chaos Unleashed
The CHAOS Lab welcomes scientists who defy convention.
We’re here for those who do the work for the right reasons—pure science, no ego, no agenda. Just data, grit, and a relentless pursuit of truth.
This isn’t a white-coat cult. Our science is rigorous, field-tested, and grounded in real-world experience.
If you’ve got scars, you’ve also got strength.
This is where resilience fuels research.
Welcome to the pit.
