Dr. Meredith MacGregor completed her PhD in Astrophysics at Harvard University in 2017 before joining the Carnegie Institution for Science, Earth and Planets Laboratory as a National Science Foundation (NSF) Astronomy and Astrophysics Postdoctoral Fellow.  In 2020, she started as an assistant professor at the University of Colorado Boulder in the Department of Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences.  She joined the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Johns Hopkins University in 2023.

Dr. MacGregor's research group uses multi-wavelength astronomical observations to explore the formation and potential habitability of planetary systems.  She is especially excited about (1) using structure in planet-forming disks to reveal hidden planets, (2) tracing how water and volatiles are inherited into exoplanets during the planet formation process, and (3) determining the impact of stellar activity on planetary atmospheres and surface life.  To do this, she uses state-of-the-art facilities like the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), and the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS).  Dr. MacGregor is also actively involved in building the next generation of observatories. She is the Deputy PI for the Far-Infrared Spectroscopic Space Telescope (FIRSST) and PI for the Early Star and Planet Evolution Explorer (ESPEX).

Dr. MacGregor's work has been widely covered in the popular press including The New York Times, Scientific American, and National Geographic. She was awarded the Bok Prize Lectureship from Harvard University in 2023 and was a Scialog Fellow from 2020 - 2023. Currently, she is also the Co-Chair of the NASA Infrared Science and Technology Integration Group and the Next Generation Great Observatories Science Analysis Group.