André Antunes is an Associate Professor at the State Key Laboratory of Lunar and Planetary Sciences at Macau University of Science and Technology (MUST) and is the leader of the Astrobiology group. He is an expert in microbiology of extreme environments, having specialized in deep-sea and high salinity locations. His research and teaching career has included periods of work in several countries across Europe, as well as in Africa, and in the Middle East. His current research focus revolves around biodiversity and bioprospection of unexplored extreme environments, adaptation to environmental extremes and environmental gradients, geomicrobiology, and astrobiology.