Alexandre Soares Rosado is a professor of biosciences at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST). He was a former professor at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) and a visiting professor at UC Davis. He holds a BA and BSc in Biological Sciences, an MSc (Microbiology), and a Ph.D. in Microbiology from UFRJ and Wageningen University & Research (WUR), The Netherlands. He was also the former director of the Institute of Microbiology and vice president of the Brazilian Society of Microbiology (SBM). He is an environmental microbiologist specializing in Basic and Applied Microbiology, Synthetic Microbial Communities, Microbiome Science, Microbiome Manipulation, and Microbiology of Extreme Environments (source of new biotechnological products). His main research interests are centered around the study of microbial diversity, evolution, and new microbial metabolisms, using conventional tools associated with multi-omics approaches to understand the evolutionary history, ecological roles, and physiological capacity and capabilities of free-living and symbiotic microorganisms, including those found at the extremes of where life exists. His research is inter- and multidisciplinary, at the interface of basic and applied (biotechnology/nature-based solutions) aspects of environmental processes.