Daniela Billi is a Professor of Botany at the Department of Biology, University of Rome “Tor Vergata”. She obtained her MSc in Biological Sciences from the University of Rome “La Sapienza” in 1992; her PhD in Cellular and Molecular Biology in 1996; and the title of Specialist in Biotechnological Application in 1999 (University of Rome “Tor Vergata”). She was a Postdoctoral Research Associate at Virginia Tech Center for Genomics, Virginia Tech and the Polar Desert Research Center, Florida State University. Her research topics mainly include astrobiology, extremophiles, cyanobacteria, molecular biology, life in extreme environments, desert cyanobacteria under space and simulated planetary conditions, and cyanobacterium-based life support.