UNIVERSITA' DEGLI STUDI ROMA "TOR VERGATA"
Daniela Billi is associate professor in the Department of Biology at the University of Rome Tor Vergata and leader of the Laboratory of Astrobiology and Molecular Biology of Cyanobacteria. She has a PhD in Cellular and Molecular Biology and Specialization in Biotechnological Applications. Currently she is co-chair of the ESA-TT Astrobiology and member of the ESA-TT Space Synthetic Biology and Lunar Biosciences and of the ASI-TT Space Microbiology and Astrobiology. Her research aims to: i) unravel the survival and adaptation potential of desert cyanobacteria under non-Earth conditions by using astrobiology platforms installed outside the International Space station and ground-based facilities; ii) develop cyanobacterial-based technologies for in situ resource utilization to support human outposts on the Moon and Mars; iii) use synthetic biology to exploit desert cyanobacteria in space bioprocess to support human space exploration.
Scientific publications available: