I carry out interdisciplinary research, combining biology, astrophysics and more recently geology. I am leading several national and international projects in the astrobiology field. Currently, my main research projects could be divided in several topics that are interconnected in several aspects:

  1. The study of radiation environments on exoplanetary and early planetary scenarios and their effects on habitability. In particular, I am interested in the study of the origin of life in the Solar System and the possibility of the existence of life in planetary bodies beyond, orbiting different kind of stars. I am currently leading two international projects, ´The EXO-UV project´ and ´The BioSun project´. Both have a strong astrophysical input as well as they include experimental approaches from microbiology.
  2. Multiparametric experimental simulations of extraterrestrial environments under laboratory conditions. Mainly focused on simulations, including radiation, vacuum or atmospheric composition and temperature to recreate the conditions of planetary (e.g.: Mars) and interplanetary scenarios (e.g.: Low Earth orbit). These simulations are part of different studies on habitability and lithopanspermia.
  3. Microbiology of extremophiles, in particular focused on microorganisms as halophilic  archaea and hypersaline environments as environmental analogues of extraterrestrial environments. Halophilic archaea are extreme halophiles (microorganisms living at very high salt concentrations) and are considered as models of potential extraterrestrial life, due to their capacity to cope with multiple environmental factors (radiation, desiccation, among others). These microorganisms inhabit in multiple kind of hypersaline environments on Earth that are also considered analogs of extraterrestrial scenarios as several planetary bodies of the Solar System. Part of this work is intended to unveil similarities between hypersaline environments of Mars and Earth and the possibility to consider halophiles as a potential kind of life on this planet. Here I combine approaches from geology to biology.
  4. Development of methods to detect extraterrestrial life. In particular now focused on bioelectrochemical methods, developing sensors for the in situ detection of life in other planetary bodies.