Oana Teodora Moldovan’s research is mainly focused on cave ecology and conservation. She defended her PhD in 1997 at the University of Toulouse on cave beetles’ pheromone involvement in adaptation to caves. Her career has been dedicated to studying invertebrates’ adaptation to caves, strongly focusing on conservation. As outliers in Earth’s diversity, caves have a significantly higher concentration of low-range animal endemics than anywhere else. In recent years, her research has shifted to the diversity of subterranean microorganisms and their often-overlooked role in trophic relationships, adaptation to life without plants, and preservation of fossils. She leads an interdisciplinary research group on cave sediments in Palaeolithic cave settlements at the Emil Racovita Institute of Speleology (Romanian Academy), demonstrating her holistic approach to scientific inquiry.