Horia Banciu received his PhD in Microbial Biotechnology (Biology) from Delft University of Technology (The Netherlands) in 2004. He is currently a Full Professor at the Faculty of Biology and Geology, “Babeș-Bolyai” University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania. His research interests focus on microbial ecology and the environmental microbiology of saline aquatic habitats. His main scientific contributions include the characterization of novel haloalkaliphilic bacterial species, omics-based analyses of metabolic potential in candidate archaeal lineages, and comprehensive studies of microbial diversity and ecological functions in saline lakes of the Transylvanian Basin (Romania).