Since 2012, Prof. Cavalazzi has been affiliated with the University of Bologna. She is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Johannesburg and an Associate Researcher at the IRSP-Univ. of Chieti-Pescara (since 2016) and the INAF OA-Arcetri (since 2021). She received her PhD in palaeontology in 2005 from the Univ. of Modena and Reggio Emilia. Her research fields are geobiology and astrobiology. She is interested in the origin of life and primitive habitats, extreme environments, and extremophiles (prokaryotes) and their preservation potential in the geological record. She is an expert in field geobiology, having organized several field campaigns in Africa, Europe, North and South America, and Australia. Prof. Cavalazzi is also active in outreach and educational dissemination activities in Italy and African countries.