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I obtained my Master degree in biology at the University of Rome 'Sapienza' in 2008 and I completed my Ph.D. studies at the same institution in 2011. I then won a 2-year postdoctoral fellowship from the Institute Pasteur Cenci Bolognetti foundation and I've joined the team of Francois Balloux at the UCL Genetics Institute for my first postdoctoral experience.
My main area of expertise is microbiology, starting from an epidemiological and evolutionary approach together with a strong bioinformatics imprint. During my PhD, I worked on the molecular epidemiology and evolution of the bacterial pathogen Vibrio cholerae, with particular interest in the Vibrio-associated 'SXT-R391' family of mobile genetic elements. I have gained extensive experimental experience in molecular microbiology techniques, allowing me to make effective use of my expertise in both wet-lab work and computer science.
My current focuses are high-throughput sequencing-based methods and metagenomic approaches to explore microbial genomic diversity and address specific questions about host-microbe interactions. My main project aims to unravel the impact of evolutionary changes in human diet and culture on the oral microbiome. Other projects include the application of phylogenomic methods in the analysis of the fungal pathogen of amphibians B. Dendrobatidis, and I'm still working on Vibrio genome evolution in collaboration with the group of Rita Colwell at the University of Maryland.