Engineering Discipline:
- Electronics and Electrical Engineering
Biography:
I am a Chancellor’s Fellow in Engineering Biology. My research focuses on the development and use of cybergenetic platforms to model and control complex biological phenomena, with applications in engineering biology and precision medicine. In particular, I am interested in using data-driven approaches to understand and stear the behaviour of biological networks in dynamic environments. I hold a PhD in Bioengineering. I am an Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA).
I started my studies in biomedical engineering at the University of Bologna (Italy), in 2007. Having developed an interest in cellular and molecular engineering, in 2010 I joined the MSc programme in biomedical engineering offered by the same university. In 2013 I pursued my PhD in Bioengineering, where I undertook mathematical modelling and in vivo-studies of bacterial genetic programmes operating through transcriptional or post-transcriptional control.
To improve my skills in quantitative, single-cell assays, in 2015 I visited Prof. Peter Swain's laboratory at the Centre for Synthetic and Systems Biology, University of Edinburgh. One year later, I joined the lab as a PDRA to investigate phenotypic variability in the budding yeast’s galactose metabolic network and consolidate my expertise in quantitative microscopy and microfluidics.
Having being awarded an EPSRC Postdoctoral Fellowship, in 2017 I joined the School of Engineering, University of Edinburgh. In the following three years, I researched technologies to automate the development and use of mathematical models of synthetic gene networks.
In 2021, I received a tenure track fellowship to establish my research independence.
I am the Deputy Head of Graduate School (Postgraduate Experience) (2024 -).
I am the Deputy Biological Safety Officer and the Genetic Modification Biological Safety Officer (2021 -).
I was the Postgraduate Academic Adviser for Institute for Bioengineering in the School Postgraduate Progression Committee (SPPC) and the School Postgraduate Experience Committee (SPEC) (2021 - 2024).
I was the organiser of the seminar series for the Institute for Bioengineering (2021-2024).
Academic Qualifications:
- PhD in Bioengineering, University of Bologna (Italy), 2013-2016
- MSc in Biomedical engineering, University of Bologna (Italy), 2010-2012
- BSc in Biomedical engineering, University of Bologna (Italy), 2007-2010
Professional Qualifications and Memberships:
Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (AFHEA), 2020
Teaching:
Research Interests:
- optimisation of drug combinations
- data-driven control
- engineering of disease models
Specialities:
- mathematical modelling
- optimal experimental design
- microfluidics