Short Bio

I am a psychiatrist and scientist with expertise in psychiatric genomics, pharmacogenomics, and precision psychiatry. My research focuses on translating genomic findings into clinical applications, with particular emphasis on genetic predictors of treatment response, suicidal behaviours, and the comorbidity between psychiatric and insulin resistance-related conditions. I earned my MD with honours from the University of Bari, where I conducted neuroimaging-genetic research on schizophrenia liability in healthy individuals. I subsequently completed my clinical training in psychiatry at the University of Bologna, with experience in both inpatient and outpatient care for affective and psychotic disorders.
Since 2019, I have been affiliated with the Department of Human Genetics at the Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Medical Center (Nijmegen), where I conducted my doctoral research under the supervision of Prof. Barbara Franke and Dr Janita Bralten. My PhD project investigated the shared genetic architecture and clinical burden of psychiatric and insulin resistance-related metabolic multimorbidity, using large-scale genomic and epidemiological approaches.
I have been actively involved in several international, EU-funded collaborations, including Horizon 2020 PRIME (Prevention and Remediation of Insulin Multimorbidity in Europe), IMI2 JU PRISM2 (Psychiatric Ratings using Intermediate Stratified Markers 2), and Horizon Europe Psych-STRATA (Stratified Pharmacogenomics in Severe Mental Illness), contributing to multi-omic, imaging-genetic, and cross-disorder analyses. From 2023 to 2025, I held a fixed-term Assistant Professor position (RTD-A) at the University of Bologna (Italy), supported by the national PNRR MNESYS programme (Multiscale Integrated Approach to the Study of the Nervous System in Health and Disease), where I coordinated genomic analyses, supervised biological sampling, and taught psychiatry at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. In 2025, I was appointed Assistant Professor of Psychiatry (tenure-track; RTD-B) at the University of Udine (Italy).
My research has been published in high-impact journals such as The Lancet Psychiatry, Translational Psychiatry, The British Journal of Psychiatry, and Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews. I have received several international awards, including the ECNP Excellence Awards (2020, 2024), the ISPG Early Career Investigator Award (2021), the WFSBP Young Investigator Award (2021), and the CINP Student Encouragement Award (2022). In 2024, I obtained the Italian National Scientific Qualification for Associate Professor in Psychiatry.
In parallel with my academic activities, I serve as Managing Editor for International Clinical Psychopharmacology, Associate Editor for Frontiers in Psychiatry (Mood Disorders Section), and Chair of the ECNP Network on Suicide Research and Prevention.
Across all roles, I am committed to integrating genetic data into clinically actionable models to inform individualised care strategies for major psychiatric disorders.