Biography

I grew up in a small town halfway between Milan and the Italian Alps, but I earned my BA degree in Psychology and Philosophy from the University of Oxford, followed by graduate work in cognitive science and neuroscience. I see myself and my work as trying to bridge the gap between mind and matter: building on my MPhil work at Cambridge, my PhD in Clinical Neurosciences will apply measures from network science and information theory to study the brain across multiple states of altered consciousness – such as sleep, anaesthesia and vegetative state. Ultimately, I would like to develop a unified understanding of how consciousness is lost, and how we can promote its recovery in patients. I am also committed to communicating what we know about the brain and the mind, both across disciplines and to the wider public - especially when such knowledge is relevant for mental health. These issues are still surrounded by misunderstanding and stigma, and I believe that accessible knowledge is the best antidote. I also feel that providing this is one of my responsibilities as a scientist: as part of humanity’s quest to gain a more accurate understanding of ourselves and the world we live in, science should not be confined to the lab, and neither should our passion as scholars. I am very excited to be re-joining the community of Gates Scholars at Cambridge: I hope that this incredible experience will allow us to draw inspiration from each other’s work, passion, and perspectives.

Previous Education

University of Cambridge Clinical Neuroscience 2018
Oxford University Neuroscience 2017