RTD-A

I am a Research Fellow in Physiology with expertise in neurophysiology and the biophysics of the glial water channel
Aquaporin-4 (AQP4). My training includes cell biology, primary neural cultures, animal handling, imaging, and advanced
microscopy. My research has been focused on how water and ion fluxes shape astrocyte function across multiple scales.
This includes developing approaches to modulate and decode astrocyte behavior, such as cell migration, cell volume
regulation, intercellular connectivity, and cytoskeletal dynamics. Nanoscopic AQP4 aggregation dynamics have also been
a key focus of my work, investigated in non-cellular models to provide mechanistic insight into water channel
supramolecular level of organization. In addition, I contributed to the validation of novel, label-free microscopy
techniques for 3D sample reconstruction and quantification of protein aggregates.
A hallmark of my career is multidisciplinary collaboration. Working on Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR)
collaborative projects spanning physiology, chemistry, biochemistry, and physics, with international teams through
research visits at Washington State University (USA) as a PhD Visiting Student and at the University of Maryland (USA)
as a Visiting Researcher has strengthened my skills in quantitative image analysis, preparation and characterization of
lipid-based systems, and coding. More recently, I have begun to extend my work toward disease mechanisms, including
neuroinflammation and glioma, as part of my NRRP MNESYS fellowship.
I presented at several national (SIF annual meetings, YRP) and international conferences (Glia, FENS, SfN meeting). I
am currently an Assistant Professor in Physiology at the University of Bari and member of The Italian Society of
Physiology (SIF) since 2021.