PhD student

I am an MD, psychiatrist, and Ph.D. student in Neuroscience at the University of
Naples Federico II. My research focuses on psychotic disorders, aiming to elucidate the neurobiological mechanisms
underlying schizophrenia and the neuronal basis of antipsychotic efficacy and resistance.
My work applies brain connectomics to investigate altered molecular and topographic connectivity, bridging preclinical
and clinical research. To complement my psychiatric training, I spent one year in Prof. Usiello’s neuroscience
laboratory at CEINGE, where I conducted postmortem experiments and a study on serum D-amino acid detection in
patients with schizophrenia.
I have published 20 scientific articles (3 as first author) in high-impact journals such as Molecular Psychiatry and
Schizophrenia (Nature Portfolio). My current h-index is 9. I have received awards from international organizations
including the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ECNP) and the World Federation of Societies of
Biological Psychiatry (WFSBP), which recognized me as an emerging young researcher in the field. I have also
presented at major conferences, such as the 25th Congress of the Italian Society for Neuroscience (SINS).
I am currently a research fellow at the Bipolar and Depressive Disorders Unit, Institute of Neuroscience, Barcelona,
under the supervision of Prof. Eduard Vieta.