My interest in neuroscience blossomed during my MSc thesis project in the laboratory of Gian Michele Ratto, at the NEST in Pisa. Here I studied the role of chloride homeostasis for the function of inhibitory networks and disease such as epilepsy. This work stimulated my curiosity about the heterogeneity of interneurons and their interaction with other cell classes. Hence I joined the laboratory of Giorgio Carmignoto for my PhD at the University of Padova – CNR, to investigate the mechanisms and the function of the GABAergic signalling between genetically identified classes of interneurons and astrocytes in the neocortex. Here I mastered techniques to record and manipulate neuronal and astrocyte activity such as two-photon microscopy, optogenetics and patch clamp recordings.
I joined the Tripodi Lab to explore the neural circuits that lie at the interface between sensory perception and motor planning. To this aim I am using a combination of behavioural approaches, calcium imaging, molecular tools and electrophysiology.