I obtained my Bachelor’s degree in Biology and my Master’s in Functional Genomics at the University of Trieste, Italy. During these years, I developed a deep interest in immunology and nanotechnology, which led me to do a six-month internship at the CRTD of Dresden, Germany, where I was involved in a project studying regulatory T-cell functions in various murine models.

Subsequently, I had the opportunity to apply to an open Marie-Curie PhD fellowship at the University of Salzburg, Austria, and I officially started to work as a PhD student in October 2016.

During the following five years, I studied the immunological effects that medically-used gold nanomaterials might have on the human immune system.

In the context of this PhD project, I was strongly encouraged to travel around Europe to further develop my skills and to establish strong international scientific collaborations. Thus, in June 2020, I came to Ljubljana as visiting PhD student to collaborate with the JSI and the Bionanoteam. During this period, I built a strong professional connection with Professor Drobne, which led to a new work experience once my contract at the University of Salzburg expired.