Staff profile

Overview

My group studies:

• neuronal mechanisms underlying cognition and emotion, in particular in relation to activity in amygdala, hippocampus and prefrontal cortex
• how these circuits and processes are modulated by neuromodulators such as serotonin and psychedelics
• how use of classic and non-classic psychedelics affects mental health and mental processes.

Please see my group webpage for further information and opportunities for joining the lab.

I am the Director of the Learning and Memory Processes (LAMP) Centre and of the MSc in Cognitive Neuroscience.

I am also a member of the Biophysical Sciences Institute and of the Centre for Research into Inner Experience.

Bio

I graduated in Biotechnology (BSc) in 2008 and Neurobiology (MSc) in 2011 at the University of Pavia, in Italy. Before starting my PhD, I worked as Research Assistant in Michael Hausser's Neural Computation lab at UCL (2010-2012). I then carried out my PhD at the University of Oxford with Marco Capogna, studying serotonin and the neural circuits of the amygdala, and their involvement in aversive learning. After the completion of my PhD (2016), I stayed at the University of Oxford for a brief postdoc with Peter Somogyi, studying the neuromodulation of mouse and human neural circuits. In 2017, I started a postdoc in Rosa Cossart's lab at INSERM in Marseille, France. I studied how developmental programs and inhibitory circuits control hippocampal physiology and learning-relevant neural mechanisms. In 2021, I moved back to the UK to carry out a postdoc with Andy Jackson and Abhishek Banerjee at Newcastle University to use closed-loop optical and electrophysiological tools to correct pathological network dynamics. I took up a position of Assistant Professor at Durham University in 2022.

Key scientific contributions to date

My main scientific contributions and discoveries to date:

• We have uncovered key principles of neuromodulation in mouse and human brain circuits, focusing on serotonin's role in the amygdala and mGluRII receptor mechanisms in the human neocortex.
• We have revealed new functions of interneurons, including identifying a novel interneuron type in the amygdala, and demonstrating how interneurons relay external information and control synchrony.
• We have shown that the birthdate of neurons is crucial for their structural and functional integration in adult brain circuits.
• We have highlighted how specific brain pathways shape circuit development, information processing, and synaptic plasticity.

Esteem indicators

Awards

• Springboard Award, Academy of Medical Sciences (2024)
• Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowship (2017)
• Fédération de la Recherche Médicale Postdoctoral Fellowship (2017)
• Fyssen Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship (2016)
• Paton Prize, University of Oxford (2014)
• Gotch Memorial Prize, University of Oxford (2013)

Reviewer and editorial roles

• Reviewer for the following peer-reviewed journals: Neuroscience, Journal of Physiology, Neuron, Neuroscience Bulletin, Journal of Neurophysiology, European Journal of Neuroscience, Molecular Psychiatry
• Reviewing Editor for: Frontiers in Neural Circuits
• Reviewer for the following funding bodies: BBSRC

Research groups

Cognitive Neuroscience

Learning, memory & cognition

• Neural mechanisms of learning and memory
• Neural circuit organisation
• Neural plasticity
• Neuromodulators (in particular serotonin)
• Psychedelics