After the Degree in Physics at the University of Trieste (Italy) in 1999, she obtains the Ph.D. degree in the Elementary Particle Sector, SISSA, Trieste (Italy) in 2002. She has also achieved a PG Certificate in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education at Durham University (UK) in 2008.
After a postdoctoral position at UCLA in 2002-2004 and a Fellow position at CERN in 2004-2006, she is hired at Durham University as lecturer in 2005, and subsequently she is promoted to reader in 2009 and to professor in 2012. In Dec 2020, she starts a position of full professor at the DIFA, University of Bologna.
Since 2005, she has taught several courses in physics at undergraduate and postgraduate level, in Quantum Mechanics, Neutrino Physics, Astroparticle Physics.
----- Publication record
146 published articles (over 220, including all papers), with over 14000 (20000) citations. Of the refereed published articles: 4 topcite 500+, 6 topcite 250+, 36 topcite 100+, 42 topcite 50+, with an average per paper of citations (Source: INSPIRE (https://inspirehep.net/)).
over 150 articles with over 7000 citations, 1 topcite 250+, 14 topcite 100+, 22 topcite 50+ (Source: WoS).
180 articles with over 9000 citations, 1 topcite 500+, 2 topcite 250+, 26 topcite 100+, 29 topcite 50+ (Source: Scopus).
H-index: 70 and 80 including all publications (INSPIRE), 42 (WoS), 58 (Scopus).
----- Advanced lectures at schools
9 invited lecture series on Neutrino physics at international schools.
Recently:
2021: CERN-INSS, CERN online, Aug 2-13 2021
2020: GGI Theoretical lectures on Fundamental interactions, GGI, Florence (Italy), Jan 13-17, 2020
2018: CERN-JINR school, Maratea (Italy), June 20-25, 2018
2017: ICTP Summer School, Trieste (Italy), June 5-16, 2017
----- Invited Plenary talks
Over 70 invited plenary talks at leading conferences.
Recent highlights:
BLV 2024, KIT, Germany, invited Keynote concluding talk
Neutrino 2022, online, invited Theory outlook.
be.HEP 2020, online, invited keynote talk.
EPS-HEP 2019 conference, Ghent, Belgium, invited Neutrino theory
CERN Council Open Symposium on the Update of European Strategy for Particle Physics, May 2019, Granada, invited Neutrino theory in Neutrino Session
Invisibles workshop in Sep 2018, KIT, Germany, invited Keynote concluding talk
----- Visiting professor positions
2021: CERN Scientific Associate
2014: Severo Ochoa Visiting Professor at the Universitad Autonoma Madrid
2015-2022: Associate Researcher at the IFT, UAM
----- International advisory Committees for major conferences
Rencontres de Blois 2016-2022, INSS 2014, Invisibles meetings in 2012, 2014–2024, the UKHep Forum in 2013-2016 and 2019-2020, NeuTel 2021 and others.
Since 2016 member of the International Neutrino Committee, which oversees the organisation of the Neutrino conferences.
----- Mentorship (PhD students, postdocs, junior faculty)
Main supervisor of 19 PhD students who have completed their PhD: C. Orme, E. Jennings, T. Li, C.-F. Wong, P. Ballett, A. Barreira, J. Schwetchenko, M. Ross-Lonergan, J. Turner, T.-C. Wang, M. Leo, A. Olivares, J. Stadler, M. Hostert, K. Moffat, T. Boschi, A. Abdullahi, W. Elbers, J. Hoefken-Zink.
Current supervision of 1 PhD student: Elina Merkel, and cosupervision of Jacopo Nava and Andrea de Marchi.
Supervisor of 15 postdocs: S. Palomares-Ruiz, M. Schmidt, C. Orme, J. Lopez- Pavon, T. Toma, M. Mitra, N. Saviano, P. Ballet, Y.-L. Zhou, R. Ruiz, C. Weiland, A. Titov, S. Chatterjee, K. Moffat, A. Granelli, S. Rosauro Alcaraz.
Mentor of several junior faculty members both at Durham University and in UK.
----- International review bodies
Fall 2020-2024: member and from Aug 2020 deputy chair of APPEC Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) to define the scientific strategy in astroparticle physics in Europe.
Fall 2020-2023: member of the Hyper-Kamiokande PAC
Since Oct 2020: member of the LNGS Scientific Committee
Jan 2019-Oct 2020: chair of the APPEC panel on neutrinoless double beta decay.
2018, 2019, 2020: member of the Portuguese FCT panel for the Stimulus of Scientific Employment fellowships.
Since Spring 2016: co-convener of the CENF (CERN Neutrino Platform Theory Working Group).
2016: member of the Ramon y Cajal Panel, Spain, funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness.
March 2014 - August 2018: member of Fermilab Physics Advisory Committee (PAC), which advises the Director on the optimisation of the current experimental program at the laboratory and on the future activities.
----- Recent leadership roles in boards of large consortia
Since Feb 2024: EuCAPT (European Consortium for Astroparticle Theory) Director
Since Oct 2020: Coordinator of the ITN HIDDeN which is due to start in summer 2020.
2017-2021: member of the Institutional Board of DUNE, representing Durham University
Apr 2016 - Mar 2020: Deputy Coordinator and Chair of the Training Supervisory Board of the Horizon2020 ITN Elusives with 26 nodes.
Feb 2016 - Jan 2020: Deputy Coordinator and Chair of the Research and Exchanges Board of the EU Horizon2020 RISE InvisiblesPlus with over 200 scientists.
Apr 2012 - March 2016: Deputy Coordinator and Chair of the Training Supervisory Board of the EU FP7 ITN Invisibles, on Neutrinos, Dark Matter and their connection.
Sep 2011 - Aug 2014: WP5 leader and member of the Executive Committee and Institution Board of the EU FP7 RI Design Study LAGUNA-LBNO.
Apr 2009 - May 2013: Physics deputy coordinator of NEU2012 (Neutrino beams for Europe in 2012), a FP7 Networking Activity (N3).
----- Main national research council committees
2020-2022: member of STFC Particle Physics Advisory Committee.
2012, 2013, 2019, 2020: member of the STFC Ernest Rutherford Fellowship panel which awards these 5-year fellowships funded by STFC.
October 2017–Jan 2020: member of the Royal Society Research Fellows’ Research grants panel.
April 2015–Spring 2019: member of the STFC Long Baseline Oversight Committee (now UK DUNE- HK Oversight Committee).
Spring 2014: member of the Consolidated Grant Implementation Review Panel.
Dec 2010 - Sep 2014: member of the STFC PPGP, Particle Physics Grants Panel, as one of the two Core members, with responsibility for Theory.
Feb 2009 - Summer 2014: member of the STFC Particle Astrophysics Advisory Committee.
----- Grants as PI and project leadership
PI of ten grants, with funding over 7M EUR, in addition to IPPP co-I (fEC IPPP grant 2008-2018, IPPP Consolidated grant 2018-2020 and 2020- 2023). Major grants:
2014- Feb 2021: PI for the FP7 ERC Consolidator Grant NuMass. It focuses on a novel approach to neutrino physics focussing on low energy extensions of the Standard Model. Total funding: 1.702 MEUR.
Since 2020: Coordinator of the Horizon2020 ITN HIDDeN on neutrinos and dark matter, started in Oct 2020, with over 25 nodes worldwide and more than 200 scientists. Total funding: ~4M EUR.
2016-2021: PI of Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit Award. Funding: 50K GBP
2016-2020: Durham University PI for the Horizon2020 ITN Elusives, ~400K EUR.
2016-2020: Durham University PI for the Horizon2020 RISE InvisiblesPlus, ~140K EUR
2012-2016: Durham University PI for the FP7 ITN Invisibles, ~500K EUR.
----- Workshop organisation
Organisation of over 20 international workshops and schools, of which over 10 as chair or co-chair with a total of over 1500 participants. Notably, co-Chair of the Organising Committee of Neutrino 2016, Royal Geographical Society, London, of the NuPhys workshops series and of the Invisibles 2024 school and workshop and of the INSS 2024 school, Bologna.
----- Invitations to external PhD examinations
External examiner for 7 PhD vivas at Glasgow U., UAM, IAP, Universite Paris Sud, Universite Pierre et Marie Curie, SISSA, Queen Mary University and as internal examiner for several PhD students at Durham University and University of Bologna.
----- Institute leadership
Mar 2011 - Sep 2014: Deputy Director of the Institute for Particle Physics Phenomenology, the largest university-based particle phenomenology group, chair of the Management Board of the MSc in Particle, Strings and Cosmology and secretary of the Centre for Particle Theory, Durham University.
----- Learning and Teaching
2008-2020 on reduced teaching load due to responsibilities as IPPP Deputy Director, ERC NuMass PI.
2007-2011: 4 Undergraduate Module PHYS4191 Theoretical Physics 4 (Quantum Mechanics): ~15 students.
2007-2011: 4 Undergraduate Module PHYS3551 Theoretical Physics (Quantum Mechanics): ~75 students.
2008-2009: Module PHYS2551 Tutorials: 11 students.
2014-2020: 5 PG courses on Neutrino Physics
2008-2014: 6 PG courses on Neutrino Physics and Astroparticle Physics: ~15 students.
2020-2024: TAP LM course, University of Bologna
2020-2022: TAP PhD course, University of Bologna
2024: PhD course Science communication, grant writing and management, University of Bologna
2024: Metodi matematica della fisica LT, University of Bologna
Supervision of >20 level-4 project students (equivalent to 4-year laurea).
Supervision of >15 MSc students in Elementary particle physics.
----- Recent roles in University administration
2018 till the end of 2020: member of the Faculty Progression Committee, which reviews the cases for promotion for the Faculty of Science. Member of the Academic Progression Review Task and Finishing Group representing the Faculty of Science.
Member of the hiring committees for full professor at the University of Parma in 2019 and associate professor at the University of Padova in 2020, (02/A2, FIS/02).
----- Main Outreach activities
Co-leader of the inVISIBILI project at the University of Bologna, involving ~1500 children annually on scientific outreach on the invisible universe.
Summer 2018: co-chair of the organisation of an exhibit “Ghosts of the universe” at the Royal Society Summer Exhibition, developing the App Neutrinoscope and the videogame NuOdyssey.
2013: chair of the organisation of the Invisibles Art Event which exhibited dedicated art pieces at Lumley Castle.
Talks to general public and students, podcast, articles in journals (Nature, Cern Courier), consulting to scientific journalists.
