As a nuclear astrophysicist, I am intrigued by the inner workings of stars, which I investigate through the study of nuclear reactions in terrestrial laboratories. My research aims at understanding how stars are born, live and die and how chemical elements are created in our universe.

After obtaining a PhD in Physics from the University of Catania (Italy) in 1999, I spent two years at the Ruhr-Universitaet Bochum (Germany) as an Alexander von Humboldt Fellow and then moved to the UK in 2001 on a permanent lectureship at the University of Edinburgh. Throughout my career, I have performed experiments at various laboratories worldwide, including TRIUMF (Canada), GANIL (France) and CERN (Switzerland) and joined the LUNA Collaboration in 2010. As of 2016, I am full professor of experimental nuclear astrophysics.

Always keen to share my knowledge and passion, I am an enthusiastic public speaker and an award-winning teacher. I also coach and consult on various aspects of academic life (www.academiclife.coachesconsole.com), including on public speaking, writing and publishing, through mentoring programs, workshops and online courses.

When not working, I love cooking, reading, dancing tango, travelling, and generally spending time with family and friends.