Biography
I am a palaeontologist working predominantly on dinosaurs and other Mesozoic reptiles (e.g. crocodylomorphs). I am currently a Research Fellow at University College London and a Research Adjunct at North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, studying palaeobiology, macroevolution, macroecology, and extinction.
For my research I use phylogenetic, biogeographic, statistical, and Earth System Modelling tools.
My main research topics include: 1) the interplay between changing climate, geography, and biodiversity in controlling macroevolution and macroecological patterns; 2) the physical (e.g. geography and climate) and biological (e.g. thermophysiology and species interactions) drivers behind evolutionary adaptations and extinction; 3) the relationship between physical agents shaping the fossil record and disentangling their role in order to detect genuine biodiversity signals in deep time;
For my PhD I focused on Late Cretaceous dinosaur macroecology and the end-Cretaceous mass extinction. I have also studied Mesozoic marine reptiles from the Tethyan margin, crocodylomorph palaeodiversity, and theropod dinosaurs.
Ph.D., 2019, Earth Science, Department of Earth Science and Engineering, Imperial College London, London, UK
Supervisors: Prof. Peter Allison, Dr. Philip Mannion
M.Sc., 2014, Biodiversity and Evolution, University of Bologna, Italy
Primary Advisors: Prof. Federico Fanti, Prof. Alessio Boattini, Dr. Andrea Cau
B.Sc., 2012, Natural Sciences, University of Catania, Italy
Senior Thesis Supervisors: Prof. Antonietta Rosso, Prof. Rossana Sanfilippo, Dr. Fabio M. Dalla Vecchia