Could you briefly tell us a bit about your background and your career up until this point?
After I completed my first degree in Italy, I won a fellowship to go to the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge to do some structural biology. Cambridge was an extremely attractive opportunity for me as a young woman coming from the countryside of Italy.
After that, I was invited to do a PhD back in Italy in structural biology. But I was really missing the UK, so after my PhD, I went to Imperial College London and was awarded a Marie Curie Fellowship through the European Commission. I then got an assistant professorship in Nottingham and in six years I transitioned to associate professor and then professor in Nottingham. I then came here to King's.
My research is focused on using artificial intelligence to tackle antimicrobial resistance (AMR). I do a lot of work in low- and middle-income countries and have a large international network of collaborators, which is a huge strength. We are very interdisciplinary and we tend to merge completely different types of skills and backgrounds – from clinical, to AI, and bioinformatics – which is hugely valuable in this field of research.
What is a typical day like for you?
My days are filled with quite a lot of meetings with international collaborators. We have several funded projects with Bangladesh, China, Africa and Europe.
The rest of my day is spent supervising the work of my fantastic postdocs, writing grants and reading papers from other groups for inspiration to see how we can build upon the work that has already been done in the field.
Do you have any current projects that you'd like to tell us about?
At the moment, I’m a PI on four grants. One of them is an MRC-funded project that’s part of the Joint Programming Initiative on Antimicrobial Resistance. This is looking at how we can study AMR across borders – AMR is a global problem, so by studying the commonalities and differences between countries we can get a better understanding of how to tackle it.
AMR is transmitted across humans, animals and the environment and studies on AMR generate huge amounts of data – from imaging data to genomics data and metagenomics data. We are using AI to study this data so that we can see how policies, treatments, practices or management vary between countries and how this has impacted AMR transmission.
Ultimately, we are aiming to develop a cloud-based surveillance system that can link different countries and identify hot spots of AMR. This would provide an early warning system that can alert us in advance if there is a risk of an outbreak of a treatment-resistant infectious disease.
What are you most looking forward to this year?
This year, I’m looking forward to what discoveries are in store. I can't think of a better job for me than this one – I love science and the more I do of it, the more I love it. It’s such an amazing and rewarding feeling to discover something new.
Who inspires you most and why?
Marie Curie and Rosalind Franklin are two of my inspirations. They both did amazing work and were so driven.
When I was in Nottingham, I set up a club called the Marie Curie and Rosalind Franklin Club, which was for women aiming to do STEMM and who wanted to learn about AI and bioinformatics.
My first big fellowship was a Marie Curie fellowship, and it was thanks to that fellowship from the European Commission that I could come to the UK.
Both women reflect my aim – being driven to change something that is so important for humanity.
What do you do with your time outside of work?
I love to read, I have two kids (so that takes quite a lot of my time!) and I love exploring London. I’m a Londoner deep inside and I missed it when I was in Nottingham. Walking around London, admiring the architecture, really inspires happiness in me.
What is your favourite thing about working at King's so far?
The vision of King’s and its strong interdisciplinary focus is something that really attracted me. My whole career has been built on interdisciplinary work, so aligning with that vision makes me feel like I’m in the right place, with the right support and infrastructure to drive my work forwards.
When I was an undergraduate in Italy, there was one fellowship opportunity to study at King’s for a short period. King's was very famous for the field I was studying, and I really wanted to go, but the fellowship was awarded to another student. So, King’s has been an ambition for me from the very beginning, and I’m very happy to be here now.
Quick-fire round
Favourite book: Wild Swans by Jung Chang
Favourite scientist: Marie Curie
Favourite cuisine: well…Italian!
Coffee order: espresso macchiato caldo