Lab technician
Dinosaur Ecosystems Research Group

(Trieste, 2000)

I completed both my Bachelor’s degree in Natural Sciences and my Master’s degree in Biodiversity and Evolution at the University of Bologna (Alma Mater Studiorum), where I focused my coursework, internships, and theses on the paleobiological study of dinosaurs and extinct vertebrates.

My Bachelor’s dissertation focused on the pathological study of cranial remains from a senile specimen of Triceratops horridus from the Maastrichtian (Late Cretaceous) of South Dakota. My Master’s thesis centered on the development of a new methodological approach for investigating perioral tissues in fossil archosaurs, based on information derived from the cranial rostral neurovascular system. In particular, I tested this approach on a specimen of Camarasaurus from the Late Jurassic of Wyoming in order to evaluate the hypothesis of the presence of a cornified beak.

My research focuses on dinosaur paleobiology, with particular emphasis on the reconstruction of cranial soft tissues and paleopathology. I am currently investigating the development of perioral soft tissues in sauropod dinosaurs and their implications for mastication, feeding behavior, and dietary adaptations. This work applies innovative analytical techniques such as CT and micro-CT scan segmentation and 3D modeling, combined with cross-disciplinary expertise in comparative anatomy, vertebrate physiology, and modern biology.

I have collaborated with several renowned academic institutions, museums, and private enterprises involved in the research, curation, and dissemination of paleontological material, including the Field Museum of Natural History (Chicago), the Institut Català de Paleontologia, the Museu da Lourinhã, the Musée de Cruzy, ZOIC srl, GEOMODEL, the Civic Natural History Museum of Trieste, and the Aathal Sauriermuseum. In addition, I have participated in several paleontological field campaigns across Europe in Jurassic (Marinha Grande and Lourinhã formations, Portugal) and Cretaceous (Bertalas North site, France; Tremp and Montsec formations, Spain) deposits.

Currently, I hold a short-term contract as a Lab Technician at the institution, where I work on CT and micro-CT imaging segmentation, 3D modeling, and the reconstruction of dinosaur cranial and skeletal remains from the Tremp Formation (Catalonia, Spain) and the French Pyrenees.

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