I undertook my Ph.D in "Animal Health and Production of Tropical and subtropical areas" in 2000 with a thesis "Genetic variability of an endangered cattle breed: the Maremmana"

I spent part of my Ph.D. working at the molecular genetic laboratory of the Institute of Animal Health [UK] gaining experience in the application of a variety of molecular approaches to study animal population genetics.

My personal interest is in using high-resolution molecular markers to test hypotheses of relatedness within animal population, to examine how genetic diversity is distributed within and among domestic breeds, to infer the demographic history of populations, changes in effective population size and patterns of gene flow and admixture.

I am also interested in the application of novel genomic tools for the identification of quantitative traits and for the genetic improvement of livestock.