I attended a bachelor degree in biotechnology at the University of Palermo, Italy, where I graduated in 2013. I obtained a master degree in industrial biotechnology at the University of Palermo and FHNW University in Basel, Switzerland, in 2016, working on cell-surface display in bacteria and yeast. I then pursued his PhD studies at the University of Aberdeen, UK, working on proteomic biomarkers for drug resistant Candida species. I successfully graduated in 2020. In the same year, I decided to join the Lorenz lab at UTHealth as a postdoctoral research fellow, pursuing my interest in fungal biology and antimicrobial compounds.During my 9 years of experience in the field of microbiology, I developed my expertise in characterizing the microbial cell surface through a variety of techniques, including mass spectrometry, flow cytometry, confocal and electron microscopy and creation of mutants via CRISPR-based methods. I also have experience with cell surface and phage displays. Moreover, I also have experience in animal models to look at host-pathogen interactions.