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LAB MEMBERS AND COLLABORATORS
LAB MEMBERS
(most recent first)
VALERIO CARUSO
Researcher, Sapienza University of Rome
Valerio is a Researcher, an entomologist focused on insect biodiversity and dark taxa. His work combines integrative taxonomy (morphology, DNA barcoding, phylogenetics) with machine learning and AI. He specializes in museum collections management and biodiversity assessment, and develops automated image-based systems for invasive insect species identification.
GIORGIA SCRIVANO
Researcher, Sapienza University of Rome
Giorgia is a Researcher, an ecologist and entomologist studying how biodiversity responds to environmental change. Her work combines field insect monitoring, morphological ID, DNA barcoding, and community analyses in R and GIS. During her PhD with Sila National Park, she gained expertise linking field data with LiDAR and satellite-derived spatial predictors to explore how ecosystem structure shapes insect communities and functional traits.
EMANUELE ROSSI
Researcher, Sapienza University of Rome
Emanuele is a Researcher, an ecologist and entomologist studying how insect communities respond to environmental change. During his academic experiences he developed expertise in insect identification (mainly hoverflies) and community analysis on R.
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MARTINA DE VITO
MSc Student, Sapienza University of Rome
Martina is a MsC student in Ecobiology, currently developing her thesis on the climate change vulnerability of European vertebrates. Her research provides a comprehensive assessment of how taxonomic groups, including amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals, respond to shifting climatic conditions.
JULIA NICOLE ROSSI
BSc Student, Sapienza University of Rome
Julia holds a Bachelor's in Natural Sciences and she is currently a Master's student in Ecobiology at Sapienza University of Rome. She's actively engaged in her thesis on one of the lab's ongoing projects about ecological corridors in Abruzzo, in collaboration with Rewilding Apennines.
MARCO CIRIGLIANO
MSc Student, Sapienza University of Rome
Marco is a MSc student in Ecobiology, working on risk assessment of emerging infectious diseases through a One Health approach. The aim of his MSc thesis is to assess the zoonotic hazard posed to humans by Toscana virus in Italy and map the areas to prioritize in terms of zoonotic risk. This project is in collaboration with the Italian National Institute of Health (ISS).
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MICHELA SIMEONI
Lab Manager, Sapienza University of Rome
Michela is the Lab Manager, overseeing the management of the project’s laboratory and daily lab activities. She has experience in managing national and international environmental projects, marine conservation initiatives and ecological monitoring programs. Outside the lab, Michela enjoys outdoor activities and practicing yoga, which help her maintain balance beyond her work.
MICHELA GABRIELI
PhD student, Sapienza University of Rome
Michela is a PhD student in the lab. Her work focuses on predicting the effects of climate change on entomophagous insects, focusing on bristle flies (Diptera: Tachinidae) and apoid wasps (Hymenoptera: Spheciformes). She uses functional diversity metrics and investigates how these can enhance forecasting accuracy when accounting for the biological trait equipment of these taxa.
NICCOLO' CECI
Research, Sapienza University of Rome
Niccolò is a researcher studying how biodiversity responds to variation in ecological integrity and landscape processes. His work combines field monitoring of vertebrate and insect communities with advanced spatial and statistical analyses. He contributes to the monitoring and evaluation of rewilding initiatives, examining how ecosystem recovery shapes biodiversity patterns. His research also extends to macroecological studies investigating the links between biodiversity and zoonotic disease dynamics, integrating biodiversity, environmental, and epidemiological data.
VALERIO MEZZANOTTE
PhD student, Sapienza University of Rome
Valerio is a PhD student and a former MSc student and research assistant in the Lab, where his work focuses on evaluating, preventing, and minimizing environmental and climatic risks associated with the Nature Restoration Law planning and implementation.
He is passionate about climate change, biodiversity conservation, and rewilding.
Outside of research, he enjoys trekking and astronomy, which help him maintain balance beyond his work.
See his profile here: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Valerio-Mezzanotte?ev=hdr_xprf
ELENA CATUCCI
Postdoctoral Researcher, Sapienza University of Rome
Elena is a Postdoctoral Researcher in the lab. She is an Ecologist specialized in modeling and machine learning. She is involved in the PREPARED project that aims to operationalize the One Health approach. Elena focuses on the integration of the ecological dimension into the modeling of the risk of disease emergence and transmission.
She is passionate about Conservation Biology, Biodiversity Research, Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, Natural Resource Management, Climate Change.
LARA MARCOLIN
PhD student, Sapienza University of Rome
Lara is a PhD student, and former MSc student, in the lab working on the prediction of West Nile virus risk associated to environmental and climatic change. The aim of her PhD project is to assess the zoonotic hazard posed by West Nile based on the degradation of bird biodiversity.
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MARTA CIMATTI
Postdoctoral Researcher, Sapienza University of Rome
Marta is a postdoc, and former PhD student, in the lab. The aim of her postdoc, as part of the NaturaConnect project, is to identify a climatic resilience strategy for European protected Areas.
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See her profile here: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Marta_Cimatti
ANDREA TONELLI
PhD student, Sapienza University of Rome
Andrea is a Postdoctoral researcher and former PhD student working on the prediction of zoonotic risk associated to blueprint diseases. The aim of his work is to assess the zoonotic hazard posed by mammalian viruses at global scale, understanding the distribution patterns of viral diversity, and the priority for monitoring zoonotic risk.
GIORDANO MANCINI
Postdoctoral Researcher, Sapienza University of Rome
Giordano is a Postdoctoral researcher and former PhD student funded by the italian National Operational Program (PON) for research and innovation. He is working on climate change exposure measurement to support IUCN Red List climate change assessment, in collaboration with the sRedList working group. He is also interested in the effect of global change on human-biodiversity coexistence.
CHIARA DRAGONETTI
Postdoctoral Researcher, Sapienza University of Rome
Chiara is a Post-Doc, and former PhD student, currently working on different projects regarding rewilding and the impact of human pressure on mountain ecosystems. During her PhD, she studied the impacts of global change on mountain biodiversity from a local to global scale.
See her profile here: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Chiara_Dragonetti2
