Role
Full Professor of Electronic Bioengineering at the IUSS University School of Advanced Studies in Pavia
Bio
After graduating in Physics in 1991 from the University of Genoa and earning a PhD in Bioengineering from the Polytechnic University of Milan in 1996, she has dedicated her scientific career to the study of organic semiconductor materials for the creation of electronic devices and systems for sensing, with applications ranging from monitoring biomedical signals with wearable sensors, to sensors for genomics, to cellular sensors for drug testing , brain-machine interfaces, robotics, and precision agriculture. In 1996, she became a Researcher in Electronics at the University of Cagliari, where she subsequently became an Associate Professor and then a Full Professor of Electronic Bioengineering. From 2015 to 2017, she served as Vice Rector for Innovation and Relations with the Territory at the University of Cagliari. Since 2014, she has served on the board of directors of the Center for Research, Development, and Advanced Studies in Sardinia (CRS4). In 2017 she became President, the first woman since its foundation (1990) to hold this role, which she held until 2020. Since 2024 she has been a Full Professor at the IUSS University School of Advanced Studies in Pavia.
Since 2001, she has worked on the development of organic semiconductor electronic devices for human biomonitoring systems at various dimensional scales (down to single cells and the detection of biochemical signals from biological macromolecules). Her research group was among the first in the world to work and publish on the development of electronic sensors on unconventional substrates such as paper, plastic, and fabrics. She developed and patented a method for producing conductive fibers and fabrics. Based on this method, she and her research group have developed wearable biosensing devices and systems, including both devices integrated into clothing and systems for direct skin contact, such as electronic tattoos, for the detection of cardiac and muscle signals, and more generally biopotentials generated by the human or animal body. In parallel, these same systems can be used to develop advanced sensors for environmental control. She is the author of 12 international patents focused on the use of organic semiconductor devices for biomonitoring. She has coordinated several international and national research projects in this field.