I joined the LSTM’s spin-out company iiDiagnostics in 2022 working at the Liverpool Insect Testing Establishment (LITE). My role as BDM in LITE is to support partnerships with commercial and academic clients to help them developing and validating novel vector control products.
Prior to joining LITE, I had been involved in academic research in the field of vector-borne diseases for over 10 years, with a specific focus on malaria. I have worked on various aspects of the biology of the malaria parasite and its mosquito vector, including transgenic technologies to modify the mosquito genome and conducting experimental mosquito infections.
I received a B.Sc. in Biological Sciences and a M.Sc. in Cellular and Molecular Biology from the University of Catania (Italy) and then completed a M.Sc. in Molecular Parasitology and Vector Biology as part of a joint programme of the Universities of Salford, Manchester, and Keele. I obtained my Ph.D. in Tropical Medicine from LSTM before moving to the University of California Irvine for a two-year Postdoctoral Scholar position. I returned to the UK working as a Postdoctoral Research Associate at LSTM for two years before joining LITE.