Ilaria started her PhD at EPFL in 2021 under the supervision of Dimitri Van De Ville. Her research focuses on spinal cord fMRI and graph computational modelling. 

Background

She was born and raised in Apulia (Puglia), a southern Italian region.

In 2017 Ilaria obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Bioengineering at University of Pavia working in Human Brain Project with Prof. D’Angelo and in 2020 she obtained her Master’s in Neuroengineering at EPFL, performing her Master thesis in Harvard Medical School as Bertarelli fellow for 12 months, where she worked in Lee lab on micro-scale graph connectivity in the cerebellum. 

Prior starting her PhD, she worked in Siemens Healthineers on automatic brain volumetry in the context of Alzheimer’s Disease and dementia. 

Currently

She is passionate about understanding the relationship between structural and functional connectivity, with a strong interest for graph theory and complex challenges. In her PhD, “Spinal Cord fMRI: Network Modeling and Interactions with the Brain”, she explores spinal cord fMRI, adapting to the field’s novelty and limited analysis tools. Her goal is to advance spinal cord research and bridge the gap between brain and spinal cord connectivity.

In parallel, she is a semi-professional dancer: she competes at the international level in hip hop, performs on dance festivals and teaches Caribbean dances (Cuban Salsa).