After graduating in Cognitive Neuroscience (Psychology), I developed clinical activity at the Cognitive Rehabilitation Department of the San Raffaele Hospital in Milan as a neuropsychologist. Subsequently, I completed my Ph.D. in Biomedicine at Pompeu Fabra University under the supervision of Professor Albert Costa and Professor Marco Calabria, studying the mechanisms of lexical access in bilinguals, their relationship with executive control mechanisms, and the possible role of bilingualism as a cognitive reserve factor in normal and pathological aging. The results of my research contributed to ‘Language-Specific’ models of lexical access in bilinguals and to a better understanding of the role of bilingualism as a protective factor in aging.

After my Ph.D., my research has focused on investigating how different lifestyle factors (physical activity, nutrition, cognitive activity, sleep, socialization, etc.), psychological characteristics, and their interaction with our biology can promote brain health and help prevent the development of neurological and psychiatric disorders. All this research activity has been carried out within the framework of the Barcelona Brain Health Initiative, of which I have been the scientific coordinator and Chief Scientist for the past 6 years (total funding: €5M).

I am an adjunct professor at the Autonomous University of Barcelona and the Open University of Catalonia. I have supervised numerous master’s theses and two completed doctoral theses (both with distinction, cum laude); I am currently supervising two more. I have been a visiting researcher at the Berenson-Allen Center for Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation at Harvard Medical School and at the University of Siena’s Brain Investigation and Neuromodulation Lab.

I have been invited as a speaker at important national and international conferences and serve as a reviewer for prominent scientific journals (Frontiers in Psychology, Journal of Neurolinguistics, Journal of Applied Psycholinguistics, etc.). I am the author of over 30 publications in scientific journals in the last five years. In parallel with my research activities, I have sought to disseminate science to non-expert audiences by participating in radio programs and being interviewed by various local and national newspapers.

Currently, I am the principal investigator of a project funded by the Fundación La Marató de TV3, a project funded by the Ministry of Science and Innovation, and a project funded by the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation.