My field of research is molecular virology, an interest born studying rotavirus during my PhD and matured during my six years as a researcher at the MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research (CVR). At the CVR I first worked on the development and the preclinical evaluation of a Zika virus (ZIKV) candidate vaccine and then I focused on the impact of the emerging mutations in SARS-CoV-2 variants. As a Research Fellow at the Research and Innovation Technology Institute (RIT) at Area Science Park in Trieste, I am studying the interaction between viruses and infected host cell, in particular the synergy between two cellular pathways (UPR and PRR) in mounting an antiviral response and the role of the emerging mutations of SARS-CoV-2 in affecting cellular DNA Damage response and subsequent inflammation and senescence. My interest in vaccine development is still very alive, and I am starting now to expand on new projects about the application of antiviral peptides.