I am the Project Lead for HBSC England and Co-PI with Prof. Sally Kendall.

I completed my undergraduate degree at the University of Padua (Italy) with a specialization in Work and Industrial Psychology in 1996, followed by a PhD in Social Psychology from the University of Kent in 1999. Since then, I have been a lecturer and then senior lecturer at the University of Greenwich and at Canterbury Christ Church University. I have joined the University of Kent as a Senior Research Fellow in the Centre for Health Services Studies (CHSS) in 2018 working for the Research Design Services as part of NIHR. During this period, I have developed significant experience in quantitative data analysis and advanced statistical techniques collaborating in several research projects.

I have been involved in a number funded projects in applied health research looking, for instance, at the positive effects that singing, manipulating artefacts in a museum context, looking at art, etc. can have on the wellbeing of Alzheimer patients and their carers. I have collaborated on a large scale multicentre international study testing the effectiveness of educational programs on the way Type 2 Diabetes patients manage their illness.  In terms of health promotion, I have experience with large scale studies evaluating the role of physical activity in reducing the risk of Type 2 Diabetes in residents of a high risk south London area and the role of health screening in improving the wellbeing of patients with severe mental health problems. All of my research activities in applied health settings have had an element of PPI which typically results in improved measurement tools, research design and overall significance and reach.

I am an experienced supervisor having successfully supervised at Master, Clinical Doctorate, Educational Doctorate and PhD level.

I have also collaborated on research projects more focussed on methodological aspects of research, like validation of measuring scales and instruments (e.g. Risk of Gang Affiliation in teenagers; assessment of cognitive abilities after brain injuries; Italian WISC-IV and WAIS equivalent) and the psychometric properties of diagnostic tools.

I joined HBSC in 2021 as data manager and I am now co-PI for the project. I take an active part in the network’s focus group on Mental Health and Well-being, the international report writing group and the validation special interest group.

My expertise focuses on quantitative research designs, construction of attitude measurement tools, validation studies, data management of large scale datasets, psychometrics, cohort studies and survey design in general.