Current position (2018) at the University of Ferrara:
- Associate professor of the History of science
- Director of the MA in Science journalism and communication;
- Vice-director of the Department of Humanities;
- Member of the executive committee of the University Museum System
Education:
- 1999 Ph.D. in the History of science, University of Florence
- 1993 Degree in Philosophy, University of Bologna
Teaching (since 1998):
History of science, Philosophy of science, History of medicine
Role as scientific evaluator (selection):
- 2017 Vice-chair for the European Community, H2020-MSCA-IF-2017
- 2016, 2015 Expert for the European Community, H2020-MSCA-IF-2015 and H2020-MSCA-IF-2016
- 2016 Expert for the Italian Ministry of University and Education, VQR 2011-2014
Research fellowships/awards and funded projects (selection):
- 2016-17 Agreement with INGV for the European project “KnowRISK_ Know your city, Reduce seISmic risK through non-structural elements (AGREEMENT NUMBER - ECHO/SUB/2015/718655/PREV28)”
- 2016-17 Grant awarded by FENS – History of Neuroscience online projects 2016 for the project “Neurosciences in-formation: a visual history of Galvanism”
- 2016 Dibner Research Fellow in the History of Science and Technology, The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens, San Marino (CA), USA
- 2014-18. Member affiliate of the COST Action IS1310 “Reassembling the Republic of Letters, 1500–1800”, http://www.republicofletters.net/
- 2008-10. Head of a research unit for PRIN 2007, “The senses and the scientific observation of nature: new visions, new practices, theories and languages from Galileo to Malpighi”
- 2008. Visiting scholar at the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science, Berlin
- 2002. Visiting Research Fellow at The Bakken Library and Museum, Minneapolis, MN, USA
- 1997. Research affiliate in the History of medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, USA
Professional societies and journals:
- Società Italiana di Storia della Scienza (member of the executive committee)
- European Society for the History of Science
- History of Science Society
- Istituto Nazionale di Neuroscienze
- “I Castelli di Yale online” (member of the editorial board)
Conferences – Invited speaker (selection):
“Intorno al Settecento: nuove prospettive filosofiche”, Ferrara, 2017; “Thomas Bartholin in Italia. Reti scientifiche e solidarietà professionali nella medicina del Seicento”, Padova, 2016; XXV Congresso Associazione nazionale musei scientifici, Torino, 2015; 69° Congresso nazionale Società Italiana di Anatomia e Istologia, Ferrara, 2015; XVII Congresso della Federazione nazionale collegi IPASVI, Roma, 2015; “Malpractice, errors and uncertain knowledge in early modern medicine”, Wolfenbüttel (Germany), 2013; “Questions pathologiques. Clinique et autopsie avant Morgagni (XVI-XVIII siècles)” , Genève, 2012; 8th FENS - Forum of Neuroscience, Barcelona, 2012; “Anatome. Sezione, scomposizione, raffigurazione del corpo fra Medioevo e età moderna”, Bologna, 2012; “La tradizione galileiana e lo sperimentalismo naturalistico d’età moderna. Pratiche, teorie, linguaggi”, Milano, 2010; "From Carlo Matteucci to Giuseppe Moruzzi: Two centuries of European physiology”, Villa di Corliano (Pisa), 2010; “Im Korsett der Tugenden. Moral und Geschlecht im Kulturhistorischen Kontext”, Greifswald, 2009; 82nd Annual meeting of the American Association for the History of Medicine, Cleveland (OH), 2009; Josephinum Workshop “Anatomy and Wax”, Vienna, 2007; 11th annual meeting of the International Society for the History of the Neurosciences, Pavia, 2006; “Antonio Vallisneri. La figura, il contesto, le immagini storiografiche”, Milano, 2006; “Écriture et mémoire dans les carnets du laboratoire médico-biologique (XVIIème-XIXème siècles)”, Milano, 2005; “Filosofia, scienza, storia. Il dialogo fra Italia e Gran Bretagna nel XVIII secolo”, Ferrara, 2004; XLII Congresso nazionale della Società Italiana di Storia della Medicina, Bologna, 2002; The Bakken Library and Museum, Minneapolis, 2002 (seminar paper); “Electric bodies. Episodes in the history of medical electricity”, Bologna, 2001; “Giovanni di Strassoldo (Udine 1545-1610). Una vita tra armi, scienza, lettere”, Udine – Strassoldo, 2000; Modern History Faculty, Oxford, 2000 (seminar paper); 50ª Riunione annuale della Società Italiana di Fisiologia, Roma, 1999; “Reworking the bench. Research notebooks in the history of science”, Berlin, 1998 (invited discussant); “Medicine, Science and Enlightement 1680-1789”, Edinburgh, 1998; “Luigi Galvani. I luoghi, le immagini, la vita e la scienza”, Bologna, 1998; “Nuovi studi su Luigi Galvani”, Bologna, 1997; “I laboratori dell’università. Un incontro Bologna-Oxford”, Bologna, 1995; “Scienza e Potere. La politica della scienza in Europa e le sue radici storiche”, Firenze, 1994.
Research interests:
Life sciences and medicine in early modern Europe, and especially medical and scientific practices in the Italian milieu between the 17th and the beginning of the 19th centuries. Main research topics are the following:
1. The Galilean tradition in the life sciences between 17th and 18th century, with a special focus on the medical and scientific work of Marcello Malpighi. This research includes themes such as the relationship between anatomy and medicine, the professional and social networks of medicine, and the discourse about scientific observation from an epistemological and moral point of view;
2. The history of anatomy and pathology in early modern Europe;
3. The biography and work of Luigi Galvani, and the influence of his research in the life sciences between 18th and 19th century.
More recent research interests focus on the communication of science, including risk communication and the relationship between doctor and patient.
- Associate professor of the History of science
- Director of the MA in Science journalism and communication;
- Vice-director of the Department of Humanities;
- Member of the executive committee of the University Museum System
Education:
- 1999 Ph.D. in the History of science, University of Florence
- 1993 Degree in Philosophy, University of Bologna
Teaching (since 1998):
History of science, Philosophy of science, History of medicine
Role as scientific evaluator (selection):
- 2017 Vice-chair for the European Community, H2020-MSCA-IF-2017
- 2016, 2015 Expert for the European Community, H2020-MSCA-IF-2015 and H2020-MSCA-IF-2016
- 2016 Expert for the Italian Ministry of University and Education, VQR 2011-2014
Research fellowships/awards and funded projects (selection):
- 2016-17 Agreement with INGV for the European project “KnowRISK_ Know your city, Reduce seISmic risK through non-structural elements (AGREEMENT NUMBER - ECHO/SUB/2015/718655/PREV28)”
- 2016-17 Grant awarded by FENS – History of Neuroscience online projects 2016 for the project “Neurosciences in-formation: a visual history of Galvanism”
- 2016 Dibner Research Fellow in the History of Science and Technology, The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens, San Marino (CA), USA
- 2014-18. Member affiliate of the COST Action IS1310 “Reassembling the Republic of Letters, 1500–1800”, http://www.republicofletters.net/
- 2008-10. Head of a research unit for PRIN 2007, “The senses and the scientific observation of nature: new visions, new practices, theories and languages from Galileo to Malpighi”
- 2008. Visiting scholar at the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science, Berlin
- 2002. Visiting Research Fellow at The Bakken Library and Museum, Minneapolis, MN, USA
- 1997. Research affiliate in the History of medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, USA
Professional societies and journals:
- Società Italiana di Storia della Scienza (member of the executive committee)
- European Society for the History of Science
- History of Science Society
- Istituto Nazionale di Neuroscienze
- “I Castelli di Yale online” (member of the editorial board)
Conferences – Invited speaker (selection):
“Intorno al Settecento: nuove prospettive filosofiche”, Ferrara, 2017; “Thomas Bartholin in Italia. Reti scientifiche e solidarietà professionali nella medicina del Seicento”, Padova, 2016; XXV Congresso Associazione nazionale musei scientifici, Torino, 2015; 69° Congresso nazionale Società Italiana di Anatomia e Istologia, Ferrara, 2015; XVII Congresso della Federazione nazionale collegi IPASVI, Roma, 2015; “Malpractice, errors and uncertain knowledge in early modern medicine”, Wolfenbüttel (Germany), 2013; “Questions pathologiques. Clinique et autopsie avant Morgagni (XVI-XVIII siècles)” , Genève, 2012; 8th FENS - Forum of Neuroscience, Barcelona, 2012; “Anatome. Sezione, scomposizione, raffigurazione del corpo fra Medioevo e età moderna”, Bologna, 2012; “La tradizione galileiana e lo sperimentalismo naturalistico d’età moderna. Pratiche, teorie, linguaggi”, Milano, 2010; "From Carlo Matteucci to Giuseppe Moruzzi: Two centuries of European physiology”, Villa di Corliano (Pisa), 2010; “Im Korsett der Tugenden. Moral und Geschlecht im Kulturhistorischen Kontext”, Greifswald, 2009; 82nd Annual meeting of the American Association for the History of Medicine, Cleveland (OH), 2009; Josephinum Workshop “Anatomy and Wax”, Vienna, 2007; 11th annual meeting of the International Society for the History of the Neurosciences, Pavia, 2006; “Antonio Vallisneri. La figura, il contesto, le immagini storiografiche”, Milano, 2006; “Écriture et mémoire dans les carnets du laboratoire médico-biologique (XVIIème-XIXème siècles)”, Milano, 2005; “Filosofia, scienza, storia. Il dialogo fra Italia e Gran Bretagna nel XVIII secolo”, Ferrara, 2004; XLII Congresso nazionale della Società Italiana di Storia della Medicina, Bologna, 2002; The Bakken Library and Museum, Minneapolis, 2002 (seminar paper); “Electric bodies. Episodes in the history of medical electricity”, Bologna, 2001; “Giovanni di Strassoldo (Udine 1545-1610). Una vita tra armi, scienza, lettere”, Udine – Strassoldo, 2000; Modern History Faculty, Oxford, 2000 (seminar paper); 50ª Riunione annuale della Società Italiana di Fisiologia, Roma, 1999; “Reworking the bench. Research notebooks in the history of science”, Berlin, 1998 (invited discussant); “Medicine, Science and Enlightement 1680-1789”, Edinburgh, 1998; “Luigi Galvani. I luoghi, le immagini, la vita e la scienza”, Bologna, 1998; “Nuovi studi su Luigi Galvani”, Bologna, 1997; “I laboratori dell’università. Un incontro Bologna-Oxford”, Bologna, 1995; “Scienza e Potere. La politica della scienza in Europa e le sue radici storiche”, Firenze, 1994.
Research interests:
Life sciences and medicine in early modern Europe, and especially medical and scientific practices in the Italian milieu between the 17th and the beginning of the 19th centuries. Main research topics are the following:
1. The Galilean tradition in the life sciences between 17th and 18th century, with a special focus on the medical and scientific work of Marcello Malpighi. This research includes themes such as the relationship between anatomy and medicine, the professional and social networks of medicine, and the discourse about scientific observation from an epistemological and moral point of view;
2. The history of anatomy and pathology in early modern Europe;
3. The biography and work of Luigi Galvani, and the influence of his research in the life sciences between 18th and 19th century.
More recent research interests focus on the communication of science, including risk communication and the relationship between doctor and patient.
