2008 Ph.D in “Phytosanitary Technologies”, at the University of Catania, department of Science and Phytosanitary Technology (DISTEF), with final report in “Evaluation of NASBA (Nucleic Acid Sequence-Based Amplification) technique for detecting viable cells of Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. citri”. 2003 II level Post graduate Master in “Biotecnology for sustainable protection of crops and agri-food” with final report in “AFLP molecular markers to characterize Pseudomonas syringae pv. pisi population”, Scuola Superiore di Catania, University of Catania.