Freshwater ecologist and environmental botanist specializing in the taxonomy and ecology of benthic microalgae, particularly diatoms. Research integrates fine-resolution morphotaxonomy, stream and spring ecology, biomonitoring, ecohydrogeology, biogeography, long-term ecological research, and the effects of climate and environmental change. Associate Professor at the University of Bologna; formerly Head of Limnology and Phycology at MUSE—Science Museum, Trento. Research Associate at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University since 2017. 150 peer-reviewed papers in indexed international journals; >8,500 Google Scholar citations; h-index 44; i10-index 133 (October 2026). Scientific coordinator or work-package/task coordinator for 40 projects, competitive tenders, and consultancies. Lead editor and author: Freshwater Benthic Diatoms of Central Europe: Over 800 Common Species Used in Ecological Assessment (942 pp., 2017), a widely used identification reference. Stanford–Elsevier science-wide database of top-cited scientists. Included for multiple consecutive editions in the single-year impact category, Marine Biology & Hydrobiology; ranked 660 of 49,763 researchers for citation year 2024 (approximately top 1.33% of the subfield). Top Italian Scientist, Via-Academy (listed since 2020). Thesis supervisor: 11 PhDs, 30 Masters, and 23 Bachelors.