In 2003 I graduated in Biological Sciences at Sapienza University studying the mechanically activated currents in DRG sensory neurons and their modulation mechanisms by Protein Kinase C. In 2009 I obtained my PhD in Neurophysiology at the University of Rome. The research activity carried out during my PhD focused on the structural determinants of calcium permeability of the muscle acetylcholine receptor. Using electrophysiological techniques on cell cultures combined with calcium imaging techniques, I measured the fractional calcium current and the biophysical properties of muscle nicotinic receptors expressing slow-channel syndromes. From 2008 to 2011 I worked as a post-doc in the laboratory of Prof. Andrea Volterra at the University of Lausanne. Here I studied the role of astrocytes in the modulation of synaptic transmission in the hippocampus, in physiological and pathological conditions. I had the opportunity to approach two-photon imaging technique to complete an innovative project to study calcium signals in astrocytes. In 2012 I came back to Rome in the laboratory of Prof. Cristina Limatola at the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Sapienza University where I am currently a research fellow and lecturer. In these years I have been investigating the mechanisms of bidirectional communication between microglial cells and neurons in physiological conditions such as the sleep-wake cycle or in pathological conditions such as ALS or brain tumors.