He is currently a fixed-term Technical Collaborator (VI level) (from July 2023) within the PNRR EMBRC project Unlocking the Potential for Health and Food from the seas - EMBRC-UP. Since 2021 he has also been a PhD student in Polar Sciences at the Ca' Foscari University of Venice. In 2014 he obtained a degree in Biology and Ecology of the Coastal Marine Environment at the University of Messina, with the thesis entitled Tolerance to heavy metals and polychlorinated biphenyls in Arctic bacteria (Continental Norway). During the preparation of his degree thesis he spent 4 months at the University of Valencia (Spain) to acquire new laboratory techniques. He has participated in several sampling activities in the Arctic, Antarctica and the Mediterranean for the collection and processing of samples for microbiological studies. In particular, the research interest is aimed at the study of microbial populations in aquatic environments (sea, freshwater and hyperhaline brine), sediments and permafrost. Among the techniques used: estimation of prokaryotic biomass by counting and morphometric and morphological analysis, through the application of microscopic techniques in epifluorescence and image analysis; analysis of the prokaryotic community using CARD-FISH and next generation sequencing; estimation of physiological profiles of prokaryotes at community level using BIOLOG Ecoplate; quantification of viable cells through the use of biomarkers (LIVE/DEAD and CTC); screening of bacteria for the ability to degrade polluting organic compounds. He is the author or co-author of approximately 25 articles in international journals.