Damiano Zanini obtained a PhD in Genetics and Molecular Biology of Development at the University of Padova. His main scientific background concerns Sensory Neuroscience and Entomology.

During his PostDoc at the University of Göttingen, he investigated the mechanisms through which animals translate and combine sensory inputs into behavioral outputs. By combining genetics, molecular biology and immunohistochemistry, he found that rhodopsins -the visual opsins of the eye- play a functional and structural role in stretch receptor neurons. In 2016 he joined the Center for Mind/Brain Sciences (CIMeC) at the University of Trento, where contributed to the development of an all-optical activation and readout setup to map the brain activity and network. Moreover, he applied advanced intravital 2P imaging techniques to describe the neuronal response latencies at the olfactory system. At the University of Würzburg, he continued to investigate the architecture of mechanosensory neurons while expanding his studies to the mechanisms behind the capability of different living species to adapt to changing environmental conditions.

Since 2022, he has been part of the Multiscale ImmunoImaging Unit, where he is in charge of using and managing systems of Live Cell Imaging, confocal and 2P microscopy, as well as Imaging Mass Cytometry, in the context of preclinical studies associated with infections and cancer immunology. (Scopus ID 36138429000; H-index= 12).