Elena started her laboratory experience in Novara, where she achieved her Bachelor’s degree in Biotechnology in 2019. She continued her academic studies performing her Master’s degree in Medical Biotechnology at University of Milan, where she developed a deep fascination towards neuroscience, which was supported also by her laboratory experience. Indeed, during her thesis internship, she worked in the Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Biology applied to neurodevelopmental diseases on an in vitro project aimed at unveiling alterations of astrocytes and neuron-glia communication in Rett syndrome.

After her graduation in 2022, she continued working in the field thanks to a research fellowship at San Raffaele Rett Research Unit. Her enhanced interest and passion for neuroscience brought Elena to attend the PhD Course in Molecular and Experimental Medicine at Humanitas University. She is a PhD at the Developmental Neurobiology Lab of Simona Lodato, where she is studying the mechanisms underlying a severe form of developmental and epileptic encephalopathy by exploiting the cutting-edge and exciting technology of brain organoids. In particular, in Lodato’s Lab, Elena is mainly focused on the generation of cortical organoids, which recapitulate the development of the cortex in a patient-specific fashion.