Fabrizio Ghiselli PostDoc

I got my Master's Degree in Natural Science, cum laude, at University of Bologna in October 2006, with a dissertation entitled "Microevolution of the Leptynia hispanica (Insecta Phasmida) species complex: karyological and molecular data".

In November 2006 I started the "Biodiversity and Evolution" PhD program at the Department of "Biologia Evoluzionistica Sperimentale": the main topic of my research is the molecular characterization of Doybly Uniparental Inheritance (DUI) mitochondrial systems.

In 2009 I spent 5 months at the University of Sountern California in  Los Angeles. I worked in the Nuzhdin Lab (Department of Molecular and Computational biology), where I became familiar with ultra-high-throughput sequencing, in particular with the RNA-Seq approach, using the illumina sequencing platform.

At the present time I'm focusing on: i- Real-Time Multiplex PCR analysis to quantify M and F mitochondrial genomes in several tissues of adults and larvae at different developmental stages: ii- Analisys of the transcriptome of the gonadal tissue.

Grants: "Biodiversity and Evolution" PhD grant ("Biologia Evoluzionistica Sperimentale" Department - University of Bologna, 2007-2009); "Marco Polo" visiting grant (University of Bologna, May-October 2009).

Schools/Classes: "Genome Evolution in Eukaryotes (GEE)" Summer School at the University Residential Center of Bertinoro (September 2006); "Small RNA, big funcions" on micro-RNAs, organized by the Italian Genetics Association in Cortona (Arezzo) (October 2008).

  Liliana Milani PostDoc

In 2006 I got my Master's Degree in Natural Science, cum laude, at the University of Bologna, with a dissertation entitled "Microevolution of Leptynia attenuata species complex (Insecta Phasmida): karyological and molecular data". In 2006-2007 I was awarded by the "Donazione Canziani" Grant to perform "Phylogenetic analyses on circummediterranean Phasmatodea".

During 2007 I had a grant on the "Characterization of Doubly Uniparental System in Bivalvia mollusks", where I learnt detailed notions on DUI in Tapes philippinarum. In 2008 I took a Study Prize  for my activity in that research.

From Genuary 2009. I am having my PhD course in "Biodiversity and Evolution" at the Department of "Biologia Evoluzionistica Sperimentale", at the University of Bologna, studying "Immunocytochemical characterization and mitochondrial inheritance in the DUI species Tapes philippinarum (Bivalvia Veneridae)".

Federico Plazzi PostDoc

As a graduate student, I took part to the "Darwin Project" in December 2006 across Galàpagos Islands. I got my Master Degree in Biodiversity and Evolution, cum laude, in 2007. My thesis was entitled "Molecular phylogeny of bivalve molluscs: the contributions from mitochondrial genes 12s, 16s, cob, col".

I started my PhD in 2008 at the Experimental Evolutionary Biology Department. In December 2008 I took part to the oceanographic cruisse ARCO on the natonal Research Council "Urania" ship through the Southern Adriatic Sea.

My research interests focus on bivalves' mitochondrial genetics and phylogeny: I am currently studying several aspects of their molecular biology, systematics and taxonomy.

I am also interested in developing computational and statistical methods for a wide spectrum of phylogenetics analyses. 

  Valerio Scali Retired Full Professor

He got degrees in Natural Sciences at Pisa University during 1962 and  the same year became professor Benazzi’s assistant and Zoology lecturer for the MFN Faculty of the same University.

A few years later he also taught Biologia e Zoologia generale for the Faculty of Medicine.

In  the year 1980 became full Zoology professor of the MFN Facutly at Bologna University, where  gave lectures in Zoology  for Natural Sciences degrees, Biology for Environmental Sciences, Animal Biology for the Farmacy Faculty both in Bologna and Rimini.

He wrote a few books of   zoology and animal  biology for students and also coordinated 6 cycles of the Animal Biology Doctorate.

His research has been published in about 230 papers and a few reviews, mainly addressed to  reproductive biology, karyology, speciation mechanisms, ecological genetics and phylogenesis of newts, butterflies, crustacean decapods, bivalves and, most widely, stick insects, among which he described new reproductive modes, such as hybridogenesis and androgenesis, and several new taxa.

He retired in 2006, but is still developing microevolutionary issues on  the circumediterranean stick insects.