Lucia obtained her PhD in Socio-Environmental Toxicology within a collaboration between the University of Messina (Italy) and the national Council for Agricultural Research (CREA Food and Nutrition, Italy) in 2014, studying the mechanisms of nutritional molecules against diabetes and inflammation.

She joined the Institute for Cardiovascular Prevention (IPEK) during the last months of her PhD in 2013, where she used 3D imaging and de novo RNA sequencing techniques to decipher novel lncRNAs and miRNAs regulating endothelial dysfunction during atherosclerosis.

She now is a junior group leader within the Weber Lab, with a particular focus on the role of novel endothelial extranuclear structures named micronuclei (MN) and genetic signatures in arterial predisposition to plaque development and atheroprogression.