I’m a sociologist with a extensive background in political science. Over the last two decades, I have mainly worked on migration. I am currently the Deputy Director of the Interdepartmental Research and Training Centre MiDiS (Migration, Diversity and Sustainable Development) at UPO. Before that, I was a founding member and Deputy Director of FIERI, an independent Italian research institute focused on social transformations related to migration and cultural diversity.

My main research interests concern migrant integration, where I have sought to conceptualise the effects of economic recessions on integration patterns and  contested the North–South divide in migration policies. I have also worked extensively on migration and asylum, with a particular focus on multilevel governance and the impact of projectification on policymaking, as well as on migrants’ access to local welfare policies, in large, medium-sized and small-sized municipalities.

Since its foundation in 2004, I have been an active member of the largest academic network on migration in Europe, the IMISCOE Research Network, where I serve on both the Editorial Committee and the Standing Committee on Migration Politics and Governance.

I have participated in several Horizon2020 and Horizon Europe projects (CEASEVAL, TRAFIG, Bridges, Whole-COMM, DIGNITYFirm, REFAIR), and I have been involved in evaluation of policy interventions at local, regional and national level, training programmes for practitioners, as well as in participatory research on migration issues.