I completed my MSc in Biology(Biodiversity and Environmental Health) at the University of Siena, Italy and a collaborative European Erasmus for traineeship exchange program at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Sweden.

I am currently a PhD Candidate in Entomology, my project focuses on the diversity and agro-ecology of thrips(Thysanoptera) in the Levubu region of Limpopo province, South Africa with the aim of addressing a lack of knowledge on the thrips assemblage in the region, the species associated with damage on avocados and macadamias and the close association of the two commodities, as well as other plant formations that can represent alternative hosts and refuges for thrips through integration of morphological, molecular and machine learning analysis approaches. The project will also contribute to the development of protocols for detection of pestiferous thrips, defining economic thresholds for control interventions and determination of drivers for thrips occurrence