Valentina Simonetti

I am a bioengineer by training. I hold a master’s degree in Biomedical Engineering from Politecnico di Milano and a double degree in Computer Science from the University of Houston (USA).
Over the years, I have developed a strong interest in comparative cognition, which led me to pursue an industrial PhD at the Department of General Psychology of the University of Padua, with a dissertation entitled “Features of plant root movement: a perspective for the study of plant cognition”. For my PhD, I developed a complete system for the analysis of plant root movements and I applied it to experiments aimed at studying plant cognition. My current main research focus is indeed plant cognition, which I carry out within the Mind(the)Plant laboratory, led by Professor Umberto Castiello.
Throughout my career, I have also been active in other research areas that remain of great interest to me and that involve the development of technological solutions and digital applications for mental health, cognitive monitoring, and rehabilitation. I have worked in industrial research and development settings, where I was involved in the design and implementation of technological prototypes and innovative digital solutions for translational research.
I have participated in several European projects with international consortia, especially in the fields of mental health and motor and cognitive rehabilitation. In these contexts, I contributed to the design and implementation of apps for data collection and processing through algorithms based on scientific evidence. I have experience in managing research and development projects and in coordinating co-design processes with multidisciplinary teams.
In my free time, I enjoy playing music as an amateur. I have played the violin since I was a child and in recent years I have approached the trumpet (with less satisfying but still rewarding results). I love observing nature respectfully: I enjoy hiking in the mountains and spending hours snorkeling in the sea.