Isabella obtained her BSc degree in Mathematics from the University of Pisa (Pisa, Italy), and an MSc degree in Mathematics from the University of Trento (Trento, Italy). Her interest in Medical and Biological Sciences led her to the study of different mathematical modelling applications in these fields. For her BSc thesis, Isabella worked on a theoretical analysis of an age-structured epidemiological model for diffusion of hepatitis C. She then followed a more computational approach during her MSc project, writing a thesis based on the work she performed at the Netherlands National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (Bilthoven, the Netherlands). The project included developing and analysing an age-structured transmission model for the dynamics of Varicella-Zoster Virus.
After these experiences in the epidemiology field, she turned towards some applications of mathematical modelling in physiology. Before starting her PhD, Isabella worked as an intern at BCAM - Basque Center for Applied Mathematics (Bilbao, Spain) on a model for the simulation of cortical spreading depression propagation on a real brain geometry.
She later joined the centre as a PhD student. Her doctoral project focused on the development of a physiologically grounded mathematical model (based on relevant and available experimental data) to describe the dynamics of electrically active pancreatic β-cells. For the work undertaken at BCAM, in 2019 Isabella was awarded her PhD in Mathematics and Statistics from the of the University of the Basque Country (Bilbao, Spain).
Isabella is currently working as Research Fellow at the Centre for Systems Modelling and Quantitative Biomedicine at the University of Birmingham.