Lucia is an Italian scientist who moved to the U.S. in 2022 to join the Vaughan Lab, just after defending her Ph.D. in Experimental Medicine at the University of Perugia, Italy. Her background is in systems biology applied to immune and infectious diseases, and over the years she has worked with bacteria, viruses, and parasites. Lucia’s deepest expertise lies in malaria, studying Plasmodium human and rodent parasites across their full life cycle, from blood to mosquito to mammalian host (especially in vivo). In the Vaughan Lab, she works with Plasmodium falciparum field isolates from Africa and Southeast Asia, exploring their unique behaviors and using them in genetic crosses to reveal extraordinary new phenotypes. Her efforts in collaboration with the team are trying to break the 50-year dependence on the NF54 strain, to open up malaria research to a richer, more authentic representation of the human parasite. These recombinant parasites can serve as new platforms for PfSPZ (whole parasite–based vaccines), and through CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing, we aim to attenuate the hybrid parasite in the late liver stage. This work isn’t just about new tools, it’s about rewriting the possibilities of malaria biology and vaccine development.

She says, “My work takes all my focus, patience, and consistency, and I pour myself into it every day. Outside the lab, I feed my mind with art and philosophy, my soul with great people and vibes, and my body with sport: lifting, running, cycling. Sport is not separate from my science, it’s the source of my discipline and courage. Athletes are brave; we chase the edge, we live in the discomfort zone, and that’s exactly where discovery happens. We never settle for “good enough”. We fall, we fail, and we rise stronger; the same resilience that science demands when experiments collapse or results don’t make sense. And above all, athletes understand sacrifice: the willingness to push through exhaustion in pursuit of something greater. That’s the spirit that drives me, both in training and at the bench. I also believe (fiercely) that happiness is key for being extraordinary scientists. We can do groundbreaking work while sharing light, compassion, and love. Science, to me, is the most generous form of love: it’s a way of giving back to the world, of pushing back against darkness, of ‘raging together against the dying of the light’.”