Alessia Verroca, M.Sc.

WORK EXPERIENCE

October 2023 – Present

University of Verona – Department of Neuroscience, Biomedicine, and Movement
PhD Student in Neuroscience, Psychological and Psychiatric Sciences, and Movement Sciences

• Supervisor: Prof. Chiara Mazzi
• Co-Supervisor: Prof. Maria Paola Cecchini
• Testing and data analysis for the PhD department project
• Title: “Profiling and characterization of neural activity dynamics in patients affected by retinal dystrophies”
• Use of TMS, EEG, and data analysis software (MATLAB, EEGLAB)

March 2023 – September 2023

University of Padova – Department of Developmental and Socialization Psychology
Research Fellow (Research Scholarship in memory of Prof. A. Mazzocco)

• Supervisor: Prof. Paola Sessa
• Study of the psychophysics underlying emotional perception

October 2021 – October 2022

University of Padova – Department of Developmental and Socialization Psychology
Post-graduate Professional Internship in Experimental Psychology and Cognitive Electrophysiology

• Supervisor: Prof. Paola Sessa
• Literature review on mathematical paradigms for studying conscious processing mechanisms
• Development and execution of a research project on perceptual maps of emotional expressions
• EEG setup and data acquisition for a Working Memory study with Gabor stimuli

October 2020 – February 2021

University of Padova – Department of Developmental and Socialization Psychology
Pre-graduate Internship in Functional and Cognitive Foundations of Intersubjectivity

• Supervisor: Prof. Paola Sessa
• EEG setup and application
• Literature review and bibliographic work on Graph Theory applied to neural correlates and networks of consciousness

April 2017 – August 2018

Policlinico of Bari – Department of Psychiatry
Research Internship, Psychiatric Neuroscience Group

• Supervisor: Prof. Giulio Pergola
• MRI data processing and analysis (SPM12, PRoNTo, Statistics, MATLAB scripting)
• Experimental scientific methodology application
• Developed research project on Extroversion Trait, Theory of Mind (ToM), and Social Brain network modulation

  

EDUCATION

October 2018 – April 2021

University of Padova
Neuroscience and Neuropsychological Rehabilitation (LM-51)

• Final grade: 110/110 cum laude
• Thesis: “Emotional faces as trigger stimuli for the study of consciousness: a new methodological approach integrating EEG and Graph Theory measures”

October 2015 – July 2018

University of Bari “Aldo Moro”
Psychological Sciences and Techniques (L-24)

• Final grade: 109/110
• Thesis on the association between Extroversion and brain activity during a social cognition task

September 2009 – July 2014

Liceo Classico A. Casardi, Barletta
Socio-Psycho-Pedagogical Program

• Grade: 100/100

Additional Qualifications

September 2022 – March 2023

Saint Camillus International University of Health Sciences (UniCamillus), Rome
Mnemosine Italian teaching qualification course for A18 class (Philisophy and Human Sciences, MUUM1922), issued by Saint Camillus International University of Health Sciences

December 2022

University of Padova
Qualified to practice as a psychologist (Albo A — Italy). National licensing examination, final score: 90/100

March 2021 – September 2021

University of Bari "Aldo Moro"
Additional 24 ECTS credits in educational sciences and teaching methodology (required for teaching qualification in Italy)

  

TRAINING

July 2025

Aspet, France
Participation in the 34th EEGLAB Workshop:

• Acquired a solid foundation in the use of the EEGLAB software environment and EEGLAB-linked tools for performing advanced analysisof EEG and related data

June 2025

University of Verona
Participation in the Bayesian Statistics for the Human, Social and Cognitive Sciences Summer School:

• Acquired a solid foundation in Bayesian statistical analysis, with a focus on hierarchical multilevel models

October 2020 – December 2021

University of Padova
Certified participation in Advanced Courses for Scientific Research (CARS) and Applied Research Courses Academy (ARCA) in:

• Eye Tracking (12h)
• VBM and Structural Neuroimaging (20h)
• IAT and Implicit Techniques (20h)
• TMS and Neuronavigation Software (20h)
• JsPsych (20h)
• Psychtoolbox and MATLAB (20h)
• EEG Signal Analysis with EEGLAB (20h)
• EEG Source Reconstruction with Brainstorm (20h)
• OpenSesame (20h)
• Transcranial Electrical Stimulation (tES) (20h)
• Qualitative Analysis with Atlas.ti 8 (20h)
• Time-Frequency Analysis of EEG Data (20h)
• Video Analysis Tools (20h)
• Psychophysiological Recording of Peripheral Indices (20h)
• PsychoPy3: Programming an Experiment (20h)
• R: Basic Elements and Advanced Applications (20h)

  

OTHER EXPERIENCES

October 2024 – September 2025

University of Verona
Tutor for medical students in traning

• Support for second-year students, organizing and coordinating individual experimental sessions in laboratory and group lectures
• Managing interaction with professors

May 2022 – May 2023

Municipal Library of Lonato del Garda
Volunteer for the Universal Civil Service (SCANCI):

• Welcoming library users, organizing materials, promoting services, and
• managing inter-library exchanges
• Use of the Clavis management software
• Coordination of events and community meetings
• Management of educational activities with young users

  

TECHNICAL & DIGITAL SKILLS

Software & Methods

• MICROSOFT OFFICE suite
• SPM12: MRI data analysis
• EEGLAB (and plugins) & BrainVision: EEG data analysis
• GORILLA and E-Prime 3: experimental paradigm development
• R and MATLAB: statistical analysis, plotting, programming
• TMS setup and use (Magstim and Nexstim Paradigms with single-pulse and repetitive TMS); Neuronavigation (SofTaxic); TMS-EEG (coregistration and TEP analysis with artifact removal - Tesa Analyzer plugin for EEGlab)

Basic Knowledge of:

• Setup and assembly of equipment for: eye tracking (SMI RED500), tES, ECG, EMG, EDA
• Use of software for data acquisition, analysis, and experiment creation: Brainstorm, Atlas.ti 8, OpenSesame, Boris, Mousetracker, Pupil Player, Pupil Labs, AcqKnowledge, VisualStudio Code, JsPsych (JavaScript), Kubios, Neuroelectrics, PsychoPy

LANGUAGES

Language	Level
Italian	Native
English	Intermediate/Advanced (IELTS 7.0 – C1)
French	Basic/School-level

SCIENTIFIC PUBLICATION

• Verroca A., de Rienzo C.M., Gambarota F., & Sessa P. (2022)
  Mapping the perception-space of facial expressions in the era of face masks. Frontiers in Psychology, 13:956832. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2022.956832

 

AWARDS AND SCHOLARSHIPS

• Winner – SIPF Young Researcher Award, Best Scientific Contribution (SIPF Congress, Verona, 2025)
• Winner – “Painter Award”, Best Scientific Poster (Cognitive Science Arena, Bressanone, 2025)

 

POSTER PRESENTATIONS

• 02-04 October 2025: 1st Behavioural Neuroscience Conference, Agropoli (Italy). “Probing Cortical Plasticity and Multisensory Compensation in Inherited Retinal Dystrophies: An Electrophysiological and Chemosensory Study”. Poster presentation
• 17-19 September 2025: 33rd SIPF National Congress, Verona (Italy). “Mapping adaptive reorganization in retinal dystrophies with a multidimensional approach: From the Brain to Behavior”. Poster presentation
• 19-20 June 2025: 14th National Congress of the Psychosomatics Research Group, Verona (Italy). “Adaptive Neural Dynamics in Response to Retinal Dystrophies: Preliminary Insights from SSVEP and TMS-EEG Investigations”. Poster presentation
• 13-15 February 2025: Cognitive Science Arena Conference, Bressanone (Italy). “Adaptive Neural Dynamics in Response to Retinal Dystrophies: Preliminary Insights from SSVEP and TMS-EEG Investigations”. Poster presentation