Alessia Marzanni is a joint PhD candidate at the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, Italy, and Ghent University, Belgium. Her research lies at the intersection of heritage science, conservation, microbiology, and materials science, with a particular focus on subaerial biofilms growing on stone cultural heritage.
Her doctoral research investigates how differently coloured biofilms relate to microbial community structure, ecological function, surface properties, and water transport in stone. She combines microbiological and molecular approaches with imaging and analytical techniques, including metagenomics, confocal microscopy, micro-CT, Raman spectroscopy, colorimetry, surface roughness analysis, contact-angle measurements, and infrared thermography.
Alessia holds bachelor´s and master´s degrees in Conservation of Cultural Heritage, which have provided her with an interdisciplinary background in chemistry, physics, biology, and conservation practice. She is particularly interested in connecting scientific research with field-based conservation, condition assessment, and the sustainable management of monuments and archaeological sites.
After completing her PhD, she hopes to move to Asia and continue her research career with a stronger focus on applied cultural heritage projects and direct work on monuments and heritage sites, while building long-term collaborations with researchers and conservation professionals.