Filippo was born in Siena and studied Biomedical Engineering in Turin, where he earned both his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees at the Politecnico di Torino. His interest in vision research took shape during his Master’s thesis in Basel, where he worked between ETH Zurich and the Institute of Molecular and Clinical Ophthalmology Basel (IOB), developing computational models of outer retinal circuitry.

But, like many Italians, staying away from home forever was never really an option. So he eventually returned to Tuscany—this time to Pisa—to explore vision science from a different perspective. There, he worked on psychophysics and human experiments, studying how the brain process information from the history of sensory inputs.

His path then led him to the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, where he pursued a PhD in Neuroscience focused on the prototyping of retinal prostheses through both chemical and photovoltaic approaches. During those years, he also became a MaxWell Biosystems user, working closely with the company’s technology in his research. That connection later evolved naturally into a move toward industry and, eventually, into joining MaxWell Biosystems.

Filippo enjoys reading, cooking, creating illustrations, and listening to music across a wide range of genres, from Guccini to Miles Davis passing by Paul Kalkbrenner. He is also fond of good wine and outdoor adventures. It wouldn’t be surprising to find him skiing down a slope somewhere in the Alps, only to stop at the bottom, light a camping stove, and celebrate the day with a glass of wine while a big pot of polenta slowly boils away.