Maria graduated summa cum laude in Biological Sciences from the University of Naples Federico II, where she conducted her master’s thesis research in the laboratory of Dr. Stoppelli at the National Research Council (CNR) in Naples, investigating the crosstalk between breast cancer cells and the tumor microenvironment. Maria then joined the Telethon Institute of Genetics and Medicine (TIGEM) in Pozzuoli as a postgraduate research intern before being awarded a prestigious four-year European PhD fellowship in Human Genetics in the laboratory of Prof. Carmine Settembre, where she investigated the role of FGF signaling-mediated ER-phagy in bone development. Following her PhD, she remained at TIGEM as a postdoctoral fellow, leading a research project that established the role of TFEB, through p62, in regulating autophagosome biogenesis and ribophagy during nutrient starvation. She currently holds a research fellowship at the National Research Council (CNR) in Naples in the laboratory of Dr. Enza Lonardo. There, she is currently involved in an exciting research project investigating the molecular mechanisms underlying cell fusion between pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) cells and stromal cells.