Reseracher
Biology and Evolution of Marine Organisms Department

Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn
Villa Comunale
80121 Naples - Italy

Tel.: +39 081 5833228
E-mail: sergio.stefanni(at)szn.it

Curriculum Vitae

Google scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=s77SfzUAAAAJ&view_op=list_works&sortby=pubdate
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9477-0062

ERC sectors - Environmental biology, ecology and evolution (LS8), Systems and communication engineering (PE7)

Settori scientifico-disciplinari - Zoologia (BIO/05), Genetica (BIO/18)

Research Interests

Since 2016, I have been working at the Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn. My research integrates molecular ecology, evolutionary biology, and biological oceanography, focusing on how environmental processes shape marine biodiversity, population genetic structure, and evolutionary adaptations in coastal, deep-sea, and extreme environments. I integrate fieldwork, molecular experimentation, and quantitative analyses across spatial and temporal scales, developing a mechanistic understanding of the processes that govern the distribution and evolution of marine organisms.
Over the years, I have established strong collaborations with international colleagues and contributed to several Horizon Europe projects. In addition, I collaborate with the Istituto di Biorobotica, the University of Bologna, and the company 3D Research on the development of bio-inspired platforms and autonomous sensors for eDNA sampling.
I consider myself a motivated and enthusiastic researcher. Throughout my career, I have gained substantial experience in research expeditions across the Atlantic, Mediterranean, and Arctic (as Chief Scientist too), as well as in coordinating international projects. Nearly twenty years of experience abroad have strengthened my adaptability to new and multicultural working environments, where I readily build positive and constructive professional relationships.

Selected Publications

1. Tibone M., Stefanni S., Aguzzi J., O’Neill B., Mirimin L. 2025. A multi-marker fish eDNA metabarcoding study comparing Illumina and Nanopore high-throughput sequencing platforms. Authorea preprint. January 27, 2025. doi: 10.22541/au.173797976.60860858/v1

2. Stefanni S., Mirimin L., Stanković D., Chatzievangelou D., Bongiorni L., Marini S., Modica M.V., Manea E., Bonofiglio F., del Rio J., Cukrov N., Gavrilović A., De Leo F.C., Aguzzi J. 2022. Framing cutting-edge integrative deep-sea biodiversity monitoring via eDNA and optoacoustic augmented infrastructures. Frontiers of Marine Sciences 8:797140.

3. Stefanni S., Catarino D., Ribeiro P., Freitas M., Menezes G., Neat F., Stanković D. 2021 Molecular systematics of the long-snouted deepwater dogfish (Centrophoridae, Deania) with implication to taxonomy and conservation. Frontiers in Marine Science 7: 588192. doi: 10.3389/fmars.2020.588192

4. Picardi G., Chellapurath M., Iacoponi S., Stefanni S., Laschi C., Calisti M. 2020. Bioinspired underwater legged robot for seabed exploration with low environmental disturbance. Science Robotics 5: eaaz1012. doi: 10.1126/scirobotics.aaz1012

5. Stefanni S., Stanković D., Borme D., de Olazabal A., Juretić T., Pallavicini A., Tirelli V. 2018. Multi-marker metabarcoding approach to study mesozooplankton at basin scale. Scientific Reports 8: 12085. doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-30157-7