Alessio works on sensors based on red fluorescent proteins, to overcome the limitations associated with these. He wants to make red-shifted genetically encoded tools to study neurochemical communication widely available. He is also using self-labeling proteins (HaloTag, SNAP tag) to build new chemigenetic indicators to complement the use of fluorescent proteins for sensor design. Alessio has a PhD in Biochemistry and Biophysics from Leiden University (The Netherlands), he worked on DNA nanotechnology at Arizona State University, and optical tools development at NIH/NHLBI.