Dr Alessia Lepore

Biography

I am an interdisciplinary researcher investigating bacterial systems and their remarkable ability to live and proliferate across diverse environments. My background integrates physics (BSc and MSc from Sapienza University of Rome; PhD from Roma Tre University, Italy) with expertise in molecular biology, microscopy, image analysis, and microfluidics.
As a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Edinburgh’s Institute of Cell Biology (UK), I focused on visualizing DNA repair in live bacteria, a fundamental process critical for survival under stress. There, I developed a fluorescence labeling method to quantify low-copy proteins in individual bacterial cells, work that was supported by a SULSA Early Career Research Exchange Award and led to collaborative research at Harvard Medical School.

Building on this foundation, I joined École Polytechnique’s Laboratory for Optics and Biosciences (France) as a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellow, where I investigated how bacteria respond to the combined challenge of antibiotic exposure and temperature stress. Using real-time fluorescent microscopy and label-free Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging Microscopy (FLIM), I tracked bacterial adaptation to rapid temperature shifts at the single-cell level.

At the Quadram Institute, my research focuses on how foodborne bacteria respond and adapt to the stressors they encounter along the food chain. I am developing novel assays that combine microfluidics, single-cell imaging and super-resolution microscopy to study how pathogens survive and persist after food processing. This approach enables real-time monitoring of the mechanisms that underpin bacterial survival and infection potential.

Beyond the laboratory, I am actively involved in science communication. I have been a zookeeper for the Microbe Zoo and a core member of Scientists Next Door, a non-profit initiative dedicated to making science accessible to young audiences and the general public. Through it, I helped scientists engage with the public and organized science workshops for children.