I earned my PhD from the University of Pavia, where I acquired a background in theoretical linguistics and in sociolinguistics. Most of the research I do focuses on quantitative analysis of natural speech, with the aim of understanding phonetic variation and its implications for linguistic theory. I am interested in combining experimental methods with advanced quantitative analysis to model speech production and perception. After taking a tenured researcher position at the Free University of Bolzano I set up a laboratory of phonetics and I specialized in the ultrasound tongue imaging technique.