The Department welcomes Fabio Masina

Dear colleagues, what a pleasure it is to join the team of researchers at the Department of General Psychology! Some of you already know me, but I would still like to share a little about myself. I have always been fascinated by research, ever since my university years, when balancing study and work was a daily challenge. Though demanding and requiring some sacrifices, those years never felt like a burden to me. Instead, I saw them as an opportunity for growth and a way to break free from a reality that at the time felt too limiting (long live public universities!).

After earning my master’s degree in 2014, I began studying error monitoring processes.

Experimental psychology often focuses on performance and task accuracy, but I - who make plenty of mistakes myself - was more interested in studying errors, slips, and those moments when automatic responses override controlled ones. More broadly, I wanted to understand how the human brain processes mistakes.

Later, I pursued a Ph.D. in the Brain, Mind and Computer Science program under the supervision of Prof. Daniela Mapelli, further deepening this line of research. During those years, I integrated electroencephalography and non-invasive brain stimulation techniques into my studies.
In 2019, I worked as a research fellow at the Human Inspired Technology interdisciplinary center, led by Prof. Luciano Gamberini. This experience fueled my interest in applied research. Motivated by this new perspective, in 2020, I accepted a position as a psychological researcher at the IRCCS San Camillo in Venice, where I enthusiastically worked on translational research projects, applying scientific knowledge to benefit patients.
In recent years, I have developed new interests, including optimizing non-invasive stimulation protocols, applying nonlinear statistical methods to neurophysiological data, and investigating brain states associated with neural oscillations. This last area of interest has grown into a research project funded by the STARS@UNIPD program, which I am currently conducting at our department. The goal is to develop a method to explore the causal relationship between neural oscillation phases and brain processes.
Outside academia, I enjoy physical activities, particularly going to the gym, pilates, and trekking. In the past few years, I have also taken up watercolor painting, with rather questionable results! I deeply appreciate this technique because it does not allow for corrections and teaches the
importance of embracing mistakes.