I am a lecturer in Italian at the University of Galway, and co-director of the Centre for Applied Linguistics and Multilingualism (CALM). Currently I lead the discipline of Italian and am part of the the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Committee of the School of Languages.

My research interests include translation, migration, and intercultural communication. I am currently leading a Research Ireland Laureate project, called "Rural Villages, Migration and Intercultural Communication" (2022-2026).

Previously, I researched migrant autobiographies and Italian American culture, which resulted in my monograph The Autobiography of a Language. Emanuel Carnevali's Italian/American Writing (SUNY Press, 2019). After my PhD, I was the recipient of an Irish Research Council/Marie Skodowska-Curie postdoctoral fellowship for researching multilingualism in refugee reception centers in Italy (2017-2021). In 2021, I was co-investigator on a British Academy-funded project on intercultural mediators during the COVID-19 vaccination campaign, based at University College London.

I am committed to mentorship and representation for early career researchers and international scholars. In 2023, I was selected among 40 excellent early career researchersas part of the inaugural cohort of the Young Academy of Ireland, an organisation within the Royal Irish Academy that supports early career scholars in Ireland. I sit in the executive committee of the Young Academy of Ireland, and on the Equality Diversity and Inclusion committee of the Royal Irish Academy.

I am interested in the social, cultural and creative aspects of translation; in particular when it takes place in contexts of migration and asylum.My PhD has explored autobiographies of Italian migrants to the United States in the early 20th century. Subsequently, I started employing ethnographic methods to research multilingualism and intercultural communication with asylum seekers in contemporary Italy.

• Title: Rural Villages, Migration and Intercultural Communication

• Project Acronym: VICO

• Role: Principal Investigator

• Funder: Research Ireland (Laureate)

• Project link : Rural Villages, Migration, and Intercultural Communication (VICO) - Moore Institute

• SDG: SDG10 - Reduced Inequalities

VICO is a sociolinguistic study of migration in rural areas. The project works with local communities to produce new knowledge on the everyday experience of migrants and refugees, and how Irish rural communities are dealing with linguistic and cultural diversity.

In 2017, the Republic of Ireland had the 4th highest share of migrant population in rural areas in the EU with 11.9%: more than twice the EU average (JRC 2019). Migration in rural communities presents specific challenges and opportunities, linked to factors such as transportation, job market, community cohesion and demographics. It can be particularly challenging for migrants who are international protection applicants: the 2021 White Paper to End Direct Provision linked Direct Provision centres in rural areas with feelings of isolation especially for young and LGBTQI+ asylum seekers. Language is a key component in building better relations within the community and improving migrants’ opportunities to participate in society, culture, and the economy.

Recent sociolinguistic research has advanced our understanding of the link between linguistic diversity and socio-economic inequalities in a globalised world (Blommaert 2010; Pennycook and Otsuji 2015; Piller 2016). This research, however, has mainly engaged with highly diverse urban areas. VICO aims to improve our knowledge of migrant and refugee integration in rural areas, by looking at how language generates challenges or opportunities for intercultural communication and development. It aims to investigate how individuals and families who relocate in a rural community use different languages to confront the unfamiliar landscape, create a space of familiarity, and establish a connection with the place. The project achieves its aims through the realization of four specific objectives (SOs):

1. Investigate the linguistic repertoires of migrants/refugees living in rural areas, their strategies for expanding their linguistic repertoires, and the obstacles that they face.
2. Assess the availability and practice of translation/interpreting for migrants and refugees in rural Ireland.
3. Research the opportunities in rural areas for involving migrants/refugees in cultural production; and the impact that this has on self-perception of migrants and the communities.
4. Explore the potential for migrants and refugees to contribute to shared conversation on rural development.

• Title: Language Integration and New Communities in a Multicultural Society

• Project Acronym: LINCS

• Role: Individual Award

• Funder: Irish Research Council and Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions (CAROLINE Scheme)

• SDG: SDG 16 - Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

This project is based on a collaboration between the Italian department of the National University of Ireland in Galway and the NGO Tamat in Perugia, Italy. The focus is on the language learning strategies of migrants, and the opportunities that they open in economic as well as creative terms.
Due to its geographical location, Italy is centrally involved in addressing the movement and displacement of peoples from their home countries, especially at the time of the current migrant and refugee crisis. However, the current arrival of migrants through the Mediterranean route is only one of the several aspects of mobility across Europe. This research is not especially concerned with the moment of arrival but with the process of (linguistic) survival. It combines sociolinguistic and ethnographic methods with the researcher’s expertise in migrant art and literature to explore multiple narratives of adaptation and inclusion in an Italian town.
The key questions are:

• How do migrants make sense of the new environment, and how do they position themselves in it, using a new language?
• What translation/non-translation is evident – what remains in the home language and never moves to the new language? How can those ‘untranslatable’ elements become part of society?
• What economic opportunities are created by language learning, and what part do the migrant’s personal story and background have in that?
• How can migrants use literary, musical, filmic or theatrical production to create links and opportunities in the host country?  What makes the personal story of a migrant visible or invisible?