Researcher
Department of Biology and Evolution of Marine Organisms (BEOM)

Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn
Villa Comunale
80121 Napoli - Italia

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Lab website: https://raffinifrancescalab.weebly.com/

Google scholar: https://scholar.google.de/citations?user=AgsXDnoAAAAJ&hl=it

ERC sectors - Evolutionary genetics (LS8_7), Behavioural ecology and evolution (LS8_11)

Settori scientifico-disciplinari - Zoologia (BIO/05), Genetica (BIO/18)

Curriculum Vitae

Research Interests

I am an evolutionary biologist working at the intersection of fundamental and applied science, with the overarching aim of understanding how biological and environmental processes generate and maintain the diversity of life, from genes to ecosystems — and how this knowledge can be leveraged to address the ongoing biodiversity crisis. My work centres on the mechanisms of diversification and rapid evolution, including: how do populations adapt – or fail to – in the face of environmental change? Marine organisms are my current primary model for studying evolutionary dynamics in small populations through field observations, historical perspectives from museum collections and ancient DNA, experimental approaches, and computational modelling. This framework is applied to several taxa to build broadly predictive models of species' responses to a rapidly changing world. These research programs connect to applied goals through the development of integrative conservation tools — including frameworks to assess population resilience and augmented nature observatories — to translate evolutionary insights into accessible, policy-relevant guidance. Active collaborations include the GENOA COST Action, Centre for Marine Evolutionary Biology, Littorina Research Community, European Reference Genomes Atlas, outreach initiatives, and citizen science platforms. I am committed to fostering inclusive, equitable, and accessible science, and to building bridges between research communities, policymakers, and the public.

Selected Publications

Bosso, L., Smeraldo, S., Russo, D., Chiusano, M. L., Bertorelle, G., Johannesson, K., Butlin, R.K., Danovaro, R., & Raffini, F. (2022). The rise and fall of an alien: why the successful colonizer Littorina saxatilis failed to invade the Mediterranean Sea. Biological Invasions, 24(10), 3169-3187.

Bertorelle, G.*, Raffini, F.*, Bosse, M., Bortoluzzi, C., Iannucci, A., Trucchi, E., Morales, H.E.*, & Van Oosterhout, C. (2022). Genetic load: genomic estimates and applications in non-model animals. Nature Reviews Genetics, 23(8), 492-503. *equal contribution

Raffini, F.*, Schneider, R.F.*, Franchini, P., Kautt, A.F., & Meyer, A. (2020). Diving into divergence: differentiation in swimming performances, physiology and gene expression between locally‐adapted sympatric cichlid fishes. Molecular Ecology, 29(7), 1219-1234. *equal contribution

Raffini, F., Fruciano, C., & Meyer, A. (2018). Gene (s) and individual feeding behavior: exploring eco‐evolutionary dynamics underlying left‐right asymmetry in the scale‐eating cichlid fish Perissodus microlepis. Ecology and Evolution, 8(11), 5495-5507.

Raffini, F., Fruciano, C., Franchini, P., & Meyer, A. (2017). Towards understanding the genetic basis of mouth asymmetry in the scale‐eating cichlid Perissodus microlepis. Molecular Ecology, 26(1), 77-91.