Daniela Ovadia • Scientific Director

Daniela Ovadia

Daniela Ovadia is an Italian science journalist. She studied medicine and neuroscience (Università Statale, Milan, Italy-Università Vita-Salute San Raffaele, Milan, Italy) and neuroethics (University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, US).

She is the Co-director of the Neuroscience and Society Lab at the University of Pavia and the Scientific director of the Center for Ethics in Science and Journalism (CESJ). Since 2021 she served as the Editor-in-chief of Univadis Italy from Medscape, an online media an online media platform providing news and educational content for medical doctors and health care professionals.

course), University VIta-Salute (Milan) (Communication of Neuroscience, Master in science journalism) and SISSA – Scuola superiore di studi avanzati, Trieste (Italy) (The cycle of scientific knowledge production, Master course in science journalism and communication).

From 2002 to 2022, she was the Scientific Director of Agenzia Zoe, an agency specializing in science journalism and writing. Over 20 years, she developed extensive knowledge of oncology, both clinically and in research, through consulting for the Italian Cancer Research Association (AIRC). Her work involved communication strategies, content production and the management of the Scientific Advisory Board responsible for developing funding strategies.

She is a professor of “Ethics of research and Responsible research and Innovation” for doctoral students, “Neuroethics” and “Communication of neuroscience” (undergraduate students in Psychology) at the University of Pavia (Italy).

She is invited professor at the University of Turin (Italy) (Ethics of research, Neuroscience doctoral

From 2012 to 2022, she taught the course “Communication and Planning for EU Research Projects” at the Master Course in Science Communication, Biology Department, Università Sapienza in Rome (Italy).

In 2019, Daniela Ovadia co-organized and led, along with Alexandra Borissova, the joint World Federation of Science Journalists and World Health Organization “European Immunization Training Workshop” for science journalists at Fondation Brocher, Geneva (Switzerland).

In 2013 and 2014, she consulted for the UNESCO Office in Venice and conducted courses on ethics in science communication at the Balkan School for Science Journalism (Belgrade, Podgorica).

From 2001 to 2014, she lectured on science journalism at the University of Padua and Università Statale in Milan (Italy).

From 2009 to 2015, she worked at the Cognitive Neuropsychology Center of Niguarda Metropolitan Hospital (Milan), managing research projects on stroke, epilepsy, and Alzheimer’s disease.

Main research projects

Daniela Ovadia’s research focuses on the social impact of science and research, research ethics, and science communication. She is particularly interested in the social impact of neuroscience and the role of media in shaping public perceptions of science and new technologies.

  • 2023-ongoing: On behalf of CESJ, she leads the Ethics Work Package of the FRONTIERS project, an ERC-funded initiative to develop a fellowship network for science journalists covering frontier science in EU-based institutions.
  • 2022-ongoing: She serves as the Ethics Advisor for the ERC Consolidator Grant PROMENADE project (PROcessing MEtaphors: Nelurochronometry, Acquisition, and DEcay) led by Professor Valentina Bambini at IUSS (Istituto Universitario di Studi Superiori) of Pavia.
  • 2021-ongoing: She is the Work Package Leader for the RI4C2 project and Deputy Work Package Leader of the EC2U project on behaf of University o Pavia. EC2U (European Campus of City Universities) is an alliance among seven universities supported by Erasmus+ funding. Her role is to develop a digital infrastructure for common policing of research among EC2U Alliance members and to foster joint applications among researchers using this digital infrastructure.
  • 2013-2017: She led the SATORI Project (Stakeholders Acting Together On the Ethical Impact Assessment of Research and Innovation), funded by the EU Commission under FP7. SATORI aimed to develop a common framework of ethical principles and practical approaches to strengthen shared understandings among actors involved in research ethics (Principal Investigator Professor Philip Brey, University of Twente, Netherlands).

    SATORI Project

  • 2016-2018: She co-coordinated the Ethics and Legal Work Package of the PROTON project, which sought to improve knowledge on the processes of recruitment into organized crime and terrorist networks through the integration of social and computational sciences. The work package focused on ethics, legal, and social impact analysis for the entire project.

    PROTON Project

  • 2015: She received a grant from the Italian Ministry of Research (MIUR) to evaluate the ethical component of the PRIN2010 project “Neurophysiological and Behavioral Components of Body Schema and Neuromodulation with tDCS in Healthy Subjects and Brain-Damaged Patients” (Principal Investigator Professor Gabriella Bottini).
  • 2013-2015: She received a grant from the Italian Ministry of Health for the MAPS project (“A Multicentric Study to Standardize a New Informatic Tool to Assess Cognitive and Behavioral Functions in Acute Stroke,” Principal Investigator Professor Gabriella Bottini).
  • 2010-2013: She received a grant from the Italian Ministry of Health to coordinate and assess the ethical impact of the TUTOR project (domotic and robotic assistance for patients with spinal cord injuries) at Niguarda Hospital – Milan (Principal Investigator Professor Gabriella Bottini).
  • 2009-2011: She participated as an ethics and public involvement expert in the Brain in Dialogue Project, supported by the EU Commission under FP7.

    Brain in Dialogue Project

  • 1991-1993: She received a grant from the Lombardy Region to study brain lateralization in epileptic patients undergoing surgery.

Memberships

Main publications

    •  Salvato G, De Maio G, Francescon E, Fiorina ML, Fazia T, Grecucci A, Bernardinelli L, Ovadia D, Bottini G. (2023): “I feel your fear”: superior fear recognition in organised crime members, Cognition and Emotion, DOI: 10.1080/02699931.2023.2170333.
    • Salvato G, Ovadia D,  Messina A, Bottini G. Health emergencies and interoceptive sensibility modulate the perception of non-evidence-based drug use: Findings from the COVID-19 outbreak. PLOS ONE, August 2021. 10.1371/journal.pone.0256806
    • Daniela Ovadia e Fabio Turone. Scienza senza maiuscola. L’etica della ricerca oper una cittadinanza scientifica. Codice, Toruno (2021).
    • Salvato G,  Fiorina ML, De Maio G, Francescon E, Ovadia D, Bernardinelli L, Santosuosso A, Paulesu E, Bottini. Pathological risk-propensity typifies Mafia members’ cognitive profile.  (2020). Scientific Reports 10 (1), 1-9.
    • Pasotti F, Magnani FG, Gallucci M, Salvato G, Ovadia D, Scotto M, Merolla S, Beretta S, Micieli GR, Agostoni EC, Beretta G, Bottini G. Neuropsychological assessment in acute stroke patients. Neurological Sciences 41, 1259-1266.
    • Salvato G, Fiorina ML, Ovadia D, De Maio G, Francescon E, Bottini G. Investigating the psychological profile of organized crime members. In: D. Weisburd et al. (eds.), Understanding Recruitment to Organized Crime and Terrorism. Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-36639-1_11
    • Ovadia D, Bencivelli S. È la medicina, bellezza! Perché è così difficile comunicare la medicina (It’s medicine, baby! Why it is so difficult to communicate medicine). Carocci editore (2016).
    • Ovadia D, Bottini G. Neuroethical implications of deep brain stimulation in degenerative disorders. Current Opinion in Neurology 2015; 28(6): 598-603.
    • Vallar G, Rusconi ML, Barozzi S, Ovadia D. Improvement of left visuo-spatial hemineglect by left-sided transcutaneous electrical stimulation. Neuropsychologia 1995; 33 (1), 73-82..
    • Ovadia D. Neuroscienze per le scuole superiori (Neuroscience for high-school students). Pearson Paravia, Milano, 2009.
    • Ricordi C, Ovadia D. La fine del diabete (The end of diabetes). Dalai Editore, Milano, 2012.
    • Ovadia D. Les publications scientifiques: Un outil de promotion pour les laboratoires pharmaceutiques? (in: “Médias, médicaments et espace public”, Presses de l’Université du Quebec, 2009)
    •  Bottini G, Sedda A, Ovadia D. Past present and future of neuroscience and law. Italian J of Criminology 2015; 7(1): 17-22.
    •  F Fiori, A Sedda, ER Ferrè, A Toraldo, M Querzola, F Pasotti, D Ovadia et al. Motor imagery in spinal cord injury patients: Moving makes the difference. Journal of neuropsychology 2014; 8(2): 199-215.
    •  Ovadia, D. Media and social stigma can influence the patient adaptation to neurotechnologies and DBS. AJOB Neuroscience 2014; December. http://www.theneuroethicsblog.com/2014/12/media-and-social-stigma-can-influence.html
    • F Fiori, A Sedda, ER Ferrè, A Toraldo, M Querzola, F Pasotti, D Ovadia. Exploring motor and visual imagery in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. Experimental brain research 2013; 226 (4), 537-547.
    • Gilbert F, Ovadia D. Deep Brain Stimulation in the Media: Over-Optimistic Portrayals Call for a New Strategy Involving Journalists and Scientists in Ethical Debates. Frontiers in Integrative Neuroscience 2011; 5.
    • Scarpa P, Ovadia D, Scifo P, Mai R, Defanti CA, Fazio F, Lo Russo G, Paulesu E, Bottini G. When crebral cognitive competences are reserved: a single case. Boll LICE 2003; 121-124.
    • Pesenti G. Bottini G, Ovadia D, Scarpa P, Basilico S, Toraldo. Cognitive evaluation of patients with temporal epilepsy, candidates for surgery. Chir Ital 1996; 48(6): 31-34.
    • Bernardini B Vallar G, Rusconi ML, Barozzi S, Ovadia D. Improvement of left visuo-spatial hemineglect by left-sided transcutaneous electrical stimulation. Neuropsychologia 1995; 33(1): 73-82