Maria was born in Orgosolo, Sardinia (Italy). She completed her BSc in Chemistry and MSc in Chemical Science at the University of Cagliari, carrying out her Master thesis on a project related to “the study of the synthesis of enantiomerically enriched tetrahydrofuran spirocyclic derivatives” under the supervision of Dr. Francesco Secci . She joined the O’Hagan group in September 2015 as a PhD student. She is a big fan of the brazilian writer Coelho and she loves travelling.