Who we are

Emiliano Albanese is Full Professor of Public Health at Università della Svizzera italiana (USI) and Associate Professor at the University of Geneva, where he directs the WHO Collaborating Centre for Mental Health. A physician by training, he holds a medical specialization in Public Health, a Master of Science in Public Health from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and a PhD in Psychology.

His career spans leading academic and research institutions, including positions at King’s College London, the National Institutes of Health (USA), and the Italian National Institute of Health. He is the founding Director of the Institute of Public Health (IPH) at USI.

Professor Albanese’s work integrates public health methods, epidemiology, and evidence-based practice with a forward-looking perspective on digital transformation. He has extensive experience in designing and delivering public health education across Europe and serves as faculty within the Swiss School of Public Health. His leadership roles in international networks and WHO collaborations reflect his long-standing commitment to strengthening public health systems and advancing population-level approaches in an increasingly digital world.

Contact: [email protected]

Rebecca Amati is a Scientific Collaborator at the Institute of Public Health within the Faculty of Biomedical Sciences at USI, with postdoctoral research experience. She holds a PhD in Health Communication and a double Master’s degree in Communication, Management and Health (USI) and Business Administration (Virginia Tech), complemented by international experiences in the United States and Spain.

She is the Coordinator of the Major in Digital Public Health, where she also teaches and supervises Master’s students on theses related to her research, which applies qualitative, quantitative, and community-based participatory methods to public health topics such as dementia care pathways, caregiver support, epidemiology, quality improvement, and health communication.

Her contribution to the Major also builds on her experience in leading or contributing to large public health projects  as well as her role as science communicator for the Swiss School of Public Health’s (SSPH+) Science in a Minute series. She is also a Global Burden of Disease Collaborator and a fellow of SSPH+, where she teaches PhD students in the Inter-university Graduate Campus (IGC).

Contact: [email protected]

Maddalena Fiordelli is a Senior Researcher and Lecturer at the Institute of Public Health within the Faculty of Biomedical Sciences at USI. Trained in health communication, her work focuses on digital health, mixed-methods research, and community-based participatory approaches. Her research examines how digital technologies can strengthen public health practice, with a particular emphasis on caregiver support, patient empowerment, social isolation, and multi-stakeholder communication.

In the Major in Digital Public Health, she teaches Industry & Institutions Perspectives, Life Course Epidemiology and Public Health – Late Life, Advanced Research Methods in Public Health (co-taught), and Digital Health Interventions. Her teaching is closely connected to her ongoing research and often bridges methodological innovation with applied public health challenges.

Maddalena collaborates with communities and institutional partners, integrating qualitative and quantitative approaches across her projects. She supervises Bachelor’s, Master’s, and PhD students in areas aligned with her expertise. She is an SSPH+ faculty member, contributing to training within the Inter-university Graduate Campus (IGC).

Contact: [email protected]

Anne-Linda Camerini is a Senior Researcher and Lecturer at the Institute of Public Health within the Faculty of Biomedical Sciences at USI and faculty member in the Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+). She holds a Master’s degree in Media Studies and a PhD in Health Communication. Over the past decade, she has taught undergraduate courses, including Digital Health and Health Campaign Development and Evaluation. She also leads the MEDIATICINO research group.

Her research—primarily funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF)—examines the role of digital media in the development and well-being of children and adolescents, employing innovative methods for data collection and analysis. Insights from this work inform her teaching in the MDiPH course Life Course Epidemiology and Public Health – Early Life. Anne-Linda Camerini supervises Master’s and PhD theses related to her ongoing research projects.

Contact: [email protected]