Dr. Stefania Chiappini graduated in Medicine and Surgery in 2010 at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Rome, where she also obtained her specialization in Psychiatry and Psychotherapy in 2016.

During the years 2012-2013 she contributed as a researcher to the National Programme on Substance Abuse Deaths (np-SAD) at the International Centre for Drug Policy (ICDP), St George’s University of London, assisting with report drafting activities (Drug-related deaths in the UK Annual Report 2013), and preparing specialist reports on specific New Psychoactive Substances, e.g., methoxetamine and mephedrone, coordinated by Prof. Schifano. 

During years 2017-2018 at the LUMSA University in Rome she obtained the II level Master University Degree in Forensic Psychology and Criminology.

In June 2022 she obtained her PhD in Pharmacy and Pharmacology entitled ‘Assessing the extent and characteristics of non-medical use of a range of prescribed drugs; epidemiological and pharmacovigilance approaches’, supervised by Prof. Schifano at the University of Hertfordshire-School of Life and Medical Sciences, with a project research aiming at: i) understanding pharmacovigilance approaches on drug safety issues; ii) studying and analysing pharmacovigilance databases, such as the European Medicines Agency-EMA EudraVigilance-EV; the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency-MHRA Yellow Card Scheme – YCS; and the Food and Drug Administration-FDA Adverse Event Reporting System- FAERS, collecting voluntarily reported ADRs relating to some pharmaceuticals anecdotally reported as misused; iii) and finally assessing drug-specific diversion potential and recreational use. She still belongs to the University of Hertfordshire as a post-doc researcher at the Psychopharmacology, Drug Misuse and Novel Psychoactive Substances Research Unit.

She has successfully published a high number and consistently high-quality of research papers in learned, peer reviewed, academic journals. Moreover, she collaborates with several national and international scientific journals as reviewer and member of the editorial team.

After her experience in the public service, since 2019 she works as a full-time physician consultant psychiatrist at Villa  Mariapia Psychiatric Hospital, in Rome, where she is coordinated by Prof. Martinotti. During the past three years they have been collaborating to academic projects and activities at the University of Chieti, where in 2020 she won a research grant as  coordinator of the Vortioxetine in the Elderly vs SSRIs: a Pragmatic Assessment (VESPA) study, and she is currently involved in the following studies:
– Esketamine (Spravato®) as therapy of treatment-resistant depression
– Dual Disorder Rating Scale (DDRS) validation
– Dual Disorder Trial (DDT), investigating the role of Brexpiprazole, Lurasidone, and Quetiapine in Schizophrenic subjects with comorbid alcohol or substance use disorder
– Evaluation of the effectiveness of family psychoeducational intervention for major depression: a randomised controlled trial
– Neurobiological correlates of Alcohol Use Disorder after transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) treatment.

UniCamillus Researcher.