Prof. Pietro Cipresso, Lab Director

Prof. Pietro Cipresso is an Associate Professor of Psychometrics at the University of Turin and a Senior Researcher/Chief Technical Officer at the Applied Technology for Neuro-Psychology (ATN-P) Lab, IRCCS Istituto Auxologico Italiano (Milan). Trained as a statistician (Bocconi) and psychometrician, he focuses on quantitative methods, computational psychometrics, and experimental design for behavioral data. His psychometric and statistical expertise spans measurement modeling and advanced data analysis; editorially, he serves as Chief Editor of Frontiers in Quantitative Psychology and Measurement. On the physiological side, his work uses psychophysiological signals—e.g., electrodermal activity and heart-rate/HRV—often in VR or stress-induction paradigms, to model emotion and acute stress responses

Francesca Borghesi PhD, Lab Manager

Francesca Borghesi is the Lab Manager of the SmartEmotion Lab. She is a PhD candidate in Psychometrics at the University of Turin and a researcher affiliated with the Italian Auxological Institute (IRCCS), focusing on statistics, psychometrics, and affect dynamics.
Her work centers on modeling emotions as stochastic processes: she formalizes how we move from one affective state to the next using Discrete-Time Markov Chains and transition matrices, quantifying transition probabilities and steady-state behavior from intensive time-series data.
Methodologically, Borghesi has outlined a psychometric framework linking mental flexibility to affect dynamics and has applied Markov-chain models in empirical studies— including analyses that pair emotional transitions with psychophysiological signals such as EEG and heart-rate variability (HRV).
Across projects, she contributes advanced statistical modeling, data curation, and study design—roles documented in multi-center protocols—while her publication record highlights expertise in psychometrics, statistics, affect dynamics, and flexibility.

Gloria Simoncini PhD

Gloria Simoncini is a neuropsychologist and a Research Fellow at the Department of Psychology, University of Turin (SmartEmotion Lab). Her work investigates emotional awareness, modeling how we feel emotions and developing novel psychometric tools (e.g., a 360° video–based assessment for alexithymia). She integrates these models with psychophysiological measures such as facial EMG and heart-rate variability (HRV), and she also practices neuropsychological assessment and cognitive rehabilitation in clinical settings.