Born in Barletta (Italy), I was an undergraduate in Physics at UCL from 1980 to 1983 and then a postgraduate obtaining a PhD in positron physics in 1986. From 1986-1988 I worked as a postdoctoral research assistant at UCL and Aarhus University in Denmark. In 1988, I was appointed to the UCL staff as a Lecturer. In 1994-1995 I held a Science Research Fellowship awarded by the Nuffield Foundation. I was promoted to Reader in 1996 and to Professor in 2003. From 2004-2013, I headed the Atomic, Molecular, Optical and Positron Physics (AMOPP) group.

I have published around 150 articles and book chapters and delivered invited talks worldwide. I have served on the International Advisory Board of Journal of Physics B: Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics and the Editorial Board of The European Physical Journal D Molecular, Optical and Plasma Physics. I am the recipient of the Occhialini Medal and Prize 2009 (jointly awarded by The Institute of Physics and Societa' Italiana di Fisica) and of the Thomson Medal and Prize 2010 (awarded by The Institute of Physics). In 2015, I was elected Honorary Member of the Roland Eotvos Physical Society of Hungary.