Psychiatry and clinical psychobiology
Benedetta Vai
Email: vai.benedetta@hsr.it
Location: San Raffaele Turro, Building G, Floor 1s
Postdoc fellow, Psychiatry and clinical psychobiology Unit
Research Activity
The burden of mental disorders is constantly growing despite the availability of new therapeutics. A tremendous need exists to identify reliable biomarkers and tools that can prompt more rapid and effective clinical management and treatment of these disorders.
Benedetta Vai’s research activity lies at the interface between clinical neuroscience and psychiatry, exploiting specific knowledge of artificial intelligence, machine learning, psychobiology, neuroimmunology, genetics and neuroimaging. These disciplines are integrated with the aim of understanding etiopathogenesis and of improving prevention and clinical prognosis for mental disorders.
22 H-index – Scopus (1/6/2023)
2021 Specialization in Psychotherapy, Milan, Italy
2016 Ph.D. in Developmental Psychopathology and Social Change, Libera Università Maria S.S. Assunta, Rome, Italy
2012 Master’s degree in Psychology, University Vita-Salute San Raffaele, Milan, Italy
2010 Bachelor’s degree in Psychological sciences, University Vita-Salute San Raffaele, Milan, Italy
From 2017 Post-doctoral researcher at Unit of Psychiatry and Clinical Psychobiology, Prof. Francesco Benedetti, Division of Neuroscience, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute.
From 2018 Visiting professor at Faculty of Psychology, University Vita-Salute San Raffaele, Milan, Italy
2014-2016 Ph.D. student at Unit of Psychiatry and Clinical Psychobiology, Prof. Francesco Benedetti, Division of Neuroscience, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute
- Vai B, Calesella F, Lenti C, Fortaner-Uyà L, Caselani E, Fiore P, Breit S, Poletti S, Colombo C, Zanardi R, Benedetti F. Reduced corticolimbic habituation to negative stimuli characterizes bipolar depressed suicide attempters. Psychiatry Res Neuroimaging. 2023 Jun;331:111627. doi: 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2023.111627. Epub 2023 Mar 11. PMID: 36924742.
- Benedetti F, Vai B. New biomarkers in mood disorders: Insights from immunopsychiatry and neuroimaging. Eur Neuropsychopharmacol. 2023 Apr;69:56-57. doi: 10.1016/j.euroneuro.2023.01.003. Epub 2023 Feb 13. PMID: 36774665.
- Vai B, Mazza M, Delli Colli C, Foiselle M, Allen B, Benedetti F, Borsini A, Casanova D, Tamaouza R, Leboyer M, Benros ME, Branchi I, Fusar-Poli P, De Picker L. Mental disorders and risk of COVID-19 related mortality, hospitalization and intensive care unit admission: a systematic review and meta-analysis. The Lancet Psychiatrythis link is disabled, 2021, 8(9), pp. 797–812
- Vai B, Mazza MG, Marisa CD, Beezhold J, Kärkkäinen H, Saunders J, Samochowiec J, Benedetti F, Leboyer M, Fusar-Poli P, De Picker L. Joint European policy on the COVID-19 risks for people with mental disorders: An umbrella review and evidence- and consensus-based recommendations for mental and public health. Eur Psychiatry. 2022 Aug 16;65(1):e47. doi: 10.1192/j.eurpsy.2022.2307. PMID: 35971656; PMCID: PMC9486830.
- Cavicchioli M, Calesella F, Cazzetta S, Mariagrazia M, Ogliari A, Maffei C, Vai B. Investigating predictive factors of dialectical behavior therapy skills training efficacy for alcohol and concurrent substance use disorders: A machine learning study. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2021 Jul 1;224:108723. doi: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2021.108723.
- Colombo F, Calesella F, Mazza MG, Melloni EMT, Morelli MJ, Scotti GM, Benedetti F, Bollettini I, Vai B. Machine learning approaches for prediction of bipolar disorder based on biological, clinical and neuropsychological markers: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2022 Apr;135:104552. doi: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104552. Epub 2022 Feb 2. PMID: 35120970.
- Vai B, Parenti L, Bollettini I, et al. Predicting differential diagnosis between bipolar and unipolar depression with multiple kernel learning on multimodal structural neuroimaging. Eur Neuropsychopharmacol. 2020; 34:28-38. doi:10.1016/j.euroneuro.2020.03.008.
- Vai B, Serretti A, Poletti S, Mascia M, Lorenzi C, Colombo C, Benedetti F. Cortico-limbic functional connectivity mediates the effect of early life stress on suicidality in bipolar depressed 5-HTTLPR*s carriers. Journal of affective disorders. 2020 15 Feb; 15; 263: 420-427. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2019.11.14
- Vai B, Sforzini L, Visintini R, Riberto M, Bulgarelli C, Ghiglino D, Melloni E, Bollettini I, Poletti S, Maffei C,Benedetti F. Corticolimbic connectivity mediates the relationship between Adverse childhood experiences and symptom severity in Borderline Personality Disorder. 2017;76(2):105-115. doi: 10.1159/000487961. Epub 2018 Jun 1. Neuropsychobiology
- Vai B, Bulgarelli C, Godlewska BR, Cowen PJ, Benedetti F, Harmer CJ. Fronto-limbic effective connectivity as possible predictor of antidepressant response to SSRI administration. Eur Neuropsychopharmacol. 2016 Dec;26(12):2000-2010. doi: 10.1016/j.euroneuro.2016.09.640. Epub 2016 Oct 15. PMID: 27756525.