After winning an Endeavour Fellowship Program by the Australian government, DS completed a dual PhD between the University of Naples Federico II and Curtin University of Perth (Strategic international scholarship) with Kings Park and Botanic Garden of Perth on the pollination biology of a group of Australian orchids mimicking pea plants.

She is a research advisor at ChemCentre and sessional academic at Curtin University of Perth and has been working as a consultant since 2008 for governmental institutions, NGOs, universities, and industries in the following research fields across Italy, Peru, and Australia:  pollination biology and ecology, honey and pollen traceability, biodiversity, agroecological models focusing on Cacao and Vanilla.