Alessandra received her DPhil from Oxford University in 2006 with a dissertation in Byzantine Philology under the supervision of Professor E. M. Jeffreys. Previously she had been awarded a Master of Arts from King’s College London in Late Antique and Byzantine Studies (2001) and a Laurea in Lettere Classiche from the Università di Genova, Italy (1999). During the academic year 2007-2008 she spent nine months in Dumbarton Oaks Research Centre (Washington, D.C.) as a Byzantine Fellow. Since October 2008, she has been part of the Ars edendi research program, first as a visiting scholar and at present as a research fellow.