You can read more about me below and in my professional profile. Check out a selection of my data projects or browse my scientific publications.
Maria Berti
Data Scientist · PhD Physicist
Maria Berti
I am a data scientist and a theoretical physicist. My expertise lies at the intersection of theory and data.
Welcome to my homepage!
About me
I grew up in Trieste, a city in the north-east of Italy, where the fresh, salty sea air carries a breath of science and innovation. There I studied physics and specialised in cosmology, the branch of physics shared by theoretical physics and astrophysics that studies our Universe's birth, history and structure at very large scales.
During my PhD at SISSA, an international school of excellence devoted entirely to doctoral research, and later as a member of the cosmology group at the University of Geneva, I contributed to understanding why the Universe we live in is in a phase of accelerated expansion. The cause of this acceleration is a mysterious element of reality called Dark Energy, so elusive that what it is made of and how we can describe it mathematically remain unclear.
My job sat at the intersection between theory and observations. With my expertise in both mathematical modelling and data analysis, I studied if and how current (and future) data themselves can lead us to a better understanding of the underlying theory that describes Dark Energy. To this end, I built and used Bayesian inference tools to test a variety of models based on general relativity, in the quest to find the one that truly describes the Universe's evolution.
Along the way, I led several projects and international teams, taught at university level in English and French, and founded the CosmoFONDUE conference with my colleagues at UniGe.
After six years in academia, I decided to challenge myself in a new context. I am now moving into industry, eager to bring my expertise in bridging theoretical models and data to problems on far smaller scales than the cosmos. In particular, I am drawn to how data can offer powerful insights into health and help improve people's lives.
With this goal in mind, I am adapting and expanding my skills for real-world, industry settings: I am earning certifications in project management and data science, deepening my knowledge of machine-learning theory and tools, and keeping pace with the fast-moving world of AI.
In the meantime, I have started working on my first health-data project: exploring whether basal body temperature can offer new insights into endometriosis and support its diagnosis. Follow my progress on my projects page and on GitHub.
My journey through physics took me from Trieste to Geneva, and I now live in Lausanne. Outside work, I love singing (I have sung soprano in a baroque choir for more than ten years and used to conduct an amateur ensemble), classical ballet and knitting.
If you share an interest in data, science or health tech, or see an opportunity to work together, I would be glad to connect.
Thank you for getting to know me!