She graduated in Business and Economics from the University of Bari (1992), obtaining also a Master of Science in Economics from the University of York, a PhD in transport techniques and economics and a specialist diploma in Transport Economic and Policies from "La Sapienza" University in Rome.She has spent much time devoted to study and research abroad, in York, Antwerp, Toulouse, Lausanne, Dublin and New York, among other places.She has been a Full Professor in Applied Economics at the University of Bari since 2015.

She teaches Market and Regulations Economic, Industrial Economics and Transport Economics: since 2016 she has been Chairwoman of the Italian Society of Transport and Logistics Economics, of which she was Secretary General from September 2012.She is the author of numerous publications and articles in national and international books and magazines, and she has been academic director and member of several organisations for international transport, regional development and tourism projects.

From 1998, she worked as an expert in collaboration with the Ministry for Infrastructures and Transport, and was a representative in many projects and round tables on, among other things, strategies, the development of national airport, land and maritime infrastructures, regulations, planning and evaluation of investments and sustainability.From May 2017 to July 2018, she was also a representative of the Cabinet of the Ministry for Infrastructures and Transport to a team following European Motorway and Port matters at the European Commission DG Competition and DG Transport, and as a highly trained expert for the Technical Mission Structure (in which she took part from 2016 to 2018).She has also filled roles as an expert for the Ministry for the Economy and for Finance, and from 2002 to 2004 she was a member of NARS (Nucleo di consulenza Attuazione linee guida Regolazione Servizi pubblica utilità), the consultancy and support body for the CIPE (Italian inter-ministerial committee for economic planning).On an international level, she has worked in collaboration with the OECD, ITF and UNCTAD.　

A Chartered Accountant enrolled in the professional Register of Auditors since 1999 and in the Register of Independent Evaluation Bodies (OIV), Chairperson of the OIV of the East Adriatric Port Authority (Trieste and Monfalcone), since April 2014 she has been an independent member of the Board of Directors of Exprivia S.p.A. She was a member of the Board of Directors of the Ente Nazionale per l'Aviazione Civile - ENAC (national civil aviation body) from October 2016 until May 2020.Since 21 May 2020, she has been a member of the Board of Directors and of ENAV's Sustainability Committee.