Camilla Bottoni is a biologist graduated in Applied and Experimental Biology, with a Forensic curriculum at the University of Genoa, Italy. 

Having built expertise in the biological and forensic dimensions of microorganisms during her studies, Camilla developed a strong interest in applying microbiology to forensic science.

From Italy to Germany, she is now pursuing her doctoral research in Forensic Microbiology under the Horizon Europe Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions Doctoral Network – Natural Traces.

Her research aims to investigate the interactions between microbial communities and their environments across diverse environmental settings, with a particular focus on urban systems. Drawing on principles of microbial biogeography and integrating machine-learning approaches, her project aims to improve and further advance microbe-based geolocation methods.

Through the development of machine-learning–based forensic tools that harness microbial distribution patterns across bacteria, fungi, and protists, she seeks to infer microbiomes geographic origins and enhance source attribution in criminal investigations. By advancing a comprehensive understanding of the biogeography of microorganisms and optimizing and standardizing microbiome analysis methods, her research strengthens the scientific robustness, reliability, and admissibility of microbiome-based evidence in court.