Ambra was born in Milan, Italy. She studied medical biotechnology at the University of Milano-Bicocca (Italy) and completed her Master’s thesis at Yale University (USA), where she continued working as a Postgraduate Associate. At Yale, she investigated the molecular mechanisms of the pathogenesis of different genetic cholangiopathies by combining approaches utilizing primary cultures in vitro with in vivo pharmacology in mice.
In 2015, Ambra started her PhD at EMBL Heidelberg (Germany). She specialized in molecular biology and in vivo microscopy, employing the transparent zebrafish embryo as her model system of choice. By studying the clearance of apoptotic neurons by microglia in the developing brain, she uncovered the existence of the gastrosome, a new compartment in the phagocytic pathway.
In December 2018, she moved to the University of Zürich (Switzerland), where she keeps investigating microglial dynamics in contexts of development and disease. In 2020, as a senior scientist, Ambra started working on the setup of a new model system to investigate the role of the gastrosome in human iPSc-derived microglia.

In her free time, she enjoys cooking, hanging out with friends and travelling.