Calogero Maria Oddo was born in 1983. He obtained all his academic degrees with summa cum laude. In 2011 he completed his PhD in Innovative technologies from Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies, after being admitted with a scholarship and ranking first in the BioRobotics curriculum. In 2007 and 2005 he obtained the MSc with excellence track and the BSc in Electronic Engineering from the University of Pisa, 1st student graduating in his cohort. In 2008 and 2006 he graduated as honours college student of Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies, where he had been admitted in 2002 after a public selection with 10 positions and more than 300 applicants. During his studies, Calogero Maria Oddo also attended courses at the London School of Economics and Political Science and he joined experimental campaigns promoted by the European Space Agency, such as the parabolic flight in microgravity and the ESA Lunar Robotics Challenge. 

Calogero Oddo is the Principal Investigator of the Neuro-Robotic Touch Laboratory at Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies, a group with 25+ researchers recruited as postdoctoral fellows (4), PhD students (20) or research fellows and assistants (2), plus several MSc students involved for theses or lab training activities. 

The cultural model of the academic school in biorobotics, in which Calogero Oddo was trained, grounds on the fertile interaction between basic and applied sciences (Dario et al., IEEE Transactions on Robotics 2008; Yang et al., Science Robotics 2016). Within this methodological framework, the scientific contributions of the studies coordinated by Calogero Oddo at the Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies are dedicated to the investigation of the sensory mechanotransduction and the related technological applications (Oddo, The Journal of Physiology 2022). The interaction with the Swedish electrophysiology school was fundamental in this regard at the beginning of his training path in research during the PhD (Oddo et al, Mechatronics 2011). Specifically, the researches carried out by Calogero Oddo stem from the neuroscientific study and modelling of touch sense physiology using mathematical and bioengineering methods (Oddo et al., Sensors 2011, Klöcker et al., PloS one 2014; Oddo et al., Scientific Reports 2017; Genna et al., Journal of Neuroscience 2018), from which design criteria for the development of artificial touch sensors are derived using new materials and innovative electronic (Oddo et al., IEEE Transactions on Robotics, 2011; Rongala et al., IEEE Transactions on Neural Networks and Learning Systems 2015; Cesini et al., Nanomaterials 2020; Rongala et al., Neural Networks 2020) and photonic technologies (Massari et al, Nature Machine Intelligence 2022). The natural application of the technologies developed in the Neuro-Robotic Touch laboratory coordinated by Calogero Oddo lies in the field of bionic limb prostheses, which also serve as a platform for studying and advancing the understanding of the physiopathology of the human sensorimotor system (Oddo et al., eLife 2016; Mazzoni et al., Scientific Reports 2020). 

Such research area is the ground for the scientific activities as well as for the teaching activities within the Bionics Engineering Master of Science degree program jointly offered by the University of Pisa, Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, and Scuola IMT Alti Studi Lucca, for PhD and honours college students of Scuola Sant’Anna, and in other teaching appointments in leading international and national institutions such as the École Normale Supérieure – PSL in Paris and the University of Pavia and Almo Collegio Borromeo. 

For the physiopathological modelling of sensorimotor and autonomic functions, his studies involve the microneurographic and microneurostimulation techniques in neurorehabilitation and cardiology, biosignals processing methods (Genna et al., Brain Topography 2017; Ballanti et al., Clinical Neurophysiology 2022; D’Alesio et al., Biophysics Reviews 2024), as well as implantable sensors for biomechanical and bioelectronic autonomic interoception (Ferraro et al., IEEE Sensors Journal 2022). The cardiorespiratory monitoring technologies developed in the laboratory coordinated by Calogero Oddo also aim to innovate the healthcare system by introducing telemedicine tools, as well as to promote workplace safety through intelligent wearable sensors (Filosa et al., Artificial Intelligence in Medicine 2022). In parallel, the sensors developed are being applied in robotic surgery, particularly in the field of oncological surgery (Massari et al., Sensors 2019). In this latter research area, where Calogero Oddo is co-inventor of patented innovations for anatomopathological diagnostics (www.imeros.it), actions are underway to translate robotic telepalpation technologies from university laboratories towards clinical and socio-economic impact, with the support of RoboIT, the first national technology transfer hub launched by CDP Venture Capital in collaboration with Pariter Partners. Technology transfer based on radical innovations derived from cutting-edge scientific research is one of the distinguishing elements of biorobotics, and Calogero Oddo is contributing to this direction also through coordination roles in the activities of the ARTES 4.0 Competence Center promoted by Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna with the support of the Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy and the Digital Europe program. 

In his research areas, Calogero Oddo has received numerous awards and recognition, and he has and has held scientific responsibilities in research projects after application to competitive calls with peer review, funded by the European Commission and national institutions, including the Ministry of Universities and Research, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Economic Development, INAIL, Foundations, the Tuscany Region and within the National Recovery and Resiliency Plan, with direct scientific responsibilities on approximately 10 million euros and participation in research projects with investments totalling around 50 million euros. Moreover, in the framework of the EELISA European universities program, Calogero Oddo is actively involved in the design of innovative educational tracks and disciplinary broadening, towards a modern renaissance engineering. Calogero Oddo is systematically invited as a speaker in conferences, workshops and scientific meetings, such as the invited talk at the 2024 Nature Conference on Transformative Technologies for Neuroengineering, and he is also paying attention to the societal communication of research results to demonstrate the achievements of research grants supported by public funding: his studies on bionic touch have been featured by international and national media such as BBC, Fox News, Rai 1, Rai 2, Rai 3, Rai Scuola, Rete 4, Scientific American, National Geographic, La Repubblica, Il Sole24Ore, ANSA, Daily Mail. 

The 23rd of June 2023 he received the Feltrinelli Prize under 40, bioengineering field, awarded by the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, that is one of the most prestigious prizes awarded by scientific societies. 

Currently, Calogero Oddo is an associate professor of bioengineering of Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies, Academic Class of Experimental and Applied Sciences, the BioRobotics Institute and Department of Excellence in Robotics and Artificial Intelligence, and Interdisciplinary Research Center Health Science. He has also obtained the national scientific qualification as full professor of bioengineering. He is scientific responsible for Scuola Sant’Anna of the N2Lab joint laboratory hosted by the Clinical Physiology Institute of the National Research Council, in collaboration with Fondazione Toscana Gabriele Monasterio, the Pisa University Hospital, and the University of Pisa. He has served as a member of the Council of the Centro di Ricerca Matematica Ennio De Giorgi coordinated by the Scuola Normale Superiore in Pisa. At Sant’Anna School, he is also involved in academic service activities as the vice-coordinator of the PhD in BioRobotics, one of the largest doctoral programs in robotics and bioengineering worldwide, with over 120 students. He is member of the Faculty board of the National PhD in Robotics and Intelligent Machines as well. 

At Sant’Anna School, Calogero Oddo also serves as the President of the University Committee for Equal Opportunities, Well-being at Work and Against Discrimination. In this academic responsibility, he has recently been one of the promoters of the first interuniversity help desk against gender-based violence, in partnership with the University of Pisa and Scuola Normale Superiore (www.ateneipisa.it). On these topics, at Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies he also systematically collaborates with Faculty members of the Social Sciences Academic Class. 

Calogero Oddo is actively involved in relevant scientific societies. He is a Senior Member of the IEEE and a founding member of the National Bioengineering Group. From 2018 to 2020, he served as the vice-chair of the Italian chapter of the IEEE Sensors Council. Since 2021, he has been the vice-president for technical activities of the Institute of Robotics and Intelligent Machines. He has contributed to the organization of numerous scientific conferences and meetings, holding positions such as general co-chair of the IEEE MetroInd4.0&IoT in 2020 and 2021, finance chair of the International Conference on Neurorehabilitation and the Wearable Robotics Symposium in 2018 and of the IEEE/EMBS Conference on Neural Engineering in 2021, and as live demo co-chair of the IEEE Sensors Conference in 2022, 2023 and 2024. Since 2023 he has been invited by Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei to join the Centro Interdisciplinare Linceo Giovani as a founding member, in which he has also been elected to serve as Vice-Director.