My research  focuses on the biological mechanisms underlying the pathophysiology of affective disorders, with a translational approach that heavily relies on PET imaging as well as structural and functional MRI imaging applications in healthy subjects and patients with neuropsychiatric conditions. Current work includes the characterisation of  the role of neuroinflammatory processes in the pathogenesis of depression in multiple sclerosis using a multimodal imaging approach, and the quantification of endogenous opioid release in the living human brain  across various patients’ populations.  Future studies  will use PET imaging  to visualise  the effects of stress on the activation of the brain immune system.