Fabio Benfenati is a neurophysiologist and neurologist who has made important contributions to understanding the mechanisms of synaptic transmission and plasticity. Over the years, he has addressed the molecular and cellular mechanisms of neural and synaptic communication using a variety of experimental models of human diseases. In 2006, he founded the neuroscience department at the Italian Institute of Technology and he subsequently launched the interdisciplinary field of neural interfaces, particularly light-sensitive interfaces, at the border between neuroscience and nanotechnology. Recently, he published high-impact papers on the evolution and engineering of these interfaces and their applications in studying disease. His background neurology and cellular neurophysiology has allowed him to explore, in depth, the mechanisms for which dysfunction leads to the pathogenesis of neurological diseases. An author of more than 400 research papers in international journals, he has a Scopus: h-index = 75 with more than 20,000 citations.