Walter Mangione – PhD Student
PhD Student,
Data Scientist and
Computer Scientist.
About Me
Hi! I am Walter Mangione, a PhD student in Computer Science and Mathematics at the Università degli Studi di Bari Aldo Moro. I hold a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and a Master’s degree in Data Science, both cum laude.
Currently, I am part of the Cilab (Computational Intelligence Laboratory), where I study brain diseases using graph-based methods, focusing on how brain connectomes are built, analyzed and interpreted.
My research interests include:
Graph Neural Networks Graph Theory Deep Learning Explainability
My Research
My current research focuses on brain diseases, with an emphasis on graph-based computational approaches for understanding its underlying mechanisms. I am particularly interested in state-of-the-art methods for graph construction in brain connectome representations , including the development and evaluation of different graph-building strategies. I also explore graph neural networks (GNNs) for modeling brain connectivity, focusing on general GNN applications as well as the explainability and interpretability of these models. Additionally, I am interested in investigating large foundation models for diagnostic processing, including both classification and explanation tasks. Finally, I am fascinated by the mathematical foundations of machine learning, combining theoretical insights with practical applications to enhance both performance and interpretability.
News
- Oct 2025: Started PhD in Computer Science and Mathematics at Università degli Studi di Bari Aldo Moro.
- Jul 2025: Completed my M.Sc. in Data Science. My thesis explored graph-based representations of the human brain aimed at enhancing the semantic richness and discriminative power of models used in Alzheimer’s disease classification.
- Dec 2023: Graduated with a B.Sc. in Computer Science. My thesis in Cybersecurity involved the design and implementation of a proof-of-concept Windows-based malware to analyze system vulnerabilities and defensive mechanisms.