Hi, I'm Maria Sofia Bucarelli

I'm a CNRS postdoctoral researcher in the COATI team, working under the supervision of 3IA chair Emanuele Natale. COATI is a joint team involving Inria, CNRS, and Université Côte d'Azur. My research spans the theory and applications of machine learning, including representation learning, graph neural networks, learning from noisy labels, and model merging. I completed my PhD in Data Science in 2024 at Sapienza University of Rome, working with Prof. Fabrizio Silvestri and the RSTless group.

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Maria Sofia Bucarelli

Research interests

Representation Learning · Learning from Noisy Labels · Machine Unlearning · Graph Neural Networks · Model Merging · Generalization Bounds · Approximation Properties of Neural Networks

Education

2020 – 2024
PhD in Data Science
Sapienza University of Rome · Advisor: Prof. Fabrizio Silvestri
2016 – 2019
Master's Degree in Mathematics
Sapienza University of Rome
2013 – 2016
Bachelor's Degree in Mathematics
Sapienza University of Rome

Publications

2026

ICLR 2026

MASS: MoErging through Adaptive Subspace Selection

D Crisostomi, A Zirilli, AA Gargiulo, MS Bucarelli, S Scardapane, F Silvestri, I Masi, E Rodolà

AISTATS 2026

The Majority Vote Paradigm Shift: When Popular Meets Optimal

A Purificato, MS Bucarelli, AK Nelakanti, A Bacciu, F Silvestri, A Mantrach

AISTATS 2026

Rank Lifting and Random Non-Linear Maps

A Drago, MS Bucarelli, F Caso, F Siciliano, F Silvestri, L Becchetti

ECML-PKDD 2026

Subtract the Corruption: Training-Data-Free Corrective Machine Unlearning using Task Arithmetic

M Mozafari, F Wani, MS Bucarelli, F Silvestri

2025

CVPR 2025

Task Singular Vectors: Reducing Task Interference in Model Merging

AA Gargiulo, D Crisostomi, MS Bucarelli, S Scardapane, F Silvestri, E Rodolà

TMLR 2025

Hypergraph Neural Networks through the Lens of Message Passing: A Common Perspective to Homophily and Architecture Design

L Telyatnikov, MS Bucarelli, G Bernardez, O Zaghen, S Scardapane, P Liò

IJCNN 2025

Link Prediction under Heterophily: A Physics-Inspired Graph Neural Network Approach

AG Di Francesco, F Caso, MS Bucarelli, F Silvestri

UniReps Workshop (NeurIPS)

On Task Vectors and Gradients

L Zhou, D Solombrino, D Crisostomi, MS Bucarelli, GA D'Inverno, F Silvestri, E Rodolà

2024

Neural Networks 2024

A Topological Description of Loss Surfaces Based on Betti Numbers

MS Bucarelli, GA D'Inverno, M Bianchini, F Scarselli, F Silvestri

IJCNN 2024

Learning with Noisy Labels through Learnable Weighting and Centroid Similarity

F Wani, MS Bucarelli, F Silvestri

Workshop @ ICML 2024

∇τ: Gradient-based and Task-Agnostic Machine Unlearning

D Trippa, C Campagnano, MS Bucarelli, G Tolomei, F Silvestri

2023

NeurIPS 2023

On Generalization Bounds for Projective Clustering

MS Bucarelli, MF Larsen, C Schwiegelshohn, MB Toftrup

Scholar ↗

CVPR 2023

Leveraging Inter-Rater Agreement for Classification in the Presence of Noisy Labels

MS Bucarelli, L Cassano, F Siciliano, A Mantrach, F Silvestri

PDF ↗ Video ↗

Sensors 2023

False Data Injection Impact on High RES Power Systems with Centralized Voltage Regulation Architecture

T Bragatto, MA Bucarelli, MS Bucarelli, F Carere, A Geri, M Maccioni

PDF ↗

2022

IJCNN 2022

Newron: A New Generalization of the Artificial Neuron to Enhance the Interpretability of Neural Networks

F Siciliano, MS Bucarelli, G Tolomei, F Silvestri

PDF ↗

Talks & Posters

Sep 2026
The Majority Vote Paradigm Shift: When Popular Meets Optimal
Young Applied Mathematicians Conference · Turin, Italy
Jun 2025
Approximation and Learning in High Dimensions (CRM Workshop)
Centre de Recherches Mathématiques · Montréal, QC, Canada
Dec 2024
Poster: Robustness of Graph Classification: Failure Modes, Causes, and Noise-Resistant Loss in Graph Neural Networks
Learning on Graphs Italian Meetup · Siena, Italy
Nov 2024
Large Language Models and Agents: A Challenging Symbiosis
13th Italian Workshop on Machine Learning and Data Mining, AIxIA Conference
Jul 2024
Poster: Gradient-based and Task-Agnostic Machine Unlearning
Next Generation of AI Safety Workshop @ ICML 2024 · Vienna, Austria
May 2024
On Generalization Bounds for Projective Clustering
Kolmogorov Meets Turing (KmT) 2024 Workshop · Rome, Italy
Jan 2024
On Generalization Bounds for Projective Clustering
Workshop on Mathematics for Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning · Milan, Italy
Nov 2023
Hypergraph Neural Networks through the Lens of Message Passing (work in progress)
Learning on Graphs Conference Meetup
May 2023
Improving Learning with Noisy Labels in Two Possible Scenarios
University of Cambridge
Nov 2022
A Topological Description of Loss Surfaces Based on Betti Numbers (work in progress)
Workshop "Matematica per l'IA e il ML — Giovani Ricercatori"

Teaching & Mentoring

Dec 2025
PyTorch & PyTorch Lightning module — SoBigData Machine Learning course
Sapienza University of Rome
Nov 2025
Large Language Models: Cosa sono e Come usarli — course for high-school teachers
Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei · Sapienza University of Rome
Sep 2025
Higher-Order Network Representations and Topological Deep Learning — PhD course
PhD in Cybersecurity, Sapienza University of Rome
Jul 2025
Higher-Order Network Analysis: Topology, Machine Learning, and Applications — PhD course
3rd European Summer School on Artificial Intelligence · Bratislava, Slovakia · webpage
Jun 2025
Deep Learning Theory and Robustness — PhD course
PhD in Data Science, Sapienza University of Rome · webpage
2021 – 2024
Teaching assistant, Deep Learning course
Sapienza University of Rome · Prof. Fabrizio Silvestri
2021 – present
Co-advisor of 11 Master's theses
Data Science, AI & Robotics, Computer Engineering, and Computer Science programs · Sapienza University of Rome
2023 – 2024
Sustainability and AI — 30-hour high-school course

Organizing & Awards

2025
Workshop organizer — AI for a Cooler Planet: Tackling Environmental Challenges with Neural Networks, IJCNN 2025
webpage
2025
Competition organizer — Learning with Noisy Graph Labels Challenge, IJCNN 2025
webpage
Nov 2022
Best Poster Award — Intech ML Workshop, Amazon · Madrid, Spain

Peer Review & Program Committees

2026
Reviewer: ICML 2026 (Silver Reviewer), CVPR 2026 (Outstanding Reviewer), ACL 2026, NeurIPS 2026, CIKM 2026.
2025
Reviewer: ICML, ECIR, IJCNN, ICALP, ICLR, ECCV, NeurIPS 2025; AAAI 2026, AISTATS 2026, ICLR 2026, WWW 2026.
2024
Reviewer: NeurIPS 2024, ICLR 2024. Program Committee: AAAI 2024 & 2025, ECIR 2024, CBMS 2024 (Multimodal Learning in Biomedical Applications), IR-RAG Workshop @ SIGIR 2024.
2023
Program Committee: SIGIR 2023, SIAM International Conference on Data Mining 2023.
2022
Program Committee: AISTATS 2023, AAAI 2023.