Samuele Zilioli
Administrative title
Professor, Full-timeOffice address
iBio Building Behavioral Health, 3115
6135 Woodward Ave. Detroit, MI 48202
Office phone
(313) 577-1128Biography
Dr. Samuele Zilioli is an award-winning, internationally trained Professor with joint appointments in the Department of Psychology and the Department of Family Medicine and Public Health Sciences at Wayne State University (WSU) in Detroit. His interdisciplinary research sits at the intersection of psychology, biology, and health, with a particular focus on the biological pathways through which social and psychosocial factors shape health across the lifespan.
Dr. Zilioli received his early academic training in Italy, earning both a B.A. and an M.A. in Psychology from the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart. He subsequently moved to Canada to pursue a Ph.D. in Cognitive and Neural Sciences at Simon Fraser University. Upon graduation, he was awarded the Governor General’s Gold Medal, one of Canada’s most prestigious academic distinctions, in recognition of achieving the highest academic standing. He later completed postdoctoral training in health psychology at Wayne State University.
Dr. Zilioli has established a distinctive program of research examining how psychosocial factors interact with health behaviors and biological processes to influence health and disease. His work investigates how these biopsychological processes serve as pathways linking social experience to downstream changes in the immune, cardiovascular, and metabolic systems, providing insight into the mechanisms through which social forces and structures becomes biologically embedded across the lifespan.
His research has attracted competitive federal funding, including support from the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). His scholarship has appeared in many of the leading journals spanning psychology, neuroscience, psychoneuroendocrinology, and behavioral medicine, including Psychological Science, Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, and Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology.
Dr. Zilioli’s contributions have been recognized through a series of prestigious early-career honors, including the W.C. Young Recent Graduate Award from the Society for Behavioral Neuroendocrinology, the Excellence in Health Psychology Research by an Early Career Professional Award from Division 38 (Society for Health Psychology) of the American Psychological Association, and the Neal E. Miller New Investigator Award from the Academy of Behavioral Medicine Research. Together, these distinctions reflect the breadth and impact of his contributions to understanding the biological mechanisms linking social environments, psychological processes, and physical health.