Marianna’s research sits at the intersection of healthcare law, family law and human rights. Her work examines how law regulates reproduction, family formation and legal parenthood, especially in contexts where medically assisted reproduction challenges traditional assumptions about parenthood, family life and state recognition.

A central strand of her research focuses on surrogacy and medically assisted reproduction under the European Convention on Human Rights. Her doctoral research, titled Surrogacy and the European Convention on Human Rights, examined whether blanket bans on surrogacy by Contracting States may violate the right to respect for private and family life under Article 8 ECHR. The project paid particular attention to commercial and cross-border surrogacy, legal parenthood and the challenges created by the absence of coordinated international regulation.

Marianna’s subsequent work has developed this research agenda in several directions. She has written on the European Court of Human Rights’ approach to surrogacy and medically assisted reproduction, including the Court’s treatment of biological ties, de facto family life, private life, children’s interests and legal uncertainty. Her work also examines how human rights law responds to reproductive autonomy, gender discrimination and the legal recognition of families formed through assisted reproduction.

Another important strand of her research concerns cross-border surrogacy, children’s rights and statelessness. This work explores the legal insecurity that can arise when children born through surrogacy are not recognised as the legal children of their intended parents, or when conflicts between domestic legal systems create uncertainty around parenthood, nationality and civil status. In this area, her research engages with children’s rights, including Article 7 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, and with emerging principles on the protection of children born through surrogacy.

Marianna is also interested in feminist and reproductive justice approaches to surrogacy and assisted reproduction. Her work considers how legal and judicial narratives represent surrogates, intended parents and children, and how gender stereotypes may shape legal reasoning. More broadly, her research asks how law can respond to reproductive vulnerability and inequality without undermining reproductive autonomy or the recognition of diverse family forms.

Her research has contributed to academic, law reform and policy-facing debates in the UK and internationally, including through citation by the Law Commission, engagement with the UK Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology, and an invited presentation at the Italian Parliament.