Search for and connect with other scientists on Labmeeting. Learn more.

Viviana's Colleagues

Adam Politzer
University of California-Berkeley

Ailey Crow
University of California-Berkeley

Ann McEvoy
University of California-Berkeley

Dave Zhang
California Institute of Technology

Dave L Richmond
University of California-Berkeley

Feng Zhang
Stanford University

Jeremy L. England
Princeton University

Karl Edward Duderstadt
University of California-Berkeley

Polly M. Fordyce
University of California-San Francisco

Rose E Loughlin
University of California-Berkeley

Roseanne M Wincek
University of California-Berkeley

Ross W S Rounsevell
University of California-Berkeley

Sander Pronk
University of California-Berkeley

Stephen R Sharma
University of Southern California

Stephen Sharma
University of California-Berkeley

Tom Hunt
University of California-Berkeley

Vince Ramey
University of California-Berkeley

Wendy Hansen
University of California-Berkeley

Viviana I. Risca

University of California-Berkeley
PhD Student

Research

Systems and Approaches
microscopy, optical trapping, biochemistry

Interests
actin and actin-binding proteins, cytoskeletal mechanics, cell biology, the physics of biological morphology

Summary
I'm interested in how cells organize their contents in a dynamic way. The actin cytoskeleton is a major force contributing to this organization in eukaryotic cells. Although it is entirely based on polymers of a humble 42 kDa protein, the actin cytoskeleton can perform many functions and take on a huge range of shapes thanks to the work of actin-binding proteins that regulate its architecture and dynamics. I am studying the Arp2/3 complex, one of the most important nucleators of actin growth that catalyzes the polymerization of branched filament networks.

Education