Daniela Cimini

Daniela Cimini is a Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at Virginia Tech's College of Science, where she has been a faculty member since 2005. She is also a Fellow at the Fralin Life Sciences Institute and affiliated with the Faculty of Health Sciences at Virginia Tech. Her research focuses on the molecular and mechanical regulation of mitosis and chromosome segregation, with implications for cancer biology.

Her major fields of interest include Cell Biology, Genetics, Molecular Biology, Chromosome Segregation, Mitosis, Aneuploidy, Cancer Biology, Live-Cell Imaging, and Quantitative Microscopy. Her lab investigates how errors in chromosome segregation lead to abnormal chromosome numbers—a hallmark of cancer—and employs advanced imaging and quantitative techniques to dissect these mechanisms.

Daniela Cimini has received numerous honors and awards, including the Virginia Tech Scholar of the Week (2016), multiple Departmental Outstanding Research Awards, the Cell Dance Festival Award from the American Society for Cell Biology (2005), and the Young Scientist Award from the European Environmental Mutagen Society (2001). She has also been recognized in "Who’s Who in Science and Engineering" (2008).

She advises graduate students through her research lab and has collaborated extensively with engineers and mathematical modelers to enhance her research scope. Although no specific grants are listed, her sustained research activity and awards suggest a strong record of external funding and scholarly productivity.

Daniela Cimini leads the Cimini Lab at Virginia Tech, which utilizes cutting-edge live-cell imaging and quantitative microscopy to study cell division dynamics. The lab fosters interdisciplinary collaboration, particularly with engineering and computational modeling groups, to understand the biophysical and molecular bases of accurate chromosome segregation.