Viviana Risca

Viviana I. Risca is an Assistant Professor and Head of the Laboratory of Genome Architecture and Dynamics at The Rockefeller University. She holds a PhD in Biophysics from the University of California, Berkeley (2012) and a BS in Physics from Stanford University (2004). Her postdoctoral research at Stanford University School of Medicine (2012–2018) focused on chromatin structure and led to the development of the RICC-seq technique, which maps chromatin folding in intact cells.

Her research investigates how the 3D architecture of the genome regulates transcription and DNA processes in health and disease. Key areas include chromatin compaction dynamics, epigenetic regulation in differentiation/senescence, and therapeutic applications of chromatin structure analysis. She collaborates with cancer biologists to explore how chromatin changes drive senescence and tumor progression.

Notable awards include the NIH Director’s New Innovator Award (2022) and Rita Allen Foundation Scholar (2021). Risca teaches in interdisciplinary programs such as the Tri-Institutional M.D.-Ph.D. Program and the David Rockefeller Graduate Program.

Her lab employs advanced methods like RICC-seq, computational modeling, and microscopy to study chromatin’s role in gene regulation and genome maintenance. Current projects address chromatin’s role in cancer therapy responses and senescence-associated changes.