Lishibanya Mohapatra

Lishibanya Mohapatra is an Assistant Professor in the School of Physics and Astronomy at the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), College of Science. Her research focuses on understanding how living cells measure and control the size of their organelles using principles from physics, mathematics, and computation.

Dr. Mohapatra's research interests span multiple interdisciplinary fields at the interface of physics and biology:

• Biophysical mechanisms of organelle size control
• Mathematical modeling of cellular structures
• Stochastic processes in biological systems
• Computational approaches to cell biology
• Cytoskeletal dynamics and assembly
• Resource allocation mechanisms in living cells

Her recent publications demonstrate a strong focus on understanding the physical principles underlying cellular organization, particularly how cells regulate the size of structures like flagella, actin cables, and nucleoli. Her work combines theoretical modeling with experimental collaborations to uncover fundamental design principles in cell biology.

Scientific Recognition

• National Institutes of Health Maximizing Investigators' Research Award (MIRA) for $$1.77$$ million (2022-2027)
• SRS seed funding award for nucleolus assembly research
• Dean's Research Initiation grant for size regulation of nucleolus
• Published review in Annual Reviews of Biophysics by Ken A. Dill

Dr. Mohapatra actively mentors students at all levels, from undergraduates to post-doctoral researchers, in interdisciplinary research projects that combine physics, mathematics, and biology. She has successfully guided multiple students through capstone projects, research assistantships, and graduate studies.

She leads the Mohapatra Research Group at RIT, which focuses on understanding the physical principles of organelle assembly and size control in living cells. The group employs computational modeling, theoretical analysis, and close collaboration with experimental biologists to address fundamental questions in cell biology.