معرفی
Luca Costa is a CNRS Research Scientist at the Centre de Biochimie Structurale (Montpellier, France), specializing in nanoscale biophysics. His research develops novel atomic force microscopy (AFM) methodologies to study biological membranes, soft matter interfaces, and molecular assemblies. With expertise spanning instrumentation physics, biochemistry, and cell biology, he pioneers correlative imaging techniques combining AFM with synchrotron X-ray methods and fluorescence microscopy.
His core research investigates:
- Nanomechanics of lipid bilayers and cellular membranes
- Real-time dynamics at liquid-liquid interfaces
- Phase separation in biomolecular condensates
- Instrumental development for high-resolution in situ imaging
Recent publications emphasize membrane remodeling, nuclear pore mechanics, and advanced AFM-XRF integration, with consistent focus on quantitative nanoscale biophysics. Awards include the XFEL Young Scientist Bursary (2015).
Major grants support his work:
- ANR SLAM-AFM (2025-2027): Synchrotron-compatible AFM development
- ANR DECIDE/PROSPERO (2022-2025): Membrane dynamics studies
- EU MagCell (2020-2021): Magnetic nanoparticle applications
He leads the Integrative Biophysics of Membranes lab, developing specialized AFM platforms for biological interfaces.
