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Cristina Bertocchi

Assistant Professor

Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile

Santiago, Chile

Líneas de Investigación


My research interest focuses on understanding the molecular basis and dynamics regulating complex physiological function, in particular how cells communicate, interact and sense mechanical stimuli, in homeostasis and cancer transformation.

Educación

  •  Lung Physiology, LEOPOLD FRANZENS UNIVERSITAT INNSBRUCK. Austria, 2008
  •  Biological Science, UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI MILANO. Italia, 2002

Experiencia Académica

  •   PhD Full Time

    LEOPOLD FRANZENS UNIVERSITAT INNSBRUCK

    Innsbruck, Austria

    2002 - 2008

  •   PostDoc Full Time

    National University of Singapore

    Mechanobiology Institute

    Singapur

    2011 - 2017

  •   Senior PostDoc Full Time

    National University of Singapore

    Mechanobiology Institute

    Singapur

    2017 - 2018

  •   Undergraduate student Full Time

    UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI MILANO

    Biological Science

    Italia

    2001 - 2002

  •   PostDoc Part Time

    INNSBRUCK MEDICAL UNIVERSITY

    Innsbruck, Austria

    2009 - 2010

Experiencia Profesional

  •   Prof Assist. Full Time

    Pontificia Univ Catolica de Chile

    Chile

    2018 - At present

Formación de Capital Humano


Teaching:
Teaching as Titular of the Course
- BIO4033- Métodos de microscopía óptica, electrónica e inmunohistoquímica (Methods for optic and electron microscopy and immunohistochemistry) - Titular: Bertocchi C – Course for PhD students Physiology Programme – Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, August 2020 – Present
- BIO4233 – Bases celulares y moleculares de la regulación fisiológica – Titular: Bertocchi C – Course for PhD students Physiology Programme – Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, January 2020 – Present
- BIO141C - Biología de la Célula (Cell Biology) – Titular: Bertocchi C – Course for undergraduate
Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, August 2019 – Present
- BIO4016 - Unidad de Investigación II - PhD Physiology Programme
Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, November 2019
- “Good Cell Culture Practice” – Titular: Bertocchi C and Ravasio A. Lectures, practical demonstrations and mentoring for PhD students. Mechanobiology Institute, NUS, Singapore, 2013 to 2015.

Teaching as collaborating Professor
- BIO4417 - Curso de Verano Microscopía Óptica Avanzada – Titular: Eisner V. – UMA (unidad de microscopia avanzada) Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, January 2020
- IBM3102 - Advanced Topics in Biological and Medical Engineering II – Titular: Ravasio A - IIBM PhD Programme
Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, November 2019
- BIO4233 - Bases celulares y moleculares de la regulación fisiológica (Cellular and molecular basis of physiological regulation) – Titular: Morselli E. – Physiology PhD Programme
Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, March 2019
- IIQ3662 - Seminarios de Postgrado – Titular: Ramirez C and Egaña T – Engineering PhD Programme
Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, May 2019
- BIO4234 - Señalización para la fisiología y patofisiología (Signaling in Development) – Titular: Owen G - PhD Physiology Programme Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, November 2018
- BN6401 - Advanced Quantitative Fluorescence Microscopy – Titular: Kanchanawong P. - Course for undergraduate
Department of Bioengineering, Faculty of Engineering, National University of Singapore.
- BN4301 - Principles of Tissue Engineering – Titular: Yim E. - Course for undergraduate
Department of Bioengineering, Faculty of Engineering, National University of Singapore.

Supervision of students:
Name: Varina Aldana
Program: tesis de pregrado
Project title: LAMININA ES CONSTITUYENTE DE LA PARED DE LAS ESTRUCTURAS TUBULARES DE MÍMICA VASCULOGÉNICA EN CÁNCER
Role : Comité de tesi

Name: Gabriel Mingo
Program: PhD student
Project title: Rol de la matriz extracelular y mecanismo de formación de mímica vasculogénica in vitro en cáncer de ovario y cáncer de mama.
Role : Co-tutor (co-supervisor)

Name: Nuñez Muriel
Program: PhD student
Project title: Papel de la activación de neuropilina 1 en fibroblastos asociados al carcinoma sobre la infiltración intratumoral de linfocitos T citotóxicos
Role : Miembro comité

Name: Felipe Valle
Program: PhD student
Project title: Mecanosensibilidad en linfocitos B: rol en el posicionamiento y distribución lisosomal durante su activación
Role : Miembro comité

Name: Hill Charlotte
Program: PhD student
Project title: Role of Tim3/Gal-9 axis in Treg infiltration and T cell exhaustion on anti-PD1 immunotherapy in gastric cancer
Role : Coordinadora

Name: Francisco Pena
Program: undergrad student -Pregrado de Verano
Project title: Mechanical Roles of Vinculin/?-catenin interaction in Adherens junction
Role : Tutora
Name: Leslie Muñoz
Program: undergrad student -Pregrado de Verano
Project title: Mechanical roles of Vinculin/beta-catenin interaction in Adherens Junction
Role : Tutora

Before 2018:
PhD students

Name: Lisheng Xu (Nathan) year 2016
Program: Rotation Student (8weeks project)
Project title: Microfabrication and imaging of pillars coated with E-cadherin biomimetic substrate

Name: Leeba Ann Chacko year 2015
Program: Rotation Student (8weeks project)
Project title: YAP/TAZ regulation of cell-cell adhesion mechanical properties

Name: Shiwen Guo year 2015
Program: Rotation Student (8weeks project)
Project title: Force measurements of MDCK cells on Ecadherin biomimetic substrate by traction force microscopy

Name: Azita Gorji year 2015
Program: PhD thesis
Project title: Study the effect of SHP2 and PTP1B inhibition on Tyrosine phosphorylation of catenins and VE-cadherin

MD students

Name: Marianne Schmidt year 2008
Program: Research project
Project title: Inflammatory potential of uromodulin


Difusión y Transferencia


Grants
- Year 2020 Concurso Anillos en Ciencia y Tecnología 2019. Project Title: ¨Multiscale mechanics and self-organizing processes in developing Systems¨ (Conicyt: ACT192015)
- Year 2019 Fondo Semilla (Interdisciplinary Research funding call 2018) - Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago de Chile. Project Title: ”Accessing cadherin clustering dynamics via gold nanopatterning”.
- Year 2011 Jubiläumsfonds der Oesterreichisches National Fund (OeNB) Austria. Project Title: “Charakterisierung und therapeutische Elimination von Mikropartikeln bei Patienten mit Sepsis” (Characterization and therapeutic elimination of microparticles in patients with severe sepsis and septic Shock).
- Year 2010 Tiroler Wissenschaftsfond (TWF) Austria- n.: D-151610-034-011. Project Title: “An epithelial-endothelial co-culture model to study the role of NOS in inflammatory processes”.
- Year 2008 Vasopharm Austria. Project title: “Mechanism of VAS203 Effects on Function of Human Renal Epithelial Cells”.

Invited seminars
- Invited seminar, July 2019, Hosted by Prof. A. Cavalcanti, Max Planck Institute, Heidelberg, Germany
- Invited seminar, February 2019, Yale-NUS, Singapore.
- Invited talk at Seminarios de departamento de Biología Celular y Molecular, March 2019, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago de Chile
- Invited talk at Workshop DF y IIBM, 29th June 2018, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago de Chile
- Invited talk at SMART (Singapore MIT alliance), hosted by Prof K. Van Vliet, January 2018, Singapore
- Invited speaker at the 3rd International Conference on Mechanobiology (ISMB2017), 11th-14th Dec, 2017, Singapore.
- Invited speaker at Superresolution Microscopy Workshop 2017 (SRM 2017), 21th-24th Nov, 2017, Singapore
- Invited talk hosted by Prof P. Dietl, Professor of Physiology, Chair Institute of General Physiology, University of Ulm. 29th November-1st December 2016 Ulm, Germany.
- Invited talk hosted by Prof P. Dietl, Professor of Physiology, Chair Institute of General Physiology, University of Ulm. 16th-19th December 2015 Ulm, Germany.
- Invited talk hosted by Prof P. Dietl, Professor of Physiology, Chair Institute of General Physiology - University of Ulm. 4th-5th April 2012 Ulm, Germany.


Premios y Distinciones

  •   Prize for an outstanding Poster

    Biophysical Society

    Singapur, 2016

    Prize for an outstanding Poster at the “Mechanobiology of Disease Conference”, organized by the Biophysical Society (Singapore).

  •   Prize for an Outstanding Poster

    “IntensivMedizin”

    Austria, 2008

    Prize for an Outstanding Poster at the medical congress “IntensivMedizin” Innsbruck (Austria).


 

Article (27)

A computational framework for testing hypotheses of the minimal mechanical requirements for cell aggregation using early annual killifish embryogenesis as a model
Community-developed checklists for publishing images and image analysis.
Molecular Insights on Shigellosis: How the Interaction Between Invasin IpaA and Vinculin Hijacks Cellular Mechanotransduction
Mechanoautophagy: Synergies between autophagy and cell mechanotransduction at adhesive complexes.
Palmitic acid control of ciliogenesis modulates insulin signaling in hypothalamic neurons through an autophagy-dependent mechanism
Junctional ER organization affects mechanotransduction at cadherin-mediated adhesions.
Mechanobiology of Autophagy: The Unexplored Side of Cancer
Palmitic acid reduces the autophagic flux in hypothalamic neurons by impairing autophagosome-lysosome fusion and endolysosomal dynamics
Single-cell analysis of EphA clustering phenotypes to probe cancer cell heterogeneity
Nanoscale architecture of cadherin-based cell adhesions
Gap geometry dictates epithelial closure efficiency
Regulation of epithelial cell organization by tuning cell-substrate adhesion
Nanoscale Imaging by Superresolution Fluorescence Microscopy and Its Emerging Applications in Biomedical Research
Regulation of adherens junction dynamics by phosphorylation switches.
Atorvastatin Inhibits Functional Expression of Proatherogenic TLR2 in Arterial Endothelial Cells
Interfacial sensing by alveolar type II cells: a new concept in lung physiology?
Levosimendan inhibits release of reactive oxygen species in polymorphonuclear leukocytes in vitro and in patients with acute heart failure and septic shock: a prospective observational study
Differential Effects of NO Inhibition in Renal Epithelial and Endothelial Cells in Mono-Culture vs. Co-Culture Conditions
Lamellar Bodies Form Solid Three-dimensional Films at the Respiratory Air-Liquid Interface
Uromodulin Facilitates Neutrophil Migration Across Renal Epithelial Monolayers
Ca2+ induced surfactant secretion in alveolar type II cultures isolated from the H-2K(b)-tsA58 transgenic mouse
Optical measurement of surface tension in a miniaturized air-liquid interface and its application in lung physiology
Ca(2+) entry is essential for cell strain-induced lamellar body fusion in isolated rat type II pneumocytes
Inhibition by cytoplasmic nucleotides of a new cation channel in freshly isolated human and rat type II pneumocytes
Pulmonary consequences of a deep breath revisited
Volume-regulated Cl- channels in human pleural mesothelioma cells
ICln channels reconstituted in heart-lipid bilayer are selective to chloride

BookSection (2)

Chapter 4: Scanning angle interference microscopy (SAIM): acquisition, analysis and biological applications
Further Characterization of the Nematode IClnN2 Protein Reconstituted in Lipid Bilayers.

Note (1)

Integrating Microfabrication into Biological Investigations: the Benefits of Interdisciplinarity

Proyecto (6)

MULTISCALE DYNAMICS AND ACTIVE MATTER PROCESSES REGULATE TENSIONAL HOMEOSTASIS OF CELLULAR AGGREGATES
Accessing cadherin clustering dynamics via gold nanopatterning
Multiscale mechanics and self-organizing processes in developing Systems
An epithelial-endothelial co-culture model to study the role of NOS in inflammatory processes
Charakterisierung und therapeutische Elimination von Mikropartikeln bei Patienten mit Sepsis
Mechanism of VAS203 Effects on Function of Human Renal Epithelial Cells”
32
Cristina Bertocchi

Assistant Professor

Department of Physiology

Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile

Santiago, Chile

3
Alfredo Criollo

Associated Professor

Research Institute in Dental Sciences

Facultad de Odontología, Universidad de Chile

Santiago, Chile

3
Maria Hernandez

Investigador Post Doctoral

Universidad de Chile

Santiago, Chile

2
Andrea Ravasio

Assistant Professor

Instituto de Ingeniería Biológica y Médica

Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile

Santiago, Chile

2
PATRICIA BURGOS

Associate Professor Programa de Doctorado en Biología Celular y Biomedicina CEBICEM

UNIVERSIDAD SAN SEBASTIÁN

Santiago, Chile

1
Cheril Tapia

Profesor Asistente

Facultad de Medicina y Ciencia

Universidad San Sebastián

Santiago, Chile

1
Yenniffer Ávalos

Profesor Asistente

Departamento de Biología

Universidad de Santiago de Chile

Santiago, Chile

1
Patricio Silva

Investigados Postdoctoral

Departamento de Biología Celular y Molecular

Universidad de Chile

Santiago, Chile

1
Claudio Perez

Profesor Asistente

Departamento de Ciencias Fisiológicas

Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile

Santiago, Chile

1
Gareth Owen

Profesor Titular

Fisiologia

PONTIFICIA UNIVERSIDAD CATÓLICA DE CHILE

Santiago, Chile

1
Rodrigo Troncoso

Associate Professor

Instituto de Nutrición y Tecnología de los Alimentos

Santiago, Chile

1
Catalina Kretschmar

Research assistant

Universidad de Chile

Santiago, Chile