Andrea Picco

I bring 16 years of expertise in fluorescence microscopy to quantitatively investigate cellular processes, from unraveling the molecular organization and dynamics of protein complexes to analyzing collective cell migration.

Excellence in microscopy, image analysis, and data processing is at the core of my expertise. Effective quantitative microscopy requires balancing the strengths and limitations of fluorescence techniques with the right image and data analysis pipelines. I specialize in designing experiments that leverage the strengths of each method while compensating for their weaknesses. By integrating these disciplines I can help you perfect and boost your quantitative microscopy.

My research has been published in leading peer-reviewed journals such as Nature, Cell, eLife, MBoC, and Current Biology. Additionally, I contributed two chapters to Methods in Cell Biology. You can find my complete publication list here, and below is a portfolio selection of quantitative microscopy projects.

Contact andrea.picco@mida.science

• Evolution of endocytosis

  

  TIRF microscopy enables the precise measurement of the lifetime of endocytic orthologs individually tagged with EGFP in three fungal species: Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Schizosaccharomyces pombe, and Ustilago maydis.

• Stoichiometry of the ERMES complex

  

  The endoplasmic reticulum–mitochondria encounter structure (ERMES) tethers the endoplasmatic reticulum and mitochondria. It is a four-subunit complex whose stoichiometry and architecture were unknown.

• Architecture of the exocyst complex

  

  The exocyst is a hetero-octameric complex spanning a few tens of nm. Resolving its protein organisation in living cells would be behind the optical resolution of fluorescence microscopes. We designed an innovative quantitative microscopy approach to trilaterate its architecture with unprecedented precision.

• Tracking of endocytic dynamics

  

  Endocytosis is a very dynamic process where a choreography of hundreds of proteins shapes the cell plasma membrane into an invagination from which a vesicle is released.