Barbara Colombini

Biography

Born in Portoferraio (LI) on July 5, 1969.Graduated with Praise in Biological Sciences (1994) at the University of Florence. 1994-1998: Ph.D. in Physiology at the Department of Physiological Sciences of the University of Florence in the field of physiology of skeletal muscle contraction. Since 1996, he has periodically carried out research activities at the Sincrotrone Elettra Trieste SAXS (X-Ray Scattering) line (X-ray diffraction experiments on individual muscle fibers for the study of ultrastructural variants responsible for generating force) with economic support from the INFM Light Sincrotron Commission, the Department of Physiological Sciences of the University of Florence and MIUR. 1999: Doctor of Physiology Research. 1999-2002: contractor and researcher at the Department of Physiological Sciences of the University of Florence. 2002: University Researcher SSD BIO / 09 - Physiology at the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery of the University of Florence. 2005: Confirmation of full time role. 2004-2008: It was part of national-funded research projects funded by MIUR (Cofin).

Research Interest

The research deals with the study of contractile properties and molecular force generation mechanisms in skeletal muscle through advanced techniques of muscular mechanics and X-ray diffraction. Mechanical experiments were conducted on intact fibers isolated from different types of muscle both frog and mouse muscles with the help of opto-electronic instrumentation for measuring the length of the sarcomero. X-ray diffraction experiments were carried out using very high-intensity radiation available at the Elettra di Trieste synchrotron. Combined studies of mechanical activity and variations in intensity and spacing in the equatorial and southern diffraction spectra of muscle fibers have allowed an analysis of ultrastructural variations that accompany muscle activity in integrity preserved physiological conditions. The main topics of this research were the following: Muscular Mechanics: the yield of myofilaments; kinetic of the contraction in the presence of some pharmacological agents; study of the component of mechanical stiffness of the muscle fiber defined as "static" during contraction in physiological conditions and in the presence of some pharmacological agents; analysis of properties of "crossbridges" by rapid stretching; application of Force Spectroscopy to the Single Muscle Cell; study of muscle mechanics and static rigidity in the single intact fiber of normal and transgenic mouse.