News

Lab awarded New Investigator Grant from the LRF

July 1, 2023: We are excited to receive a new investigator grant from the LRF (Leukemia Research Foundation) to continue studying the role of heterotypic phase separation in driving Leukemia! The grant will enable us to identify new protein-protein interactions that drive condensates involved in Leukemia. 

The first Riback Lab Summer Soirée 

June 17, 2023: The inaugural Riback Lab Summer Soirée took place and was a blast! We celebrated all of the team's accomplishments. All members will provided with travel mugs to help keep cool during the rest of the summer. We cannot wait for the next lab event! 

Josh becomes a Searle Scholar!

May 16, 2023: Josh is excited to announce that he has been appointed as a 2023 Searle scholar! The Searle Scholars Program provides grants to selected universities to support the independent research of new faculty who study biology and chemistry. See more here. Congrats Josh!

Kris, Archish, and Gandhar @ #BPS2023  

Febuary 21, 2023: We are excited to announce that the Riback Lab participated in their first conference, BPS 2023! During the event, Kris presented our lab's work on measuring condensate liquid structure in live cells, while Gandhar discussed the role of nuclear phase separation in leukemia. As Josh was unable to attend due to contracting Covid-19, Gandhar graciously stepped in as co-chair of a platform. Additionally, Archish concluded the event with a poster on budding quantitative microscopy methods. We extend our gratitude to the conference organizers for putting together a fantastic event and look forward to attending again next year!

Ted Nash Grant Announced!  

December 1, 2022: We are thrilled to announce that the Cellular Physical Chemistry Group has been awarded a grant from the Ted Nash Long Life Foundation Grant Award. The grant will support the group's research in understanding the connection between nucleolar form and function, specifically allowing us to ask critical questions about the longstanding connection between ribosome biogenesis and aging employing cutting-edge biophysical tools. We would like to express our sincere appreciation to the Ted Nash Long Life Foundation Grant Award for their generous support of our research. 

Lab acquires an iSIM microscope!  

October 11, 2022: After a long and intense search, the Cellular Physical Chemistry Group (i.e., Riback Lab) has an instant SIM (iSIM) microscope! It achieves better than confocal resolution without deconvolution or computation through optical reassignment at >200 frames per sec. It has a state-of-the-art CMOS camera with low enough electron noise to resolve photon numbers at each pixel! This is the second of its kind in Texas and is fully programable for our specialized applications. We look forward to using its unique capabilities to understand more about the biophysics of condensates in cells at super-resolution! Learn more about it here

Nucleoli are viscoelastic liquids! 

January 1, 2022: Josh's final Postdoc Work Released on Biorxiv. This work describes how rRNA processing in the nucleoli of human cells yields unique dynamics and underscores the interplay between the biophysics of both ribosomal subunit assembly and nucleolar formation (i.e. phase separation). Our lab will build upon these ideas in the context of cancer cells where nucleoli are compromised.     

CPRIT grant announced

May 19, 2021: Josh is being recruited to Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) under the CPRIT First-Time, Tenure-Track Faculty recruitment grant to elucidate the changes of biological condensates during oncogenesis. This grant will significantly aid the Riback Lab in its establishment and allow it to pursue high-risk, high-reward projects with a special focus on cancer. The award designates Josh a CPRIT Scholar following his entrance to BCM.