Pathology Graduate Training Program
Cellular and Molecular Pathology (CMP) -
Alumni

Name: Vasiliki Gkretsi
Email: vag2@pitt.edu

Education:
Undergraduate Degree: Bachelor of Science in Biology
Undergraduate Degree Year: 2001
Undergraduate Institution: National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece
Undergraduate Major: Biology

Academic Status: 4th Year

Graduate Program: Experimental Pathology

Thesis Advisor: Chuanyue Wu, Ph.D.

Thesis Title/Research Topic: Role of integrin-proximal complexes in cancer and hepatocyte differentiation

Current Research Description: My research mainly focuses on the understanding of the biological role played by proteins that are closely connected to the extracellular matrix and actin cytoskeleton. I am investigating the importance of such integrin-proximal molecules in several physiological processes such as migration, cell spreading, proliferation as well as the mechanisms that underline them. Last but not least, I am studying the significance of these proteins in vivo using animal models that lack one of these molecules.

Honors:

Graduate Honors:

  1. Received the ASIP Trainee Travel Award for the Experimental Biology meeting 2005, April 2-6, San Diego, CA, USA.
  2. Received the 2005 BGSA award for the best first author paper published by a graduate student, in the Biomedical Graduate Student Association (BGSA) symposium, October 2005, Pittsburgh.

Publications:

  1. Gkretsi V., Zhang Y., Tu Y., Chen K., Stolz D., Yang Y., Watkins SC., Wu C. (2005). Physical and functional association of migfilin with cell-cell adhesions, J Cell Sci 118 (4), 697-710.
  2. Sepulveda J., Gkretsi V., Wu C. (2005). Assembly and signaling of adhesion complexes, Curr Top Dev Biol 68 (co-authorship and invited review).
  3. Zhang Y., Tu Y., Gkretsi V., Wu C.Migfilin interacts with VASP and is a biphasic regulator of cell migration (submitted)