Prestigious National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowships have been awarded to nine continuing and two incoming Berkeley-UCSF graduate students!
Kumar lab sheds new light on cellular stress fiber networks
February 17, 2017
New research from Professor Sanjay Kumar’s lab uncovers fundamental design principles of how cells and tissues define and maintain their structure, combining sophisticated micropatterning technologies to engineer cell shape, laser nanosurgery to cut individual stress fibers with light and probe their internal structure, and mathematical modeling. Cell shape is critical in development, wound healing, stem cell differentiation, and cancer, among other processes. The lead author is bioengineering PhD student Elena Kassianidou.
Ten faculty named Chan Zuckerberg Biohub Investigators
February 8, 2017
Ten graduate program faculty have been named to the inaugural class of Investigators in the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub. Congratulations to UCSF faculty Adam Abate, Hana El-Samad, Zev Gartner, Bo Huang, and Tanja Kortemme, and Berkeley faculty Dan Fletcher, Amy Herr, Michel Maharbiz, Aaron Streets, and Ke Xu!
Altemose represents Berkeley in Regeneron Prize
February 8, 2017
PhD student Nicholas Altemose has been selected as one of only two Berkeley graduate students to represent the campus in competition for the 2017 Regeneron Prize for Creative Innovation. The Prize is a national competition honoring excellence in Biomedical Science conducted by graduate students and postdoctoral fellows.
Downing in 2017 30 Under 30
January 3, 2017
Congratulations 2013 PhD Tim Downing, now a professor at UC Irvine, named to the 2017 Forbes 30 Under 30 for his work examining how extracellular signals can influence the final fate of cells.
BioE startup Lygos raises $13 million
December 14, 2016
Lygos Biotech, founded by PhD alumni Jeffrey Dietrich and Eric Steen, has raised $13 million in Series A funding to continue their work producing high-value specialty chemicals through synthetic biology. Their process uses domestic sugars instead of petroleum for chemical production, and has already resulted in the world’s first bio-based production of malonic acid.
Desai named to new endowed chair
December 8, 2016
PhD alumna and chair of the UCSF Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, Tejal Desai, will hold the Ernest L. Prien Endowed Professorship in Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences.
BioE startup Diassess featured in Wired
October 28, 2016
John Waldeisen, CEO and Co-founder of Diassess, talks with Wired about the diagnostic tech landscape post-Theranos.
Carmena receives federal BRAIN initiative grant
October 19, 2016
Professor Jose Carmena will receive one of the third round of grants to support the goals of the Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) Initiative announced three years ago by President Barack Obama. Carmena will receive $225,000 from the National Eye Institute to test newly developed wireless sensors, dubbed neural dust, to record activity in the central nervous system.
Ke Xu new 2016 Packard Fellow
October 15, 2016
UC Berkeley professor of chemistry Ke Xu has received one of 18 prestigious 2016 fellowships from The David and Lucile Packard Foundation. Xu develops new tools to interrogate biological, chemical, and materials systems at the nanoscale with extraordinary resolution and sensitivity.
