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Two universities, one mission
We award a Ph.D. in Bioengineering jointly from UC Berkeley and UC San Francisco, among the top public universities in the world in health sciences and engineering. Drawing on the strengths of both campuses, our program trains future leaders and innovators in bioengineering.
Upcoming Seminars
UCSF Pharmaceutical Sciences and Pharmacogenomics Seminar Series
Wednesdays, 12:00-1:00 PM
Mission Bay, Rock Hall and Parnassus N-217
Recent News

Tsuchida and Vasic in 30 Under 30
PhD alumni Connor Tsuchida and Ivana Vasic have both been named to the annual Forbes 30 Under 30 list for their achievements in Healthcare! Tsuchida has founded Crispr delivery startup Azalea Therapeutics, and Vasic is developing therapies to support the next generation of in vitro fertilization as founder of Vitra Labs.

Two alumni innovations named to Time 2023 Best Inventions
Two Bioengineering PhD alumni have innovations named to the Time Magazine 200 Best Inventions of 2023 list. The Cala kIQ, developed by Cala Health, founded by alumna Kate Rosenbluth, is a wearable, rechargeable device that sends electrical impulses from the wrist to the brain, to assist patients with Essential Tremor and Parkinson’s. Proven 40 OS is a fertilizer using naturally occurring microbes that live on a plant’s root system and release nitrogen to reduce emissions and pollution while producing higher crop yields – developed by Pivot Bio, founded by alumnus Karsten Temme.

Wilbur Lam named to National Academy of Medicine
PhD alumnus Wilbur Lam, now Professor of Pediatrics and Biomedical Engineering, Emory University and Georgia Tech, has been named one of the 2023 new members of the National Academy of Medicine. Lam was recognized for “outstanding contributions in point-of-care, home-based, and/or smartphone-enabled diagnostics that are changing the management of pediatric and hematologic diseases as well as development of microsystems technologies as research-enabling platforms to investigate blood biophysics. He also leads national/NIH efforts to assess diagnostic tests (including those for COVID-19) for the entire country.”

Congratulations 2024 Siebel Scholars!
Five Bioengineering PhD students have been named Siebel Scholars of the class of 2024: Cindy Ayala, Ruiming Cao, Sita Srinivasan Chandrasekaran, Cameron Tadashi Kato, and Andre Lai. The Siebel Scholars program annually recognizes top students at the world’s leading graduate schools of bioengineering, business, computer science and energy science.

Alumni Li, Lupo and Ozhinsky Awarded $3.93M Grant to Develop Metabolic Imaging for Brain Cancer
Three bioengineering PhD alumni, all of whom are now UCSF-affiliated faculty, have been awarded a $3.93 million Translational Team Science Award from the Department of Defense. Led by Yan Li, associate professor, Janine Lupo, professor, and Eugene Ozhinsky, assistant professor of the VA Advanced Imaging Research Center, the grant will support their efforts to create new, AI-based approaches that will enable direct translation of non-invasive metabolic MR imaging methods into clinical practice.

New Paper Points the Way to Make CRISPR Safer by Avoiding Chromosome Loss
PhD student Connor Tsuchida is first author on a new paper in “Cell” from the Doudna and Ye labs, using single-cell analysis to look at chromosome loss after CRISPR-Cas9 editing using a broad range of guide RNAs. The authors suggest a protocol to prevent chromosome loss

Vlassakis receives NIH New Innovator Award
PhD alumna Julea Vlassakis, now Assistant Professor of Bioengineering at Rice University, has been named a 2023 NIH Director’s New Innovator! These prestigious awards support early-career investigators with ambitious, unconventional project proposals demonstrating broad impact potential.

Gu named to LLNL Early Career UC Faculty Initiative
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory announced that Berkeley ME professor Grace Gu has been selected as the inaugural recipient of the LLNL Early Career UC Faculty Initiative! Gu will receive up to $1 million in funding over five years to support a research project that seeks to advance AI-driven manufacturing for metal-ceramic composite structures.
UCSF BTS News
- Guo named inaugural director of new Center for Collaborative Innovation November 27, 2023
- PharmD program creates new opportunities to explore industry and research career paths November 16, 2023
- Kortemme named new vice dean of research November 1, 2023
- QBI and Director Krogan’s COVID and infectious disease efforts continue to make waves September 21, 2023
Berkeley BioE News
- Tsuchida and Vasic in 30 Under 30 December 1, 2023
- Undergrad Tau presents at ABRCMS November 20, 2023
- Two alumni innovations named to Time 2023 Best Inventions November 3, 2023
- Aluna named Tech for Global Good Laureate November 3, 2023
