Researchers in bioengineering professor Chris Anderson’s lab have used synthetic biology to develop an easy way to lock down bacteria, to contain its accidental spread. The work, led by recent BioE Ph.D. Gabriel Lopez, shows promise as a potential method of containing advances created through synthetic biology and genetic engineering.
Vlassakis to co-chair Gordon Research Seminar
Bioengineering graduate student Julea Vlassakis was elected Co-Chair of the 2017 Gordon Research Seminar (GRS) on the Physics and Chemistry of Microfluidics.
Ke Xu named 2015 Pew scholar
Ke Xu, assistant professor of chemistry and member of the bioengineering graduate program, has been named a Pew scholar, a program for investigators of outstanding promise in science relevant to the advancement of human health.
BioE grad students sweep prizes at AAPM Northern California
Bioengineers took all three top prizes at the Northern California American Association of Physicists in Medicine meeting this year, beating out a crowd of postdocs and grad students from UC Davis, UCSF, Stanford, LBNL, and Berkeley.
Alumni startup Bolt Threads in Businessweek
Bolt Threads, a startup company founded by BioE PhD alum David Breslauer, is planning to revolutionize the clothing industry by spinning spider silk from engineered yeast.
Two faculty named Bakar Fellows
Bioengineering Graduate Program members Michael Lustig and Ke Xu have been named to the second cohort of Bakar Fellows at UC Berkeley. The Bakar Fellows Program supports innovative research by early career faculty at UC Berkeley with a special focus on projects that hold commercial promise in the fields of Engineering, Computer Science, Chemistry, Biological Sciences, Physical Sciences or multidisciplinary work in these disciplines.
BioE Bakar Fellows profiled
Learn about the disruptive technologies pioneered by four different Bioengineering Graduate Program faculty in Berkeley Engineer magazine – Laura Waller, Shawn Shadden, John Dueber, and Miki Lustig.
Bioengineers receive $3.2 million for visionary retina research
Austin Roorda, UC Berkeley professor of optometry and vision science and member of the graduate program, is lead investigator on an ambitious new project to map the interaction of retinal cells in an effort to better understand how visual data is processed before it is sent to the brain. The research is funded by the National Eye Institute’s Audacious Goals Initiative.
Alum Etemadi profiled at UCSF
BioE PhD alumnus Mozzi Etemadi was profiled this Spring in the UCSF newsletter.
Desai examines inclusivity
Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences professor Tejal Desai talks about the evolution of a more inclusive scientific community in this video.
DeRisi new AAAS Fellow
Professor Joseph DeRisi, professor of biochemistry and biophysics at UCSF and member of the graduate program, has been elected a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, which recognizes the world’s most accomplished leaders in science, humanities, arts, business and public affairs.
Datta and Monteiro new NDSEG Fellows
Congratulations to BioE PhD students Esha Datta and David Monteiro, awarded 2015 National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate (NDSEG) Fellowships. The NDSEG Fellowship is sponsored and funded by the Department of Defense (DoD). NDSEG selections are made by the Air Force Research Laboratory/Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFRL/AFOSR), the Office of Naval Research (ONR), and the Army Research Office (ARO).
New breakthrough in artificial photosynthesis
Professor Michelle Chang, member of the graduate program in bioengineering and UC Berkeley professor of chemistry, is one of the lead researchers developing a hybrid system of semiconducting nanowires and bacteria that mimics the natural photosynthetic process.
Neira wins Ford Foundation Fellowship
Congratulations to bioengineering PhD student Hector Neira, awarded a prestigious 2015 Ford Foundation Predoctoral Fellowship.
Congratulations new BioE NSF fellows
Prestigious National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowships have been awarded to five continuing Berkeley-UCSF graduate students: Nicole Repina, Suraj Makhija, Jennifer Hu, and Ben Hinton. Incoming students Yiqi Cao, Shakked Halperin, and James Lucas are also NSF recipients.
Congratulations outstanding GSIs
Congratulations to Stacey Lee, Eda Altiok, Malav Desai, and Kevin Yamauchi, 2014-2015 Outstanding Graduate Student Instructors at UC Berkeley. These GSIs were nominated by their instructor for excellent teaching and mentoring as GSIs in a bioengineering class. Congratulations!
Bioengineers in UCSF video
Check out PhD student Harrison Liu and alum Mozzi Etemadi in the new UCSF Pride video.
Both schools receive top rankings
The Bioengineering Graduate Program was once again ranked 7th in the nation by US News and World Report.
‘Smart bandage’ detects early bedsores
A team of researchers, including UC Berkeley professor Michel Maharbiz and UCSF professor Shuvo Roy, have developed new sensor-packed “smart bandages” that actually detect damage to the skin before it becomes visible, allowing caregivers to prevent the formation of infection-prone bedsores.
Cyborg beetles lead to better insect understanding
UC Berkeley professor Michel Maharbiz is know for his work hard-wiring beetles for radio-controlled flight. That work is now allowing researchers to learn new things about the muscles insects use to steer.
Shadden sharpens diagnosis with computer modeling
A profile from the Bakar Fellows Program explains how UC Berkeley professor Shawn Shadden uses advanced computer modeling to help doctors find the best treatment for patients undergoing a stroke.
BioE startup Lygos produces malonic acid from sugar
Lygos, a company founded by BioE PhD alumni Jeff Dietrich and Eric Steen, has been in the news for their newly announced breakthrough in the production of malonic acid. The acid is a high-value chemical useful for production of pharmaceuticals, flavors, fragrances, and specialty materials. The new process, using engineered microbes, would be cheaper and less polluting than the current petroleum-intensive production methods.
UCSF Schools Lead Nation In NIH Biomedical Research Funds
For the second year in a row, UC San Francisco’s four schools topped the nation in federal biomedical research funding in their fields in 2014, with the graduate-level university as a whole receiving the most of any public recipient and second most overall in funds from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), according to annual NIH figures.
Alumna Lee receives NSF CAREER Award
Congratulations to PhD alumna Somin Eunice Lee, now Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Michigan, recipient of an NSF CAREER award for her research project, “Engineering Plasmonic Nanoantenna Architectures for Efficient Nuclear Delivery.”