You do belong in science – even if it doesn’t always feel that way. The Double Shelix podcast, hosted by UC Berkeley Bioengineering PhD Candidates Sally Winkler and Kayla Wolf, launches on April 3 with a series of 7 episodes on the the theme of belonging in STEM. Every Tuesday, they’ll bring conversations with experts in science, education, and inclusion in conversation about how we can create STEM communities where all feel belonging.
Outstanding student poster at Microtechnologies in Medicine and Biology (MMB)
BioE PhD student Alison Su, in Professor Amy Herr’s lab, won the Outstanding Student Poster award at this year’s International Conference on Microtechnologies in Medicine and Biology.
BioE Ph.D. student learns how to tug at federal purse strings
BioE PhD student Andrew Bremer attended the Catalyzing Advocacy in Science and Engineering (CASE) workshop, held by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Washington DC. CASE educates STEM students on science policy matters – including in-depth learning about the mechanisms of federal research spending and how to engage with policymakers as scientists.
BioE sweeps UCSF Grad Slam
PhD student Yiqi Cao took first place and the People’s Choice award at the 2018 UCSF Grad Slam competition, which challenges students to give a compelling presentation of their research in 3 minutes or less. Cao will now go on to compete in the UC system-wide Grad Slam event. Student Inez Raharjo took 2nd place, landing BioE in all of the top spots. Go BioE!
BioE leaps into national Top Five
US News and World Report has ranked the UC Berkeley-UCSF Graduate Program in Bioengineering FOURTH among bioengineering graduate programs in the US. Go BioE!
In memory of Frank Tendick
Frank Tendick, Bioengineering PhD 1993, passed away on February 7, 2018. In addition to being an alumnus, Tendick taught Introduction to Robotics and several other graduate and undergraduate courses in bioengineering at UC Berkeley for many years. He established and directed the Milton J. Pearl and Leonard D. Rosenman Surgical Skills Center at UCSF, where he was also a faculty member, from 2003–2007. Our fondest thoughts and memories go with him.
Alumna Woodruff talks toxic flame retardants and maternal health
Alumna Tracey Woodruff, Ph.D., MPH, who directs the UCSF Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment, has been collaborating with clinicians at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital (ZSFG) since 2008 to follow pregnant women and measure blood levels of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs).
Retraining the brain’s vision center to take action
Researchers led by UC Berkeley Professor and member of the graduate program Jose Carmena have demonstrated the astounding flexibility of the brain by training neurons that normally process input from the eyes to develop new skills, in this case, to control a computer-generated tone.
Four BioEs are UCSF Grad Slam finalists
BioE PhD students Katie Cabral, Yiqi Cao, Jennifer Hu, and Inez Raharjo are all finalists in the 2018 UCSF Grad Slam competition! The contest challenges PhD students to present a compelling presentation of their dissertation research in three minutes or less, using language that non-specialists will understand. The winner from each campus will go on to compete in the UC system-wide Grad Slam contest in May. The 10 student finalists will present their research in a live contest on Thursday, March 22, at 4 p.m. in Byers Auditorium at UCSF’s Mission Bay campus.
Bolt Threads co-founder wants you to wear recyclable silk clothes made from artificial proteins
Check out BioE PhD alum David Breslauer on the San Jose Mercury News Sunday Business front page.
Carey wins 2018 Diagnostic World Early Innovator Award
PhD student Thomas Carey was selected as the winner of the Diagnostics World Early Innovator Awards program at the 2018 Molecular Medicine Tri Conference in San Francisco. Carey and his colleagues are developing a low-cost microfluidic-based platform to detect the presence of biomarkers present in virtually every fluid.
O’Connell’s mechanical engineering to aid back surgery
Grace O’Connell, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, heads a project to develop a systematic way to predict which patients are most vulnerable to secondary fractures or disc degeneration following spinal fusion.
0Share Tweet Meet Alum Adam Mendelsohn
Learn more about BioE PhD alumnus Adam Mendelsohn, whose exciting work with his startup, Nano Precision Medical, Inc., is blazing new pathways in drug delivery.
How Close Are We to Growing Human Body Parts in Laboratories?
BioE program faculty Todd McDevitt talks about his work creating organoids and the challenges faced in manufacturing human tissues in this video series by Seeker.
Prof Edward Chang in “Rebooting Kimberly’s Brain”
UCSF Bioengineering program faculty and neurosurgeon Edward Chang is part of the team unlocking new ways of treating epilepsy and mental health, featured in this news video about innovative treatments at UCSF.
Desai Lab diabetes startup featured on NPR
Encellin, a biotech startup formed from research in Professor Tejal Desai’s lab at UCSF, may have engineered and insulin-releasing implant to manage type-1 diabetes.
Roy Lab artificial kidney featured on Wired
Learn more about Professor Shuvo roy’s artificial implantable kidney.
Alumnus Kunwoo Lee in 30 Under 30
2016 PhD and founder of startup GenEdit Kunwoo Lee has been named to the 2018 Forbes 30 Under 30. Lee, a former student in Professor Niren Murthy’s lab, developed a way to deliver muscular dystrophy-curing CRISPR edits to the body using nanoparticles.
Alumna Khine named UC Irivine Engineering Innovator of the Year
Michelle Khine, 2005 PhD alumna and current professor at UC Irvine, was named their 2017 Innovator of the Year and featured in Irvine’s Discovery magazine.
Shuvo Roy Receives $2.4M NIH Grant for Bioartificial Pancreas
The project focuses on using silicon nanopore membranes as an immunoisolation barrier to protect stem-cell derived insulin producing cells from pro-inflammatory attack, while ensuring physiologic oxygenation and glucose-insulin kinetics. Data supporting the grant application was developed by BioE PhD student Shang Song.
Conolly Lab collects prizes at World Molecular Imaging Conference
Students from Professor Steven Conolly’s lab took First Place in 4 of the top 12 categories of poster awards against stiff international competition at the World Molecular Imaging Conference in Philadelphia this month.
Tabla wins Fast Co. Innovation by Design Award
The low-cost, accurate device that uses sound waves to diagnose pneumonia, created by BioE PhD student Adam Rao with Berkeley MEng graduates Chen Bao and Jorge Ruiz, is the winner of the student category of Fast Company‘s 2017 Innovation by Design Awards.
From Homelessness to a Doctoral Fellowship at Berkeley
PhD student Zachery Robinson had a long road to become a Chancellor’s Fellow in bioengineering.
Alumna Woodruff studies toxic exposure at UCSF
Professor Tracey Woodruff, PhD 1991, is now the director of UC San Francisco’s Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment (PRHE). Her work identifying, measuring and preventing exposure to environmental contaminants that affect human reproduction and development is featured in the latest issue of the UCSF magazine.