Several members of the bioengineering graduate program have received research grants in the highly competitive first wave of National Institutes of Health (NIH) awards to support President Obama’s BRAIN (Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies) Initiative.
UC President visits UCSF-Tuskegee partnership
On August 5, 2014 UC President Janet Napolitano visited UCSF to learn more about the UCSF-Tuskegee Partnership in Bioengineering and meet with some of the current participants.
Desai is the new Chair of BTS
Bioe alumna (Ph.D. 1998) and graduate faculty member Tejal Desai has been appointed Chair of the UCSF Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, effective August 1, 2014.
Researchers target brain circuitry to treat mental disorders
Bioengineering graduate program faculty are among the researchers at UC Berkeley and UCSF who will be working to develop devices to be implanted in the brain to target and correct malfunctioning neural circuits. Graduate prorgram faculty involved include Jose Carmena, Robert Knight, and Michel Maharbiz at UC Berkeley and Edward Chang at UCSF.
Roorda is new Guggenheim Fellow
Congratulations to Professor Austin Roorda, awarded a 2014 John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation fellowships. Roorda is Chair of the vision science graduate group, professor of optometry and vision science, UC Berkeley, and member of the Bioe graduate program faculty.
Chemical temporarily restores sight in blind mice
UC Berkeley professor Richard Kramer and his colleagues have restored sight to blind mice using a small molecule called DENAQ, which, as a photoswitch chemical, changes conformation in response to light.
Mofrad shows how Staph bacteria adhere to nanostructures
Professor Mohammad Mofrad and his lab have investigated, for the first time, how individual Staphylococcus Aureus cells glom onto metallic nanostructures of various shapes and sizes. Their research could guide the development of bacteria-resistant materials.
Ganguly receives Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers
Karunesh Ganguly, MD, PhD, assistant professor in residence at the UCSF School of Medicine and the UCSF Department of Neurology and affiliate member of the graduate program, has been awarded the highest honor bestowed by the United States government to science and engineering professionals in the early stages of their independent research careers.
DeRisi wins NAS Carty Award
Professor Joseph DeRisi, professor and vice chair at the UCSF Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, was presented the National Academy of Sciences Carty Award for noteworthy and distinguished accomplishment in genome biology.
Video lecture by Professor Tejal Desai
Maharbiz develops smart bandages to track wound healing
Gallant featured in Nature
Neuroscientist Jack Gallant was featured in the latest edition of the journal Nature, discussing his team’s work on creating algorithms to decode brain scans and decipher what people are seeing, hearing and feeling.
Jay Keasling on synthetic scents in the New York Times
Michelle Chang’s work touted in Science
A new synthetic biology technique could revolutionize medicinal chemistry by enabling site-selective insertion of fluorine into natural products in vivo. Read more (subscription required) at Science.
$3 million in new funding for kidney project
October 1, 2012 – UCSF professor and member of the graduate program Shuvo Roy is a key member of a bold multi-campus effort to create the first implantable artificial kidney.
Full studies leaping lizards
August 2012 – UC Berkeley Integrative Biology Professor and member of the graduate program Bob Full studies the physical and biological underpinnings of animal movement.
Multiple faculty get $2mil for flexible bioelectronics systems
August 23, 2012 – Several members of the graduate program have been awarded a $2 million grant from the National Science Foundation to develop flexible bioelectronics systems to advance medical care.
Three faculty named new Bakar Fellows
Bioengineering Graduate Program members Jose Carmena, Amy Herr, and Michel Maharbiz have been named to the inaugural cohort of Bakar Fellows at UC Berkeley.
Professor Nelson Wins 2012 UCSF GSA Faculty Mentor Award
UCSF Bioengineering Professor Sarah Nelson has been awarded the 2012 UCSF Graduate Student Association Faculty Mentor Award for her outstanding contributions to the Bioengineering Graduate Department.
Tejal Desai receives Dawson Biotechnology Award
Tejal Desai, UCSF Professor of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences and Chair of the Bioengineering Graduate Program, has been awarded the 2012 Paul R. Dawson Biotechnology Award from the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy.
Nelson Lab and Ph.D. student in Science
January 11, 2012 – Bioengineering Graduate Group member Professor Sarah Nelson’s lab has new research out on the cover of Science Translational Medicine today.
Full’s leaping lizards in the news
January 4, 2012 – Graduate program faculty and UC Berkeley Professor Bob Full is in the news with his discoveries on how lizards and dinosaurs can inspire robot design. Read more and watch a video at the UC Berkeley News Center.
Synthetic biologists produce CAD tools for RNA
December 22, 2011 – Synthetic biology researchers at UC Berkeley and Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory have developed computer assisted design (CAD)-type models and simulations for RNA molecules that make it possible to engineer biological components.
FIVE graduate faculty 2012 AIMBE Fellows
December 20, 2011 – Congratulations to UCSF Professors Tejal Desai and David Saloner, and Berkeley Professors Adam Arkin, Luke Lee and Lisa Pruitt, all new members of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering College of Fellows!