To help people in need during the times of the coronavirus epidemic, 4 UC Berkeley and UCSF students, Nitasha Goyal, Marchel Schaack, Marie Rajon Bernard and Oluwatoni Adetayo, have launched a platform called SF Food Friends. This platform connects low-risk individuals with homebound people (sick, immunocompromised or elderly) in their neighborhood to provide assistance for grocery shopping, buying essential items or medications, delivering food, and mental support during this time of isolation. Goyal is a Master of Translational Medicine Student, and Schaak is pursuing an M.Eng. in bioengineering.
Bioengineers making a difference in COVID-19 research and relief
Showcasing their bottomless energy, compassion, and drive to help, Berkeley Bioengineers have launched themselves into efforts to study the COVID-19 virus and outbreak, mitigate its effects, and support victims and caregivers. The list below is just a short summary of the many, many efforts of our students, faculty and alumni.
Bioengineers play key role in PPE decontamination efforts
Berkeley Bioengineers have been working around the clock for the past two weeks in a multi-institution team of 60 scientists, engineers, students and clinicians to launch N95decon.org, a website that synthesizes the scientific literature about mask decontamination to create a set of best practices to decontaminate and reuse this protective face covering during the current emergency. Profs Amy Herr and David Rempel, graduate faculty affiliate Hana El-Samad, Phd students Anjali Gopal and Alison Su, bioengineering postdoc Samantha Grist, and BioE alumnus Tyler Chen are all key members of the team.
New technique ‘prints’ cells to create diverse biological environments
With the help of photolithography and programmable DNA, researchers have created a new technique that can rapidly print two-dimensional arrays of cells and proteins that mimic a wide variety of cellular environments in the body. The work was led by recent BioE PhD Olivia Scheideler with ME professor Lydia Sohn, BioE & CBE professor David Schaffer, BioE PhD Andrew Bremer and current BioE student Roberto Falcón-Banchs, among others.
BioE is #4 graduate program in US
US News and World Report has ranked the UC Berkeley-UCSF Graduate Program in Bioengineering FOURTH among bioengineering graduate programs in the US. UC Berkeley remains the #3 engineering school, and our partner UCSF the #6 overall medical school.
By staying apart, we are working together as a community
Prof Amy Herr shared an excellent post for The Berkeley Blog this weekend, explaining how and why keeping our distance is the best way to take care of each other right now.
Postdoc Grist to attend Lindau Nobel Meeting
Samantha Grist, postdoctoral researcher in Prof Amy Herr’s lab, is one of only 20 UC researchers selected to participate in this year’s Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting. The fellows will travel this summer to attend a week of invitation-only lectures and small seminars with some 40 Nobel laureates gathered in Lindau, Germany. They will join about 600 university students and postdoctoral fellows from around the world. This is the third member of Prof Herr’s lab selected to attend a Lindau meeting in the past 12 years!
7 Questions for Correlia Biosystems Co-Founder Akwasi Apori
Learn about the startup journey from BioE PhD alum Akwasi Apori!
Alum Schneider shares her COVID-19 story
Alumna Elizabeth Schneider, PhD 2011, shares her experience catching, and surviving, COVID-19.