UC Berkeley Department of Bioengineering

The future of biology. The future of engineering.

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The Department of Bioengineering physical offices will be closed indefinitely as part of COVID-19 response. Staff and faculty are still working and available to assist you via email, phone, or Zoom. Learn more

​Welcome to the Department of Bioengineering at the University of California, Berkeley where we pursue research and educational programs that open new areas of scientific inquiry, drive transformational technologies, and foster a community that trains and motivates the next generation of bioengineers.​

Career Connections 2021

Career Connections 2021 flyer

Careers in Biotech
March 9
5:00 - 7:00 pm
Register on Handshake!

Join us for an evening of networking with alumni professionals ready to share their career stories and advice.

 

Our next seminar:

  • Bioengineering Seminar Spring 2021:Synthetic Genome Regulation for Cell and Tissue Engineering

    March 10, 2021, 12–1 p.m.

    Virtual Zoom meeting - Registration link below

    Timothy L. Downing, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of California, Irvine

    Timothy L. Downing, Ph.D. Assistant Professor Department of Biomedical Engineering University of California, Irvine Molecular heterogeneity is emerging as a critical feature of multicellular life. While single-cell analyses have revealed the existence of cell-to-cell variation in the levels and activities of the molecules responsible for gene regulation, the source of such variation is...

Tim Downing

Tim Downing

We are pleased to welcome Professor Tim Downing of UC Irvine and BioE alumnus as our 2020-21 Rising Star speaker.

Wednesday, March 10
12:00 - 1:00 PM
Zoom

Recent news from Berkeley Bioengineering

Tim Guertin receives Campanile Excellence in Achievement Award

Tim Guertin receives Campanile Excellence in Achievement Award

March 2, 2021

Tim Guertin, CEO Emeritus of Varian Medical Systems and BioE supporter, will receive a 2021 Campanile Excellence in Achievement Award. Guertin (EECS ’72) is extraordinarily committed to improving healthcare locally and globally. He has endowed the Timothy and Karen Guertin Chair in Bioengineering and graduate fellowship, and his philanthropy and active involvement helped the department to establish our first Medical Advisory Board.

Lygos working to replace polyacrylic acid with biodegradable, synthetic polymers

February 22, 2021

Non-biodegradeable, petroleum-derived, polyacrylic acid is used in everything from detergents to industrial fluids. Lygos, an alumni spinoff company that creates environmentally friendly chemicals through synthetic biology, has formed a partnership with NanoChem Solutions to produce an alternative: polyaspartate polymers. Together they will develop a process to make aspartic acid, the raw material for the polymers, from sugar via fermentation.

Silk and Leather from Fermentation, Not Animals

Silk and Leather from Fermentation, Not Animals

February 16, 2021

Check out an interview with PhD alumnus and Bolt Threads Co-Founder David Breslauer on the Business For Good podcast!

I’m a Bioengineer

Brian McRae

Brian McRae

Software Engineer, Genentech
BS Bioengineering, 2012; MS Bioengineering/ Translational Medicine, 2013

Our team builds exciting web applications that visualize drug manufacturing data and enable faster and more informed decisions. We work with various manufacturing groups such as Operations and Validation to understand their problems and collaborate to design new software solutions.

“With a background in bioengineering, I can make better design choices because I can understand what is happening in the manufacturing plant and what the code ultimately needs to accomplish.”

Shilpi Mathrani

Shilpi Mathrani

Business Associate Consultant, ZS Associates
BS, Bioengineering, 2014; MEng Bioengineering, 2015

I am a strategy consultant in the pharmaceutical and biotech industry.

“My drive for striving to find solutions to complex problems and to help others keeps me motivated and helps me be successful in my role…The thing that keeps me enthusiastic about my job is the feeling of helping others in a useful way.”

Upcoming events:

  • Microscale Insights into Tumor Invasion

    March 5, 2021, 2–3 p.m.

    Zoom Session

    Prof. Sanjay Kumar, UC Berkeley, BioE and CBE

    The zoom link for this meeting is https://berkeley.zoom.us/j/99558386700?pwd=NjVKTGdmc2lPSFJiNVM3YzNNMnpnQT09 The invasion of solid tumors is a highly physical process involving adhesion and transmission of mechanical force against the solid-state tumor microenvironment. Here I describe our group’s efforts to use microscale engineering approaches to model and mechanistically dissect tumor...

  • Career Connections: Careers in Biotech

    March 9, 2021

    VIRTUAL

    Students explore future career fields through casual conversations with Cal alumni and professionals! Virtual for 2021, Career Connections are co-sponsored by the Cal Alumni Association and give students an opportunity to meet alumni and learn their insights about different types of roles, companies, or industries. Seeking dynamic alumni who work in biotech...

  • Bioengineering Seminar Spring 2021:Synthetic Genome Regulation for Cell and Tissue Engineering

    March 10, 2021, 12–1 p.m.

    Virtual Zoom meeting - Registration link below

    Timothy L. Downing, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of California, Irvine

    Timothy L. Downing, Ph.D. Assistant Professor Department of Biomedical Engineering University of California, Irvine Molecular heterogeneity is emerging as a critical feature of multicellular life. While single-cell analyses have revealed the existence of cell-to-cell variation in the levels and activities of the molecules responsible for gene regulation, the source of such variation is...

  • 2021 Women in Tech Symposium – The New Era in Human-Computer Interaction

    March 12, 2021, 9 a.m.–6 p.m.

    Zoom

    Registration for the Women in Tech Initiative at the University of California’s flagship event is now open! About this Event Now in its fifth year, this major annual event will showcase issues, sector opportunities, and the career paths of experts in human-computer interaction (HCI). Now entering a new era, human-computer interaction is a multidisciplinary field that combines new technology in...

See all events...

UC Berkeley Department of Bioengineering