Highlight – Page 2 – UC Berkeley Department of Bioengineering

Alumnus Connor Tou named Stat Wunderkind

BioE alumnus Connor Tou (B.S. 2020) has been named a 2025 STAT Wunderkind by by STAT News – an award that honors early-career scientists whose creativity and perseverance are helping to reshape biomedical research and health care.

Fletcher elected to National Academy of Medicine

Professor Dan Fletcher has been elected to the National Academy of Medicine for his contributions to the mechanistic understanding of biological self-assembly and mechanotransduction, and his work developing mobile phone-based microscopy for remote diagnosis of infectious diseases. Election to the academy is considered one of the highest honors in the fields of health and medicine.

Undergraduate program ranks 8th!

The Berkeley Bioengineering undergraduate program remains in the top 10 programs nationally, ranking 8th in the latest rankings released by US News & World Report.

We’re hiring an Assistant Teaching Professor!

wide angle photo of backs of graduates in cap and gown at the Greek Theater

Join us! Bioengineering is hiring a part-time lecturer

Berkeley Bioengineering invites applications for a pool of qualified temporary instructors to teach courses in our department.

UC Berkeley scientists uncover neural mechanisms behind long-term memory

Group photo of the study team, Angelo Fori, Wudi Fan, Michael Yartsev and Kevin Qi

Researchers from Professor Michael Yartsev’s lab used wireless recording devices to track neural activity in Egyptian fruit bats, revealing new clues to how our long-term memories are formed.

Keasling Named 2025 DOE/NAI Innovator of the Year

head and shoulders photo of Keasling in lab examining a flask of fluid. photo by JBEI

The Department of Energy and the National Academy of Inventors have honored Professor Jay Keasling with their 2025 Innovator of the Year Award, which goes to one DOE employee who has translated research into tangible impacts that have benefited society at large. Keasling is a pioneer in synthetic biology who leads a groundbreaking research program focused on engineering microorganisms to produce advanced biofuels and chemicals.

New Process Uses Microbes to Create Valuable Materials from Urine

microscope image of osteoyeast cells. The outline of the vacuole is red, the calcium inside the vacuole is green. Image by Berkeley Lab.

A team led by BioE alumnus Yasuo Yoshikuni genetically modified yeast to create hydroxyapatite, a strong and lightweight material, from the elements present in urine. With lower production costs the material may now be practical for use in wastewater treatment, fertilizer manufacturing, building materials and plastic replacement.

Alumna startup Aluna acquired by Huma

Aluna, a company spun out of an undergraduate capstone project by alumna Charvi Shetty, has been acquired by Huma. Aluna developed an easy and fun remote monitoring system for respiratory diseases, which will now be able to reach patients in Huma’s more than 150 U.S. health systems, serving over 500,000 people.

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