Herr Lab advances protein expression profiling of circulating tumor cells using microfluidic western blotting

Herr western blot

Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are detached primary cancer cells found in the circulatory system that are implicated in the metastasis of cancer. Herr and collaborators have developed a microfluidic western blot for an 8-plex protein panel for individual CTCs, derived from estrogen receptor positive breast cancer patients, that advances the state of the art in CTC characterization with tiny sample sizes.

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Where’d you get those threads?

Bolt Threads tie

Alumni company Bolt Threads has launched its first direct to consumers clothing made of synthetic spider silk – a snazzy tie! Only 50 will be made, but more engineered clothing is on the horizon.

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Liepmann and Murthy Lab invention could make vaccinations needle-free

mucojet

A recent proof-of-concept study shows that a tiny portable microjet injector called MucoJet can deliver a high-pressure stream of liquid and immune system-triggering molecules that penetrate the mucosal layer of the mouth to stimulate an immune response in the buccal region. The jet is pressurized, but not uncomfortably so, and would remove the sting of needles. Postdoctoral scholar Kiana Aran is lead investigator on the study.

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Healy leads Berkeley arm of C-DOCTOR

skull

UC Berkeley is a partner in one of two newly established Resource Centers as part of the The National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research’s Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Tissue Regeneration Consortium (DOCTRC). Aimed at developing resources and strategies for regenerating dental, oral, and craniofacial tissues that have been damaged by disease or injury, the Center for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Tissue and Organ Regeneration (C-DOCTOR) is a partnership between UC Berkeley, UCSF, USC, UC Davis, UCLA, and Stanford. Professor Kevin Healy is the principal investigator at Berkeley.

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Yartsev named Sloan Research Fellow

Yartsev

Professor Michael Yartsev was named a 2017 Sloan Research Fellow. The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation selected 126 outstanding U.S.
and Canadian researchers as the recipients of the 2017 fellowships, honoring early-career scholars whose achievements mark them as the
next generation of scientific leaders.

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Kumar lab sheds new light on cellular stress fiber networks

stress fibers

New research from Professor Sanjay Kumar’s lab uncovers fundamental design principles of how cells and tissues define and maintain their structure, combining sophisticated micropatterning technologies to engineer cell shape, laser nanosurgery to cut individual stress fibers with light and probe their internal structure, and mathematical modeling. Cell shape is critical in development, wound healing, stem cell differentiation, and cancer, among other processes. The lead author is bioengineering PhD student Elena Kassianidou .

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