BioE News – Page 8 – UC Berkeley Department of Bioengineering

Diversity in academic hiring, a success story

The CZ Biohub SF-backed NextGen initiative, co-founded by Professor Aaron Streets, succeeds in diversifying faculty hiring in biological and biomedical sciences at major Bay Area universities

Wilbur Lam named to National Academy of Medicine

PhD alumnus Wilbur Lam, now Professor of Pediatrics and Biomedical Engineering, Emory University and Georgia Tech, has been named one of the 2023 new members of the National Academy of Medicine. Lam was recognized for “outstanding contributions in point-of-care, home-based, and/or smartphone-enabled diagnostics that are changing the management of pediatric and hematologic diseases as well as development of microsystems technologies as research-enabling platforms to investigate blood biophysics. He also leads national/NIH efforts to assess diagnostic tests (including those for COVID-19) for the entire country.”

Congratulations 2024 Siebel Scholars!

photo collage of all 8 uc Berkeley Siebel Scholars

Five Bioengineering PhD students have been named Siebel Scholars of the class of 2024: Cindy Ayala, Ruiming Cao, Sita Srinivasan Chandrasekaran, Cameron Tadashi Kato, and Andre Lai. The Siebel Scholars program annually recognizes top students at the world’s leading graduate schools of bioengineering, business, computer science and energy science.

Bolt Threads going public

Photo of Bolt Threads cofounders Dan Widmaier (left) and David Breslauer in their manufacturing facility

Bolt Threads, a company co-founded by BioE PhD alumnus David Breslauer, plans to go public in a SPAC deal that values the one-time unicorn at $250 million. Bolt Threads uses synthetic biology and other techniques to sustainably produce engineered biomaterials, including synthetic spider silk and mushroom-based faux leather.

Gutierrez Cebrero and Tong named Fall 23 Bakar Ignite Scholars

Congratulations to undergraduates Karla Gutierrez Cebrero and Elaine Tong, both named Fall 2023 Bakar Ignite Scholars! The program connects undergraduate students with leading scientists in the Bakar Fellows Program to conduct paid research that supports their Bakar projects.

Vlassakis receives NIH New Innovator Award

photo of Julea Vlassakis (left) and Jerzy Szablowski

PhD alumna Julea Vlassakis, now Assistant Professor of Bioengineering at Rice University, has been named a 2023 NIH Director’s New Innovator! These prestigious awards support early-career investigators with ambitious, unconventional project proposals demonstrating broad impact potential.

A history of innovation: Berkeley entrepreneurs, companies that changed the way we live

Professor Aaron Streets is featured in a campus publication celebrating the culture and spirit of innovation at UC Berkeley, recognized for being a tireless advocate for increasing diversity in STEM research.

Researchers demonstrate heat-induced pyroelectricity in viruses

Schematic showing the electric potential generated from virus film upon heating. Heat denatures, or melts, the protein coating on the engineered phage, causing a difference in electrical potential. (Image courtesy of Seung-Wuk Lee)

Researchers in Professor Seung-Wuk Lee’s lab discovered for the first time “heat-induced electrical potential generation on a virus,” a phenomenon known as pyroelectricity. This work may shed light on how biomaterials — cells, tissues and proteins — generate electricity at a molecular level as well as lead to the development of biomaterials with novel medical, pharmaceutical, environmental and energy applications.

BioE alumna creating a greener future for bluejeans

PhD alumna Tammy Hsu is using synthetic biology to produce environmentally friendly dyes for industry through her company, Huue.

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