News by Impact Area
News by Faculty Research Area
Our Next Event:
Fall Welcome
Join us on Monday, September 15, 11:30 – 1:30 at the Campanile for the 2025 Fall Welcome Picnic!
Bioengineering majors of all levels are invited to enjoy a picnic lunch while getting to know each other and our faculty.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Departmental Events
In addition to our established annual events, the department offers frequent enrichment and training events for students, some in partnership with other campus units.
Grad school application workshops, alumni chats, startup founder panels, poster sessions and more occur throughout the school year.
Check out the campus events calendar for even more opportunities.
Spotlight: Bioengineering In Depth
Stanley Qi: “For many people, waiting is not an option”
PhD alumnus Stanley Qi, now a professor at Stanford University, is interviewed about his work developing advanced gene-editing tools to treat life-threatening diseases and slow the onset of neurological aging.
Indigenous knowledge helps biotech find new drugs. This grad student wants those companies to give back.
Bioengineering doctoral student Maria Astolfi and her colleagues argue for a new type of partnership with indigenous peoples to create a more ethical bioeconomy.
BlotSeq single cell sequencing – animated!
BioE postdoc Trinh Lam’s animated video explains how Herr Lab’s BlotSeq single-cell tool uses sequencing data to guide protein selection without the need to predefine targets, making the process more flexible.