Bioengineering News

Alumnus Di Carlo will lead new UCLA Chan Zuckerberg Initiative cell research project

February 29, 2024

The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative has allocated a $4 million grant to support collaborative research by UCLA, USC and CalTech that will examine cellular behaviors, many of which play a key role in developing immunity to pathogens and disease. Dino Di Carlo, UCLA professor of bioengineering and UC Berkeley BS and PhD alumnus, will lead the team.

photo of microfluidic chip

Microfluidics: Biology’s Liquid Revolution

February 26, 2024

Professor Aaron Streets was featured in this overview on the potential of microfluidics in The Scientist magazine.

photo of Amy Herr, seated

From zero to hero in budget-making

February 19, 2024

Professor Amy Herr weighs in on how researchers manage budgets and the ‘boom–bust’ grant cycle.

photograph of coral in the ocean, from the Smithsonian Institute

Rubinsky’s coral preservation work featured on PBS News

February 8, 2024

Professor Emeritus Boris Rubinsky’s isochoric vitrification method of preserving coral samples in suspended animation is part of recent emergency efforts to save dying coral reefs. The method is being used by the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute.

Conboy photo

The booming business of discovering your biological age

February 1, 2024

Professor Irina Conboy and former student Alina Su have founded a new company, Generation Lab, offering an at-home molecular aging test that analyzes a person’s biological age by assessing “biological noise” in their system. The test evaluates an individual’s risk for top health conditions and the pace of aging across 19 systems in the body, which can help physicians see where interventions may be most needed and effective.

Photo of person with hand on stomach, drawing of digestive system superimposed on top. Image by iStock.

Researchers make advances toward more effective IBD therapies

February 1, 2024

Researchers in Professor Phillip Messersmith’s lab have demonstrated that treatment with DPCA, an enzyme inhibitor molecule shown to trigger regeneration in mammals, can protect against and repair colon damage in a mouse model of colitis. This work suggests that short-term use of this small molecule drug could someday provide a restorative therapy for patients with IBD — and a path to remission.

head and shoulders photo of Rubinsky, outdoors, blurred background

Rubinsky elected to NAI

December 12, 2023

Congratulations to Professor Boris Rubinsky, elected to the National Academy of Inventors. Rubinsky is known for developing a variety of new technologies in the fields of medicine and biomaterials, including a minimally invasive surgical technique called irreversible electroporation, work in cryopreservation, and the 3D printing of biomaterials.

photos of Tsuchida and Vasic

Tsuchida and Vasic in 30 Under 30

December 1, 2023

PhD alumni Connor Tsuchida and Ivana Vasic have both been named to the annual Forbes 30 Under 30 list for their achievements in Healthcare! Tsuchida has founded Crispr delivery startup Azalea Therapeutics, and Vasic is developing therapies to support the next generation of in vitro fertilization as founder of Vitra Labs.

Herr Lab receives grant to study marine symbiosis in a warming world

November 23, 2023

The Herr Lab has been awarded a 3-year ‘Symbiosis’ grant from the Gordon & Betty Moore Foundation, geared towards designing and disseminating microfluidic tools to power new understanding of marine symbiotic systems – like coral reefs – adversely impacted by rising sea temperatures and other climate-associated stresses. Herr’s lab welcomes two new postdoctoral scholars, Drs. Fangchen Liu and Cyril Deroy, and is collaborating with experts in coral systems from the Carnegie Institution for Science (Prof. Phillip Cleves) and the University of Miami (Prof. Nikki Traylor-Knowles).

photo at Tau speaking from podium in presentation room

Undergrad Tau presents at ABRCMS

November 20, 2023

Undergraduate researcher Cyrus Tau was selected to present, and won the Best Talk award, in the Biochemistry/Molecular Biology oral presentation section at this year’s Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minoritized Scientists – ABRCMS 2023. 

photo of Nguyen speaking on stage at Junior Innovator's Conference

Allison Nguyen keynotes Junior Innovator’s Challenge awards ceremony

November 14, 2023

Recent alumna Allison Nguyen (BS 2022) gave the keynote address at Thermo Fisher Scientific’s inaugural Junior Innovator’s Challenge awards ceremony in Washington, D.C this fall. Allison was a Bioengineering Scholar, a co-founder of the BioE Mentorship Program, and is now employed in the Product Engineering Leadership Development Program at Thermo Fisher.

cover of Time Magazine Best Inventions of 2023 issue

Two alumni innovations named to Time 2023 Best Inventions

November 2, 2023

Two PhD alumni have innovations named to the Time Magazine 200 Best Inventions of 2023 list. The Cala kIQ, developed by Cala Health, founded by alumna Kate Rosenbluth, is a wearable device that assists patients with Essential Tremor and Parkinson’s. Proven 40 OS is a fertilizer using naturally occurring microbes to reduce emissions and pollution while producing higher crop yields – developed by Pivot Bio, founded by alumnus Karsten Temme.

photo of person using Aluna device

Aluna named Tech for Global Good Laureate

November 2, 2023

BioE startup Aluna, founded by alumna Charvi Shetty, has been named a 2023-24 Tech for Global Good Laureate, one of four venures recognized for using technology to significantly advance health equity and improve lives. Aluna makes hardware and software that helps people with breathing problems.

photo of Herr accepting award plaque at conference

Herr wins Springer Nature Test of Time Award

October 26, 2023

Professor Amy Herr has won the 2023 Microsystems & Nanoengineering/Springer Nature Test of Time Award, recognizing research that was presented at MicroTAS within the last 10-15 years that is still impacting today’s research in the filed of microfluidics.

aaron streets

Diversity in academic hiring, a success story

October 24, 2023

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

photo of Wilbur Lam in corridor

Wilbur Lam named to National Academy of Medicine

October 16, 2023

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.”

photo collage of all 8 uc Berkeley Siebel Scholars

Congratulations 2024 Siebel Scholars!

October 16, 2023

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.

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

Bolt Threads going public

October 5, 2023

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.

photos of Karla and Elaine

Gutierrez Cebrero and Tong named Fall 23 Bakar Ignite Scholars

October 5, 2023

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.

photo of Julea Vlassakis (left) and Jerzy Szablowski

Vlassakis receives NIH New Innovator Award

October 3, 2023

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

October 1, 2023

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.

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 demonstrate heat-induced pyroelectricity in viruses

September 29, 2023

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.

photo of Hsu in the lab

BioE alumna creating a greener future for bluejeans

September 29, 2023

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

How scientists aim to extend human lifespans

September 28, 2023

Professor Irina and Mike Conboy were guests on the Economist “Babbage” science and technology podcast dicussing progress in research on aging.

drawing of Prof Clark

Iain Clark selected as Innovation Investigator by Arc Institute

September 21, 2023

Professor Iain Clark was named an Innovation Investigator by the Arc Institute, a scientific research organization pioneering new models for scientific discovery and translation. As a member of the inaugural Innovation Investigators program, Clark will receive $1 million over five years to pursue “curiosity-driven, ambitious research.”