Bioengineering News
Congratulations Professor Michael Yartsev, named the 2022 Young Investigator awardee from the Society for Neuroscience! The Young Investigator Award recognizes the outstanding achievements and contributions by a young neuroscientist who leads an independent research group, and recognizes Yartsev for his groundbreaking work understanding the neural complexity of free-flying fruit bats.
Professor Michael Yartsev has won the 2022 Krieg Cortical Kudos Explorer award for his “superb contributions to our understanding of the neuroscience of behavior, social learning and anatomical pathways involved in group sociality and communication.” The Cajal Club was established in 1947 to celebrate neuroanatomy and it has evolved over the years to promote all facets of neuroscience,
Professor Michael Yartsev has been named the 2022 Peter Gruss Young Investigator by the Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience. The award recognizes a young neuroscience investigator for significant contributions to the scientific community through collaboration, creativity, and curiosity-driven research.
The founders of successful bioengineering startup company Zephyrus (now part of Bio-Techne), have written a thoughtful perspective article in Analytica Chimica Acta sharing ‘lesser known lessons’ from their university spinout experience. Authors are Professor Amy Herr, PhD alumna Kelly Gardner, and co-founder Josh Molho.
Phil Messersmith, Class of 1941 Memorial Endowed Professor of Bioengineering and Materials Science and Engineering, will take office as the next Chair of the bioengineering department on January 1. He will take over from Interim Chair Dorian Liepmann, who has been filling the role since Sanjay Kumar stepped down to lead QB3 Berkeley in September.
Check out this Medgadget interview with BioE alumna Charvi Shetty, founder and CEO of Aluna, which makes an FDA-approved at-home spirometer for asthma management.
Aaron Streets has been named to the inaugural class of Science Diversity Leadership Award winners, a new partnership between the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative and the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. The program aims to recognize and further the leadership of excellent biomedical researchers who — through their outreach, mentoring, teaching, and leadership — have a record of promoting diversity, equity and inclusion in their scientific fields.
Professor Aaron Streets has been named to Popular Science’s Brilliant 10, a list honoring trailblazing early-career scientists and engineers who are tackling pressing challenges with innovative solutions. Streets is bioengineering’s Vice-Chair of Undergraduate Affairs, Faculty Director of the BioEngineering Scholars Program, and a talented researcher who combines mathematics, physics and engineering to develop novel tools for precision measurement of biological systems.
Five Bioengineering PhD students have been named Siebel Scholars of the class of 2023: Jordan Baker, Kelsey Gray DeFrates, Juan Eduardo Hurtado, Gabriela Lomeli, and Connor Tsuchida. The Siebel Scholars program annually recognizes top students at the world’s leading graduate schools of bioengineering, business, computer science and energy science.
Patrick Hsu’s lab has developed an RNA-extraction-free test for rapid viral detection using saliva via a microfluidic device. The fast, accurate, and portable prototype shows potential as a point-of-care system to support frequent, on-site molecular diagnostics. This work was the August 2022 cover story for Nature Biomedical Engineering.
New work from Irina Conboy’s lab extends to humans their previous animal studies on age-specific differences in blood plasma, and establishes a novel direct measurement of biological age. Their results continue to demonstrate that aging may be driven by an excess of certain molecules and proteins, and point to potential treatments for age-related conditions.
Current Bioengineering Chair Sanjay Kumar has been selected to serve as the next director of the California Institute of Quantitative Biosciences at UC Berkeley (QB3-Berkeley) effective September 1, 2022. He will succeed David Schaffer, who was recently appointed as faculty director of the Bakar BioEnginuity Hub and executive director of QB3’s central office. Kumar will step down as Chair of the Department of Bioengineering effective September 1, where former Chair Dorian Liepmann will return to the role until a permanent appointment is made in 2023.
Professor Iain Clark, in partnership with graduate program faculty member Adam Abate, was able to analyze single cells harboring latent HIV using a technique that isolates single, infected cells as tiny amounts of blood move through their microfluidic devices. Their work was featured in Science news.
New research from the Conboy Lab, highlighted in New Scientist magazine, has demonstrated that transfusing young mice with blood from older rodents quickly triggers ageing in the young, suggesting that cellular ageing isn’t just a case of wear and tear. This is one step closer to potential anti-ageing treatments and builds on years of aging research from Professor Irina Conboy.
Synthetic biology startup Huue, founded by BioE PhD alumni Tammy Hsu, has raised $14.6 million in a Series A funding round for what it says is the world’s first clean and scalable indigo dye for denim.
Professor David Schaffer reflects on the reasons why he sees Berkeley as a leader in world-changing research, innovation and entrepreneurship.
A study led by Prof Patrick Hsu has identified specific proteins within our bodies that can promote or protect us from SARS-CoV-2 infections, potentially opening the door to new antiviral therapies. Notably, they showed that mucins — the main component of mucus found in the lungs — seem to help block the SARS-CoV-2 virus from entering cells.
New research led by Professor Jay Keasling took inspiration from an extraordinary antifungal molecule made by Streptomyces bacteria to develop a totally new type of fuel that has projected energy density greater than the most advanced heavy-duty fuels used today, including the rocket fuels used by NASA.
Congratulations to new Associate Professors Aaron Streets and Michael Yartsev, granted tenure effective July 1, 2022!
Professor Teresa Head-Gordon will continue the machine learning COVID-19 research spurred by a 2020 Digital Transformation Institute grant, with the Midwest Antiviral Drug Discovery Center for Pathogens of Pandemic Concern, one of nine new centers announced by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases on May 18, 2022.
David Schaffer, PhD, a University of California, Berkeley professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering, bioengineering, and molecular and cell biology, who holds over 50 patents and whose research has spawned eight companies to commercialize stem cell and gene therapies, has been appointed the next executive director of QB3.
Check out this feature on Bakar Labs startup Glyphic Biotechnologies – co-founded by MTM alumnus Josh Yang!
Congratulations to Professor Phillip Messersmith, one of seven new recipients of the 2022 Bakar Fellows Spark Award, designed to accelerate faculty-led research and produce tangible, positive societal impact through commercialization. Messersmith is developing a regenerative therapy for the intestinal ulcers that accompany inflammatory bowel disease.
Professor Lisa Pruitt is one of two 2022 recipients of the Brown Engineering Alumni Medal, recognizing exceptional records of accomplishment by Brown alumni in their engineering careers. Pruitt received her Ph.D. from Brown and joined the faculty of Mechanical Engineering at UC Berkeley in 1993, later becoming a joint professor in the Department of Bioengineering.
Congratulations to all of our graduates! In addition to our many talented grads, we’re proud that both the keynote and student speakers at the 2022 UC Berkeley doctoral commencement ceremony were bioengineers! Sally Winkler, now a research scientist at AbbVie, gave the student address, and Ann Lee-Karlon, BS alumna and COO of Altos Labs, delivered…