The Department of Bioengineering is the home and hub of Berkeley's efforts to apply engineering tools and principles to living things. Our faculty apply their diverse perspectives and skills to the spectrum of challenges facing human health, the environment, and biological research.
Areas of Special Impact
Faculty Research Areas
Bioinstrumentation
Biomaterials & Nanotechnology
Cell & Tissue Engineering
Computational Biology
Systems & Synthetic Biology
News About: Faculty Research
Digital Bat Twins – NeuroAI generates testable hypotheses about higher-level cognitive function
Researchers in Michael Yartsev’s lab, led by postdocs Adam Lowet and Krishna Kasuba, built a digital twin of the bat hippocampus – an AI model trained on large-scale neural activity during natural flight. The model generated new, testable hypotheses about hippocampal organization that were confirmed by real-world data.
NATIVE-ID Seeks to Prevent Neurodegenerative Diseases by Learning the Language of Disordered Proteins
ARPA-H’s BIOGAMI program aims to transform our understanding of protein dysfunction in the earliest stages of neurodegenerative disease by developing new approaches to detect and characterize protein misfolding. BioE PhD alumnus Nicolas Fawzi leads the Brown University team on this multicampus effort, led at Berkeley by the Innovative Genomics Institute.
From bat flight to the most complex human movements
Examining large-scale neural activity from the motor cortex of freely flying Egyptian fruit bats helps Michael Yartsev’s lab understand how the brain supports very complex behaviors, like buttoning a shirt or playing piano.
Solving a longstanding problem in drug delivery
Lipid nanoparticles are great delivery vehicles for mRNA treatments, but their positive charge triggers high levels of inflammation. Now researchers led by Professor Niren Murthy have engineered a new lipid nanoparticle that can switch its charge from positive to negative and may avoid triggering inflammation while still able to deliver mRNA and other nucleic acids.
In Memoriam: Prof. David Rempel
It is with great sadness that we recognize the passing of Dr. David Rempel, MD, MPH, CPE. A versatile expert in occupational health and long-time member of the Bioengineering Graduate Program, he was a Professor Emeritus of Medicine at UCSF and Bioengineering Berkeley. He will be missed.
How One Simple Change Can Make Lipid Nanoparticles Safer for Gene Editing and Other Applications
In a new paper out in Nature Nanotechnology, researchers in Niren Murthy’s lab show that there is a simple way to remove the toxicity of lipid nanoparticles while maintaining their ability to effectively deliver therapies to specific cells in the body.
Herr Lab and partners receive grant to study biology in time and space
Our researchers have received a new grant from the Biohub non-profit research organization, looking to advance the field of Spatiotemporal omics – the ability to sample biomolecules at different locations and times to watch disease processes unfold. Amy Herr and her UCSF partners Jennifer Rosenbluth and Amrita Basu will be studying integrated organoid systems for immunotherapy toxicity.
Yartsev named Guggenheim Fellow
Professor Michael Yartsev has been named to the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation’s 101st Class of Fellows for his trailblazing work in neuroscience and neuroengineering. One of the country’s most prestigious awards, fellowships are given to innovators in a wide range of disciplines with a monetary stipend allowing them to pursue independent work at the highest level under “the freest possible conditions.”
Growing immune cells with more targeted cancer-fighting abilities
Recent research from Professor Derfogail Delcassian’s lab explores how the stiffness of swollen lymph nodes increases the strength, but decreases the precision, of cancer-killing immune cells.
How Do Stickers Stick?
Professor Phil Messersmith explained all about adhesives on the family science podcast, Brains On!