Computational Biology

Recent news:

MoA animation by Visual Science, 2024

Bridge RNAs: ‘Holy Grail’ in Next-Gen Gene Editing Tech?

January 17, 2025

Patrick Hsu’s breakthrough discovery of bridge RNA gene editing tools is discussed on WebMD, with contributions from BioE alumnus Connor Tou.

brain section image showing wide distribution of edited cells in the cortex

Could a new medical approach fix faulty genes before birth?

November 5, 2024

Murthy lab and UC Davis have developed a unique mRNA delivery method for in-utero gene editing for neurodevelopmental conditions.

Drawing of the LNPs encapsulating iGeoCas9 RNP

Thermostable Cas9 Enhances RNP Performance in Lung and Liver

November 5, 2024

Niren Murthy et al. have developed a more stable version of the Cas9 enzyme to improve delivery of CRISPR-Cas9 ribonucleoproteins (RNPs) for in vivo gene editing.

Faculty Focus on Leah Guthrie

October 10, 2024

Professor Leah Guthrie works to understand how the microbiome metabolites and proteins communicate with our human cells to influence our physiology and pathophysiology. Learn more about Guthrie in this interview with QB3.

Clare Lou (left) and Derfogail Delcassian stand before a banner for the Innovative Genomics Institute

Delcassian receives seed funding for cancer research

October 1, 2024

Professor Derfogail Delcassian has been awarded $1 million in non-dilutive seed funding to accelerate the commercialization of her work on targeted molecular therapies for hard-to-treat cancers.

MoA animation by Visual Science, 2024

Scientists Discover Next-Generation System for Programmable Genome Design

July 2, 2024

A team of researchers led by Professor Patrick Hsu has discovered the first DNA recombinase that is programmable, allowing the user to specify any desired genomic target sequence and any donor DNA molecule to be inserted. The bridge recombinase mechanism promises to expand genome editing beyond CRISPR and RNA interference (RNAi) to offer a unified mechanism for programmable DNA rearrangements. Bioengineering graduate student Nicholas Perry is also a lead author of the study, along with other researchers from the Arc Institute.

lareau

Liana Lareau wins Bakar Spark Award

May 21, 2024

Congratulations to Professor Liana Lareau, winner of a 2024 Spark Award from the Bakar Fellows Program.

Photo of Teresa Head-Gordon, waist up, standing in the lobby of Stanley Hall, UC Berkeley

Professor Teresa Head-Gordon awarded the Humboldt Research Award

April 30, 2024

Congratulations to Professor Teresa Head-Gordon, who has been honored with a prestigious research award from the Humboldt Foundation, known for fostering collaboration with German scientists.

CDC image of coronavirus

Human lung proteins can advance or thwart SARS-CoV-2 infections

July 28, 2022

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.