Alumni company Bolt Threads has launched its first direct to consumers clothing made of synthetic spider silk – a snazzy tie! Only 50 will be made, but more engineered clothing is on the horizon.
alumni
Two alums in 2017 30 Under 30!
Congratulations 2013 PhD Tim Downing and 2009 BS Tim Wang, both named to the 2017 Forbes 30 Under 30!
Downing, now a professor at UC Irvine, was recognized for his work examining how extracellular signals can influence the final fate of cells. Wang, now a PhD student at MIT, is the cofounder of KSQ Therapeutics, a drug company that uses his work with the gene-editing technology CRISPR to look for new drugs.
BioE startup Lygos raises $13 million
Lygos Biotech, founded by PhD alumni Jeffrey Dietrich and Eric Steen, has raised $13 million in Series A funding to continue their work producing high-value specialty chemicals through synthetic biology. Their process uses domestic sugars instead of petroleum for chemical production, and has already resulted in the world’s first bio-based production of malonic acid.
Herr Lab invention named Top Innovation of 2016 by The Scientist
For the #1 spot in their annual Top 10 Innovations of the year, The Scientist magazine has chosen Milo, the commercial version of the single-cell Western blot technology invented in Professor Amy Herr’s lab. Originally developed for market by BioE PhD alumna Kelly Gardner for their startup Zephyrus Biosciences, acquired by BioTechne, Gardner now runs commercialization of the product for ProteinSimple.
MEng alum startup Lief launches Kickstarter
Lief Therapeutics has designed a smart patch that helps people manage their stress through heart rate variability biofeedback. Co-founder Billy Frese is a 2015 BioE MEng alum. Check them out on Kickstarter.
Gauss Surgical one of “80+ Companies Reinventing Medicine”
Gauss Surgical, a startup formed by MTM alumnus Siddarth Satish, was listed as one of “80+ Companies Reinventing Medicine” by venture analysis group CB Insights.
BioE startup Diassess featured in Wired
John Waldeisen, CEO and Co-founder of Diassess, talks with Wired about the diagnostic tech landscape post-Theranos.
Knox Medical featured in California Magazine
Alumni startup Knox Medical was featured in the Fall 2016 California Magazine, for their child-friendly portable spirometer.
Two BioE alums named to TR35
Bioengineering alumni Kelly Gardner and Heather Bowerman have been named top innovators under 35, a list compiled each year by MIT Technology Review. Gardner, PhD 2013 in Amy Herr’s lab, was recognized for her lean biotech startup innovating in single-cell protein analysis. Bowerman, BS 2005, was honored for inexpensive hormone level tracking technology. They are two of the seven UC Berkeley-affiliated engineers named this year.