Khine Appointed UCI Undergrad Education Associate Dean

photo of Khine in lab

Congratulations to PhD alumna Michelle Khine (2005), appointed the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education at UC Irvine. Michelle is also their director of Faculty Innovation and founding director of the BioENGINE (BioENGineering Innovation and Entrepreneurship) program.

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Lygos working to replace polyacrylic acid with biodegradable, synthetic polymers

Non-biodegradeable, petroleum-derived, polyacrylic acid is used in everything from detergents to industrial fluids. Lygos, an alumni spinoff company that creates environmentally friendly chemicals through synthetic biology, has formed a partnership with NanoChem Solutions to produce an alternative: polyaspartate polymers. Together they will develop a process to make aspartic acid, the raw material for the polymers, from sugar via fermentation.

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Three BioE alumni in Forbes 30 Under 30!

photos of Nixon, Yang, Chen

Congratulations to three bioengineering alumni named to the 2021 Forbes 30 Under 30 list. Joshua Yang (MTM 2016) and Robert Chen (BS 2013) were named in Healthcare: Yang for his work on developing non-invasive tools to measure kidney injuries through startup company Nephrosant, and Chen for designing therapies for undernourished children, using links between certain gut bacteria and stunted growth. Joshua Nixon (BS 2016) and co-founder were named in the Social Impact list for founding Prime Roots, a company developing plant-based meat and seafood alternatives.

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Peng and Rosenbluth named to 40 Under 40

photos of Rosenbluth and Peng

PhD alumni Lily Peng (2012) and Kate Rosenbluth (2009) have been named to the 2020 Fortune Magazine “40 Under 40”, an annual list of 40 young professionals of exceptional talent and influence in their fields. Peng, now Product Manager at Google Health, aims to bring health care to the masses through the use of artificial intelligence. She has personally designed algorithms including the firm’s diabetes-related eye disease detection program. Rosenbluth, Founder and CEO of Cala Health, has designed an FDA-cleared wrist device that eases hand tremors for the 7 million Americans who suffer from essential tremors.

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