Leyla Kabuli, EECS and Music major, has been awarded the 2021 University Medal, Berkeley’s highest honor for a graduating senior. In addition to her many other pursuits, Leyla has been a researcher in Professor Steven Conolly’s lab for the past three years, working on magnetic particle imaging.
awards
Diego Espinoza wins the Fung Institute Mission Award
Congratulations to BioE MEng student Diego Espinoza, winner of the 2021 Fung Institute Mission Award for his capstone project, “MEDiRoller: Revolutionizing Low-Cost Vaccine and Drug Delivery in Low-Resource Communities.” The award goes to the team best exemplifying the mission of the institute: Creating inclusive leaders who solve the world’s problems through innovation, technology, and collaboration across boundaries.
Omokhowa Agbojo wins Technical Leadership Capstone Award
Congratulations to BioE MEng student Omokhowa Agbojo who received the 2021 Fung Institute Technical Leadership Capstone Award for his project, “Harnessing Life Cycle Assessment as a Decision-Making Tool for Environmentally Conscious Design of Cell Therapy Manufacturing Processes.”
Congratulations new NSF Fellows!
Congratulations to bioengineers receiving new NSF Graduate Research Fellowships! Current PhD students: Niroshan Anandasivam, Cynthia Perez, Preethi Raghavan, and Clay Smyth, also a BS BioE 2017. Graduating seniors Saarang Panchavati and Vikram Shivakumar, and recent undergraduate alumni Luis Caldera (2018), Eszter Mihaly (2017), Andrew Sum (2015), and Madelynn Whittaker (2019).
Three BioE alumni in Forbes 30 Under 30!
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.
Peng and Rosenbluth named to 40 Under 40
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.
Sanjay Kumar named AAAS Fellow
Congratulations Professor Sanjay Kumar, named to the 2020 class of Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Kumar was recognized for his “distinguished contributions to the field of bioengineering, particularly the development of biomaterial and single-cell technologies to investigate mechanobiological signaling in health and disease.”
Time’s Best Inventions of 2020: Pivot Bio PROVEN
PROVEN, the world’s first microbial biofertilizer for cereal crops, has been named one of the 100 Best Inventions of 2020 by Time Magazine. Developed by PivotBio, a BioE spinout company founded by Karsten Temme, PhD 2010, the product replaces synthetic solutions with nitrogen-fixing microbes, which capture nitrogen from the air and convert it into a form that plants can use.
Congratulations Prof Vandsburger, new Guertin Chair
Congratulations to Associate Professor Moriel Vandsburger, the first holder of our new Timothy and Karen Guertin Chair in Bioengineering. Timothy Guertin (B.S. alum, EECS) is the former Chief Executive Officer of Varian Medical Systems, a member of the Board of Directors at Teradyne Inc., and Chair of the Global Access to Cancer Care foundation, which works to expand the availability of modern cancer care in developing countries. The Guertins are passionate supporters of biomedical research and global access to quality healthcare, and have endowed this faculty chair to provide additional support to an early career professor pursuing promising research.