Current Bioengineering Chair Sanjay Kumar has been selected to serve as the next director of the California Institute of Quantitative Biosciences at UC Berkeley (QB3-Berkeley) effective September 1, 2022. He will succeed David Schaffer, who was recently appointed as faculty director of the Bakar BioEnginuity Hub and executive director of QB3’s central office. Kumar will step down as Chair of the Department of Bioengineering effective September 1, where former Chair Dorian Liepmann will return to the role until a permanent appointment is made in 2023.
faculty
Single-cell studies offer new view of how HIV infections persist
Professor Iain Clark, in partnership with graduate program faculty member Adam Abate, was able to analyze single cells harboring latent HIV using a technique that isolates single, infected cells as tiny amounts of blood move through their microfluidic devices. Their work was featured in Science news.
Transfusing blood from an old mouse to a younger mouse causes ageing
New research from the Conboy Lab, highlighted in New Scientist magazine, has demonstrated that transfusing young mice with blood from older rodents quickly triggers ageing in the young, suggesting that cellular ageing isn’t just a case of wear and tear. This is one step closer to potential anti-ageing treatments and builds on years of aging research from Professor Irina Conboy.
David Schaffer: Research that takes risks must be supported
Professor David Schaffer reflects on the reasons why he sees Berkeley as a leader in world-changing research, innovation and entrepreneurship.
Human lung proteins can advance or thwart SARS-CoV-2 infections
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.
Streets and Yartsev promoted to Associate Professor
Congratulations to new Associate Professors Aaron Streets and Michael Yartsev, granted tenure effective July 1, 2022!
Head-Gordon Pursuing AI-driven Drug Discovery at New NIH Center
Professor Teresa Head-Gordon will continue the machine learning COVID-19 research spurred by a 2020 Digital Transformation Institute grant, with the Midwest Antiviral Drug Discovery Center for Pathogens of Pandemic Concern, one of nine new centers announced by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases on May 18, 2022.
Schaffer named Executive Director of QB3
David Schaffer, PhD, a University of California, Berkeley professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering, bioengineering, and molecular and cell biology, who holds over 50 patents and whose research has spawned eight companies to commercialize stem cell and gene therapies, has been appointed the next executive director of QB3.
Messersmith receives Bakar Fellows Spark Award
Congratulations to Professor Phillip Messersmith, one of seven new recipients of the 2022 Bakar Fellows Spark Award, designed to accelerate faculty-led research and produce tangible, positive societal impact through commercialization. Messersmith is developing a regenerative therapy for the intestinal ulcers that accompany inflammatory bowel disease.