Bioengineers making a difference in COVID-19 research and relief

drawing of COVID virus

Showcasing their bottomless energy, compassion, and drive to help, Berkeley Bioengineers have launched themselves into efforts to study the COVID-19 virus and outbreak, mitigate its effects, and support victims and caregivers. The list below is just a short summary of the many, many efforts of our students, faculty and alumni.

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Bioengineers play key role in PPE decontamination efforts

photo of n95 mask

Berkeley Bioengineers have been working around the clock for the past two weeks in a multi-institution team of 60 scientists, engineers, students and clinicians to launch N95decon.org, a website that synthesizes the scientific literature about mask decontamination to create a set of best practices to decontaminate and reuse this protective face covering during the current emergency. Profs Amy Herr and David Rempel, graduate faculty affiliate Hana El-Samad, Phd students Anjali Gopal and Alison Su, bioengineering postdoc Samantha Grist, and BioE alumnus Tyler Chen are all key members of the team.

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New technique ‘prints’ cells to create diverse biological environments

drawing of two-dimensional array of cells

With the help of photolithography and programmable DNA, researchers have created a new technique that can rapidly print two-dimensional arrays of cells and proteins that mimic a wide variety of cellular environments in the body. The work was led by recent BioE PhD Olivia Scheideler with ME professor Lydia Sohn, BioE & CBE professor David Schaffer, BioE PhD Andrew Bremer and current BioE student Roberto Falcón-Banchs, among others.

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To survive on Earth, figure out Mars

Arkin speaking at SynBioBeta 2019

Prof Adam Arkin is Director of the Center for the Utilization of Biological Engineering in Space, a multi-institution center partnering with NASA to build the technology for a self-sustaining, zero-waste human settlement on Mars. Their revolutionary synthetic biology-based food production and closed-loop biomanufacturing could transform human space travel and address the growing food crisis on Earth.

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Unlocking the biochemical treasure chest within microbes

An illustration imagining the molecular machinery inside microbes as technology. By Wayne Keefe of Berkeley Lab.

PhD alumna Yasuo Yoshikuni, a scientist at the Joint Genome Institute, and colleagues have invented a genetic engineering tool, called CRAGE, that could not only make studying secondary metabolites much easier, but also fill significant gaps in our understanding of how microbes interact with their surroundings and evolve.

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Conboy featured in Economist article

Anti-aging research by Professor Irina Conboy is featured in The Economist’s “Uncovering how the body ages is leading to drugs to reverse it” article. Conboy specializes in aging and rejuvenation research, with recent breakthroughs in a combinatorial approach for multi-tissue rejuvenation without blood transfusion. (Full story behind paywall)

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Fletcher Lab’s LoaScope Receives Gates Foundation Support

video cellscope

Professor Dan Fletcher’s lab has received a $1.9 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to support the scaled-up production of the LoaScope. The video adaptation of the CellScope cellphone-based microscope will enable mapping of Loa loa prevalence and intensity in Central and West Africa.

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