Welcome to Bioengineering

UC San Diego bioengineering professor Shu Chien made many foundational scientific discoveries over the course of his 62-year academic career, ranging from uncovering a key reason why sedentary lifestyles can be unhealthy to how to more efficiently screen for adverse effects of small molecule drugs in patients. But from the stories that emerged during a two-day celebration in honor of his retirement it's clear that it's the lessons he unknowingly taught on how to be a better person that resonated most deeply with the hundreds of students, colleagues and collaborators around the world who view him as a beloved mentor.

Indentifying mechanisms of diseases with complex inheritance patterns, such as macular telangiectasia type 2, is challenging. A link between macular telangiectasia type 2 and altered serine matabolism has been established previously. Through exome aequewnce analysis of a patient with macular telangiectasia type 2 and his family members, we identified a variant in SPTLC1 encoding a subunit of serine palmitoyltransferase (SPT). Because mutations affecting SPT are known to cause hereditary sensory and autonomic neuropathy type 1 (HSAN1), we examined 10 additional persons with HSAN1 for ophtalmologic disease. We assayed serum amino acid and sphingoid base levels, including levels of deoxysphingolipids, in patients who had macular telangiectasia type 2 but did not have HSAN1 or pathogenic variants affecting SPT.

At her lab at UC San Diego in La Jolla, biomedical engineer Karen Christman grinds up chenically altered pig heart tissue. This material is no longer a collection of cells. It's been ground up and turned into a fine powder. When she adds water to this material, it creates a hydrogel. "Hydrogel is basically a physical material that's gel-like or water-swollen," Christman said. "So the best example of a hydrogel - not one we use - is jello." After a heart attack, the heart tissue is damaged and it forms a scar. As a result, it becomes difficukt for healthy cells to come in and replace the tissue. This situation can slow the heart's performance and could lead to future heart failure. Christman created thi hydrogel to help the scarred heart tissue.

It is a tremendous pleasure to announce that upon the recommendation of the Thesis Awards Committee (Professor Intaglietta, Chair) the winners of the 2018-2019 Shunichi Usami Ph.D. Thesis Design Award in Bioengineering are:

Bruno Umbria Pedroni  Bruno completed his Ph.D. thesis under the guidance of Professor Gert Cauwenberghs and his thesis title is:

"Boltzmann Energetics and Temporal Dynamics of Learning Neuromorphic Systems"      

Praopim (Mint) Limsakul  Praopim completed her Ph.D. thesis under the guidance of Professor Yingxiao Wang and her thesis title is:  

"Engineering Molecular Modules Through Directed Evolution for Applications in Single-Cell Imaging and Immunotherapy"

Please join us in congratulating Bruno and Praopim for this outstanding achievement.  

It is a tremendous pleasure to announce that upon the recommendation of the Thesis Awards Committee (Professor Intaglietta, Chair) the winners of the 2018-2019 Engelson Ph.D. Thesis Award in Bioengineering are:

Kimberly McCabe  Kimberly completed her Ph.D. thesis under the guidance of Professor Andrew McCulloch and her thesis title is:

- Keynote Speaker: Dr. Mark Saltzman 

- Student Organization Demos 

- Senior Design Showcase 

- Networking Luncheon 

- Industry Demos 

Wearable Sensing, NeuroPace, MaxCyte, Advanced Brain Monitoring, Cellink

- Quizbowl 

San Diego, Calif., March 25, 2019--Two researchers at Jacobs School of Engineering were inducted into the College of Fellows of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE), the organization announced. Professors Pedro Cabrales and Todd Coleman from the Department of Bioengineering were recognized during a ceremony at the National Academy of Sciences Great Hall in Washington, DC, on March 25.

The College of Fellows is comprised of the top two percent of medical and biological engineers in the country, including the most accomplished and distinguished engineering and medical school chairs, research directors, professors, innovators and successful entrepreneurs.

Clinical Bioengineering course offers undergraduate engineering students hands-on learning experience to solve clinical problems

San Diego, Calif., Feb. 4, 2019 -- A 3D modeling tool to help surgeons plan out the best surgical procedures before operating on patients. A smart shoe insole that optimizes lower-extremity rehabilitation. Redesigned surgical drains that can be placed under incisions to remove tumors.

At UC San Diego, the fields of engineering and medicine aren’t just merging in research labs, they’re merging in the classroom as well.