News Archive
August 26, 2015
Bone-fracture puzzles introduce undergraduates to real-world engineering
In a new project-based class, first-year bioengineering students at the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering produced 3D-printed models of fractured ankles from 2D images of real patients. Full Story
August 24, 2015
UC San Diego is No. 1 in Nation for Sixth Year, According to Washington Monthly
For the sixth consecutive year, the University of California, San Diego has been ranked the number one university in the nation by Washington Monthly for its contributions to the public good. The magazine released its 2015 College Guide today, an annual issue that takes a different approach to ranking the nation’s colleges and universities. Full Story
August 18, 2015
Bioinformatics Pioneers Launch First Online Bioinformatics Specialization on Coursera
Learners around the world will have the opportunity to enroll in a series of courses designed for biologists eager to gain computational skills and for computer scientists who want to explore the frontier of bioinformatics. UC San Diego will launch its six-course Specialization in Bioinformatics on Coursera, which culminates in a Capstone Project using software tools and big data provided by Illumina, a leading company in genome sequencing and the emerging field of personalized medicine. Full Story
August 10, 2015
Bioengineers identify the key genes and functions for sustaining microbial life
A new study led by bioengineers at the University of California, San Diego defines the core set of genes and functions that a bacterial cell needs to sustain life. The research, which answers the fundamental question of what minimum set of functions bacterial cells require to survive, could lead to new cell engineering approaches for E. coli and other microorganisms, the researchers said. Full Story
July 16, 2015
New resource makes gene editing technology even more user-friendly
Researchers at Harvard University and the University of California, San Diego, have developed a new user-friendly resource to accompany the powerful gene editing tool called CRISPR/Cas9, which has been widely adopted to make precise, targeted changes in DNA. This breakthrough has the potential to facilitate new discoveries in gene therapies and basic genetics research. The research was published in the July 13 issue of Nature Methods. Full Story
June 17, 2015
Vinculin protein boosts function in the aging heart
A team of researchers led by bioengineers at the University of California, San Diego provides new insights on how hearts “stay young” and keep functioning over a lifetime despite the fact that most organisms generate few new heart cells. Identifying key gene expression changes that promote heart function as organisms age could lead to new therapy targets that address age-related heart failure. Full Story
May 27, 2015
Programming probiotics for early detection of liver cancer metastases
Scientists at the University of California, San Diego and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have described a new method for detecting liver cancer metastases in mice. The approach uses over-the-counter probiotics genetically programmed to produce signals easily detectable in urine when liver cancer metastases are present. Full Story
May 14, 2015
Event empowers students to study STEM fields
As a ninth grader, Diana has dreamt of being many different things, but an engineer has never been one of them.“I guess it just isn’t something you think could really happen for a lot of people. Those kinds of jobs feel so far away,” she said.She was among 150 students who attended the Empower High School Conference on Saturday, April 25—an event that hopes to make STEM jobs a more realistic career goal for students.By the end of the event, she was enthusiastic: “My favorite part of the day was touring the labs. Seeing all the resources here is definitely inspiring. It makes you feel like you could something really cool,” said Diana. Full Story
May 12, 2015
UC San Diego bioengineering student and Jacobs Scholar receives Goldwater Scholarship
Zou was awarded the prestigious Goldwater Scholarship this year, created in 1986 in honor of Senator Barry Goldwater to provide highly qualified scientists, mathematicians and engineers who intend to pursue research with scholarship money. Full Story
April 24, 2015
Jacobs School of Engineering Students Receive 2015 NSF Graduate Research Fellowships
The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded Graduate Research Fellowships to eight students from the Jacobs School of Engineering. This year, the NSF received approximately 16,500 applications and made 2,000 fellowship award offers. The fellowships provide three years of financial support – including an annual stipend and a cost-of-education allowance to the graduate institution – during a five-year period to individuals pursuing research-based master’s or doctoral degrees in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics. Full Story
April 20, 2015
Breast Tumor Stiffness and Metastasis Risk Linked by Molecule's Movement
Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and Moores Cancer Center have discovered a molecular mechanism that connects breast tissue stiffness to tumor metastasis and poor prognosis. The study, published April 20 inNature Cell Biology, may inspire new approaches to predicting patient outcomes and halting tumor metastasis.“We’re finding that cancer cell behavior isn’t driven by just biochemical signals, but also biomechanical signals from the tumor’s physical environment,” said senior author Jing Yang, PhD, associate professor of pharmacology and pediatrics. Full Story
April 20, 2015
Micromotors. Heart on a chip. Social media epidemiology. A Research Expo recap.
Micromotors that zoom through a mouse’s stomach. Heart tissues on a chip. Analysis of social media posts to prevent an increase in HIV infections. These were only a few of more than 200 posters on display at the Jacobs School’s Research Expo 2015 at the Price Center Ballroom on April 16. Full Story
April 17, 2015
Artificial Blood Vessel Lets Researchers Better Assess Clot Removal Devices
Researchers at the School of Medicine and the Institue of Engineering in Medicine at the University of California, San Diego have created an in vitro, live-cell artificial vessel that can be used to study both the application and effects of devices used to extract life-threatening blood clots in the brain. The artificial vessel could have significant implications for future development of endovascular technologies, including reducing the need for animal models to test new devices or approaches. Full Story
April 8, 2015
Bioengineering Day 2015: Bridging Bench to Bedside
On April 18th, 2015, the bioengineering department at the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering will celebrate its 9th Annual Bioengineering Day. The event brings faculty, alumni, undergraduate and graduate students and industry partners together to discuss the yearly progress and successes within the bioengineering ecosystem at the Jacobs School of Engineering and the broader UC San Diego community. Full Story
April 1, 2015
Engineers will Pioneer the Future of Medicine
Many of tomorrow’s solutions to today’s challenges in medicine will require feats of engineering in addition to biology, chemistry and health sciences. In fact, inventions such as valve prostheses, vascular stents and heart rhythm control systems are examples of how biology and medicine can work together with engineering to improve processes for maintaining health and quality of life. Full Story
March 26, 2015
Two Jacobs School of Engineering Faculty Members Receive NSF Engineering CAREER Award
Two UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering faculty members, Drew Hall, Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Christian Metallo, Assistant Professor of Bioengineering have received the NSF Engineering CAREER Award. Full Story
March 10, 2015
Bioengineering Graduate Program at UC San Diego Ranked #2 in Nation according to US News and World Report
The bioengineering graduate program at the University of California, San Diego ranks #2 in the nation. This is one of the new rankings from the 2016 edition of U.S. News & World Report’s Best Graduate Schools guidebook, released today. Full Story
March 2, 2015
Three Jacobs School engineers honored as Sloan Fellows
Three engineers at the University of California, San Diego, are being honored by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation with Sloan Research Fellowships for 2015. This year’s recipients are computer scientist Shachar Lovett, Padmini Rangamani, from the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, and nanoengineer Andrea Tao.The fellowships seek to boost fundamental research by early-career scientists and scholars of outstanding promise. The two-year awards go to 126 researchers yearly in recognition of distinguished performance and a unique potential to make substantial contributions to their field."Their achievements and potential place them among the next generation of scientific leaders in the U.S. and Canada," noted the Foundation in a full-page New York Times advertisement, adding that since 1955, "Sloan Research Fellows have gone on to win 43 Nobel Prizes, 16 Fields Medal, 65 National Medals of Science" and numerous other honors. Full Story
February 9, 2015
Engineers Put the 'Squeeze' on Human Stem Cells
After using optical tweezers to squeeze a tiny bead attached to the outside of a human stem cell, researchers now know how mechanical forces can trigger a key signaling pathway in the cells. The squeeze helps to release calcium ions stored inside the cells and opens up channels in the cell membrane that allow the ions to flow into the cells, according to the study led by University of California, San Diego bioengineer Yingxiao Wang. Full Story
February 3, 2015
Two UC San Diego Scientists Receive Stem Cell Technology Grants
The governing board of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) has awarded two University of California, San Diego researchers almost $3 million in combined funding to pursue new technologies intended to accelerate advances moving stem cell therapies out of the lab and into the clinic. Full Story