News

NIH Establishes 4D Nucleome Research Centers and Organizational Hub at UC San Diego

October 5, 2015

NIH Establishes 4D Nucleome Research Centers and Organizational Hub at UC San Diego

Under its new 4D Nucleome Program, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Common Fund has awarded three grants totaling more than $30 million over five years to multidisciplinary teams of researchers at University of California, San Diego. Full Story


Robots in the Operating Room

October 1, 2015

Robots in the Operating Room

University of California, San Diego bioengineering alumnus Jonathan Sorger, Director of Medical Research at Intuitive Surgical in Sunnyvale, California, is one of the ten keynote speakers at the UC San Diego Contextual Robotics Forum on Oct. 30, 2015. Sorger will offer a vision of the future of medical robotics, including how technologies will continue to augment the surgical experience.  Full Story


UC San Diego Engineers on Thomson Reuters list of Highly Cited Researchers

September 24, 2015

UC San Diego Engineers on Thomson Reuters list of Highly Cited Researchers

Three professors from the University of California, San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering have earned a spot on the Thomson Reuters list of Highly Cited Researchers in 2015 for exceptional impact in their fields. The three professors, Yuri Bazilevs, Bernhard Palsson and Joseph Wang are among 22 professors and researchers from UC San Diego named to the prestigious Highly Cited Researchers list.  Full Story


Hearts build new muscle with this simple protein patch

September 16, 2015

Hearts build new muscle with this simple protein patch

An international team of researchers has identified a protein that helps heart muscle cells regenerate after a heart attack. Researchers also showed that a patch loaded with the protein and placed inside the heart improved cardiac function and survival rates after a heart attack in mice and pigs. Animal hearts regained close to normal function within four to eight weeks after treatment with the protein patch. It might be possible to test the patch in human clinical trials as early as 2017.  Full Story


Bone-fracture puzzles introduce undergraduates to real-world engineering

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


UC San Diego is No. 1 in Nation for Sixth Year, According to Washington Monthly

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


Bioinformatics Pioneers Launch First Online Bioinformatics Specialization on Coursera

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


Bioengineers identify the key genes and functions for sustaining microbial life

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


New resource makes gene editing technology even more user-friendly

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


Vinculin protein boosts function in the aging heart

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