We are excited to announce the recipients of our annual MCB Outstanding Postdoctoral Fellows Awards! Each year, the department honors five postdocs (one in each division) for excellence in research, contributions to the division and department, mentoring, and outreach. 

BBS | Jun-Jie (Gogo) Liu (Doudna lab) studies CRISPR-Cas enzymes, investigates the possible anti-viral function of long non-coding RNAs, and is working on a project of HIV-1 related IncRNAs, which has resulted in many important discoveries and set up an effective platform for an RNA structural study both in vitro and in vivo that will benefit all RNA research.

CDB | Matthew Akamatsu (Drubin lab) combines mathematical modeling, human stem cell genome-editing, and fluorescence microscopy to study how actin produces force to function in cellular membrane trafficking processes.

GGD | Salil Bidaye (Scott lab) studies the neural control of walking behavior and the neural pathways that underlay a fly's decision to walk. His research has led to the identification of critical control elements for walking initiation. 

IMP | Laura McIntyre (Robey lab) is investigating a fundamental problem in developmental biology and immunology: how developing thymocytes choose between CD4 or CD8 T cell lineages. 

NEU | Polina Kosillo (Bateup lab) is interested in understanding the molecular and cellular basis of psychiatric disorders. Her goal is to determine how mutations in the Tsc1 gene, which cause the neurodevelopmental disorder Tuberous Sclerosis Complex (TSC), affect the molecular profile and functional properties of dopamine neurons.