Department News

UC Berkeley professor Carolyn Bertozzi keeps a close watch on carbohydrates, but it's not because she's on a trendy diet. In her chemistry laboratory, Bertozzi pays close attention to the carbohydrates that dot the surface of cells.

Bertozzi, a professor of chemistry and of biochemistry and molecular biology, and her graduate students have devised new chemical tools to uncover how the sugar structures change based on various factors. Someday, their research could aid doctors in diagnosing cancer and other diseases.

Assistant Professor of Neurobiology Lu Chen has been selected as a 2005 Distinguished Young Scholars in Medical Research by the W.M. Keck Foundation.

Recipients of this prestigious award are selected for their research in the fundamental mechanisms of human disease and receive up to $1 million dollars over five years.

Fifteen graduate students were presented with Outstanding GSI Awards (OGSI)at a ceremony at Alumni House on Monday, May 9th for their excellence in teaching in MCB courses.

More than 100 years ago, Theodor Boveri proposed that errors in the segregation of genetic material (chromosomes) to two daughter cells during cell division could be a cause of cancer.Furthermore, chromosome segregation defects during meiotic germ cell divisions are responsible for many spontaneous abortions and can lead to birth defects such as Down syndrome. Despite its fundamental importance very little is known about the molecular origins of these potentially devastating errors.

View approximately sixty posters and partake in a delicious spring reception. Outstanding posters will be displayed at Cal Day, Saturday, April 16th.

On Saturday, April 9, 2005 the Department of Molecular & Cell Biology and the College of Letters & Science are hosting a symposium in honor of Emeritus Professor of Neurobiology Gunther Stent.

Morgan Harris, Professor Emeritus and former Chair of the Department of Zoology (one of the precursor departments to MCB) died on February 14 at the age of 88.

For details please see the UC Press Release.

A major step in the development of the vertebrate embryo - the establishment of a back that morphs into a brain, spinal cord and muscles - turns out to be so important that the body uses at least three signals to make sure it happens properly.

The discovery, reported this month in the journal Developmental Cell by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, finally explains an 80-year-old observation that revolutionized the way biologists think about embryonic and fetal development and set the stage for the stem cell debate.

On Thursday, March 24, 2005 the Department of Molecular & Cell Biology, Division of Cell & Developmental Biology, will be sponsoring a symposium entitled "New Frontiers in Cellular Imaging" in the Chan Shun Auditorium

In recent years, vastly improved techniques for labeling cellular structures with fluorescent probes, coupled with dramatic improvements in microscopes and software, have had a revolutionary impact on our ability to appreciate the intricate organization and dynamic properties of living cells.

Professor Hiroshi Nikaido has been awarded the Bristol-Myers Squibb "Freedom to Discover" Award for Distinguished Acheivement in Infectious Diseases Research.

The award consists of $50,000 and a silver medallion.