The MCB Department is fully committed to supporting, in every way possible, all members of our department, irrespective of their national origin, religious background, race, color, age, sex, gender, gender identity, or sexual orientation. We are particularly troubled by the recent Executive Order on Immigration because it threatens members of our community and the practice of science. MCB scientists and staff come from many countries and engage in numerous international collaborations. Our research is enhanced by the diversity of perspectives provided by scientists from different backgrounds including international scientists. In addition, everyone’s science benefits when all scientists can travel freely between the U.S. and other countries to communicate directly with each other. We will resist policies that threaten our scientific culture and values.
Department News
Below are articles from various sources about members of MCB and their research.
HHMI Investigator and MCB Professor of Genetics, Genomics and Development Michael Eisen has announced that he will run for U.S. Senate to offer a scientific voice to the political process.
"Jennifer Doudna and Emmanuelle Charpentier were awarded the Japan Prize today for their invention of the revolutionary gene-editing technology known as CRISPR-Cas9, which has swept into research labs around the world and is already yielding new therapies for cancer and hereditary diseases."
UC Berkeley researchers studying cancer and infectious disease are joining forces in an attempt to maniupulate the immune response for both invaders through immunotherapy. The recently formed IVRI, Immunotherapeutics and Vaccine Research Institute, is at the forefront of this collaborative work.
The lab of MCB Associate Professor Lin He has reprogrammed embryonic stem cells from mice to act as “totipotent-like” stem cells, capable of generating any cell type within a developing embryo. This research could augment the selection of cell types and tissues made from stem cells, expanding the potential for stem cell therapy.
MCB's Professor Jennifer Doudna, in collaboration with Professor Jill Banfield (of earth & planetary sciences and of ESPM), have "discovered simple CRISPR systems similar to CRISPR-Cas9 — a gene-editing tool that has revolutionized biology — in previously unexplored bacteria that have eluded efforts to grow them in the laboratory."
Happy Holidays and Happy New Year. Have a great winter break, everyone! ...And with all that free time, catch up on reading the Fall 2016 Newsletter.
Professor Jennifer Doudna will be given a Luminary Award at the Precision Medicine World Conference on January 23rd-25th, 2017. Doudna will also be one of the key speakers at the conference -- read a recent PMWC Q&A with Professor Doudna.
Are you interested in attending the conference? PMWC has created a discount code for UC Berkeley attendees -- It is "berkeley_discount_pmwc2017" (expires on January 11, 2017). Or register here and have the code applied automatically.
MCB Professor Steve Brenner (also Professor in PMB and Bioengineering) co-authored a study identifying the rare mutation that causes severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID), or “boy in the bubble” disease. The finding demonstrates new advancements in molecular diagnosis in clinical medicine, especially regarding congenital diseases.
MCB Professor Nicole King, her graduate student, Arielle Woznica and collaborators have found the first demonstration that bacteria can drive sexual mating in eukaroyotes. "Researchers seeking the evolutionary roots of the animal kingdom have discovered a bacterium, Vibrio fischeri, that acts as an aphrodisiac on a species of protozoan choanoflagellates, the closest living relatives of animals, by releasing an enzyme that sends Salpinogoeca rosetta, into a full mating frenzy."