Department News

MCB Professor of Immunology and Pathology Jeffery Cox with Nevan Krogan of UCSF and the Gladstone Institutes and other researchers, utilized mass spectrometry to target 34 Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) proteins inside human cells, enabling them to study 187 interactions between the human and tuberculosis proteins. Their paper, published in Molecular Cell, highlights creating an Mtb-human protein-protein interaction map and identifying a switch between host antiviral and antibacterial responses. 

The team hopes to target human host proteins involved in commonly hijacked cell pathways during the disease state, and develop new therapies that use a single drug to treat multiple pathogens - not only bacterial TB but viral infections and other diseases. 

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New research from the lab of MCB Associate Professor Diana Bautista demonstrates that a single molecule, sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P), can cause both pain and itch in the skin of male mice. In the future, treatments that block the receptor for that molecule may control pain and itch sensations in those who suffer from certain skin diseases.

MCB graduate student Rose Hill is first author of the paper, published this week in The Journal of Neuroscience.

Hitomi Asahara and Alison Killilea were recently recognized for their contributions to the University with campus staff awards. Both scientists are directors of MCB research facilities and have found creative, innovative ways to improve or enhance their facilities. In turn, their work will help other UC Berkeley scientists perform their research more efficiently.

Recent MCB graduate Carolyn Elya, who studied with HHMI Investigator and Professor of GGD Michael Eisen, discovered a fungus that infects fruit flies, invades their nervous system, and manipulates the fly's behavior to its advantage. Infecting flies back in the lab, they were able to study how the E. Muscae pathogen infected the host and induced the behavioral changes. A paper was just published in eLife with their findings. 

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New Research from the lab of MCB Assistant Adjunct Professor and Scientific Director of the Innovative Genomics Initiative Jacob Corn sheds light on the 'black box' of how cells repair their DNA after the CRISPR-Cas9 enzyme makes its incision, and demonstrates that many of the common assumptions on how this repair occurs are incorrect.

MCB graduate student Kurtresha Worden and I&P Assistant Professor Kaoru Saijo are one of 45 student-adviser pairs to receive a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Gilliam Fellowship. Designed to support students aspiring become academic leaders from groups who are underrepresented in science, and to help their thesis advisers build inclusive training environments, they will receive an annual award including a student stipend and training allowance for up to three years.

Dr. Saijo's mentoring skills will be honed by a year of mentor development activities, crucial to supporting a student's research and professional skills. The pair will help to build a strong community of scientists who are committed to advancing diversity and inclusion. Congratulations Kurtresha and Kaoru! 

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MCB Professor & HHMI Investigator Eva Nogales is the 2019 recipient of the Grimwade Medal, awarded by the University of Melbourne to an outstanding researcher in biochemistry and molecular biology. The award is also accompanied by a prize of AU$5,000.

Nogales will present on her research in the field of cryoelectron microscopy at the annual Lorne 'Proteins' Conference in Lorne, Australia, in February 2019.

MCB Assistant Professor Polina Lishko and MCB, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, and Bioengineering Professor David Schaffer have joined the ranks of the Bakar Fellows, a program that provides up to 5 years of funding for faculty whose STEM innovations can translate to valuable commercial solutions.

A new research paper published in Nature Cell Biology from the lab of MCB Assistant Professor Roberto Zoncu reveals surprising new observations on the mechanism of activation of the master growth regulator mTORC1, a protein kinase implicated in cancer, diabetes and neurodegeneration.

Research from the labs of MCB Professors Chris Chang and Ehud Isacoff reveals new information on the role of copper in the brain on regulating circadian patterns. Zebrafish with lowered levels of copper in the brain exhibited symptoms of poorer sleep quality due to disrupted circadian patterns.

These findings may lead to improvements in the treatment of neurological and sleep-related disorders in humans.

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