News Archive
January 12, 2016
Brain monitoring takes a leap out of the lab
Bioengineers and cognitive scientists have developed the first portable, 64-channel wearable brain activity monitoring system that’s comparable to state-of-the-art equipment found in research laboratories. The researchers are working toward a world where neuroimaging systems work with mobile sensors and smart phones to track brain states throughout the day and augment the brain’s capabilities. Full Story
December 15, 2015
Why the Flu Vaccine Is Less Effective in the Elderly
Around this time every year, the flu virus infects up to one-fifth of the U.S. population and kills thousands of people, many of them elderly. A study published by Cell Press on Dec. 15 in Immunity now explains why the flu vaccine is less effective at protecting older individuals. More broadly, the findings reveal novel molecular signatures that could be used to predict which individuals are most likely to respond positively to vaccination. Full Story
December 15, 2015
Chewing slowly helps prevent excessive weight gain in children
Waiting 30 seconds in between bites of food allows children to realize they’re no longer hungry before they overeat—preventing excessive weight gain. That’s the conclusion of a study published by an international team of researchers, including UC San Diego bioengineers. The study is the first clinically controlled trial to test how effective eating slowly is for detecting that feeling of satiety--and losing weight, the researchers said. Full Story
December 15, 2015
UC San Diego Professors Elected Fellows of National Academy of Inventors
Two researchers at the University of California, San Diego, have been named fellows of the National Academy of Inventors. Shu Chien, Distinguished Professor of Bioengineering and Medicine, and Michael Sailor, Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry, were among 168 new fellows announced by the academy today. Full Story
November 23, 2015
Shu Chien among UC San Diego Professors Named AAAS Fellows
Bioengineering professor Shu Chien is among six University of California, San Diego professors named Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the world’s largest general scientific society. They are among 347 members selected this year by colleagues in their disciplines to be honored for scientifically or socially distinguished efforts to advance science or its applications. Shu Chien, MD, PhD, is a professor of medicine and bioengineering and director of the Institute of Engineering in Medicine at UC San Diego. He was cited for “continuing outstanding contributions to vascular physiology and vascular cell and molecular biology, which have greatly increased our understanding of vascular pathologies including atherosclerosis.” His work, which focuses on the study of how blood flow and pressure affect vessels, earned him a National Medal of Science in 2011. He is one of only 11 scholars in the United States to be a member of all three national academies: Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. Full Story
November 17, 2015
Bioengineering professor featured in Top 100 list on African-American influential site
Bioengineer Todd Coleman, from the University of California, San Diego, has been named one of 100 outstanding individuals for 2015 by The Root, a premier news, opinion and culture site for African-American influencers. Coleman will present his research at the prestigious TEDMED conference Nov. 18 to 20 in Palm Springs. Full Story
November 16, 2015
New findings on fat cell metabolism could lead to new approaches for treating diabetes and obesity
Researchers at the University of California, San Diego report new insights into what nutrients fat cells metabolize to make fatty acids. The findings pave the way for understanding potential irregularities in fat cell metabolism that occur in patients with diabetes and obesity and could lead to new treatments for these conditions. Full Story
November 13, 2015
Founding Chair of UC San Diego Department of Bioengineering receives prestigious Franklin Award
Shu Chien, founding chair of the Department of Bioengineering at the University of California, where is he currently a professor and director of the Institute of Engineering in Medicine, has received the prestigious Franklin Institute Award. Full Story
November 2, 2015
Researchers are on their way to predicting what side effects you'll experience from a drug
UC San Diego researchers have developed a model for predicting a drug’s side effects on different patients. The proof of concept study is aimed at determining how different individuals will respond to a drug treatment and could help assess whether a drug is suitable for a particular patient based on measurements taken from the patient’s blood. Full Story
October 29, 2015
UC San Diego Launches Robotics Institute
The Jacobs School of Engineering and Division of Social Sciences at UC San Diego have launched the Contextual Robotics Institute to develop safe and useful robotics systems. These robotics systems will function in the real world based on the contextual information they perceive, in real time. Elder care and assisted living, disaster response, medicine, transportation and environmental sensing are just some of the helpful applications that will emerge from tomorrow’s human-friendly robots.The Contextual Robotics Institute will leverage UC San Diego’s research strengths in engineering, computer science and cognitive science and work collaboratively across the campus and the region to establish San Diego as a leader in the research, development and production of human-friendly robotics systems. Full Story
October 27, 2015
Bioengineers cut in half time needed to make high-tech flexible sensors
Bioengineers at UC San Diego have developed a method that cuts down by half the time needed to make high-tech flexible sensors for medical applications. The advance brings the sensors, which can be used to monitor vital signs and brain activity, one step closer to mass-market manufacturing. The new fabrication process will allow bioengineers to broaden the reach of their research to more clinical settings. It also makes it possible to manufacture the sensors with a process similar to the printing press, said Todd Coleman, the bioengineering professor at the Jacobs School leading the project. Full Story
October 15, 2015
Researchers identify a new culprit behind fibrosis
An international team of researchers has identified a new molecule involved in skin fibrosis, a life-threatening disease characterized by the inflammation and hardening of skin tissue. The new study is the first to investigate the role of this molecule in skin fibrosis and paves the way toward new and improved therapies for the disease. Full Story
October 14, 2015
Meet the Jacobs School's 17 new faculty
The Jacobs School of Engineering at UC San Diego is building and strengthening its research abilities by hiring 17 new faculty this year. With these hires, the school is increasing its impact in clinical medicine, robotics, wireless technologies, genomics, data sciences and cybersecurity, clean energy, advanced manufacturing—and more. Full Story
October 13, 2015
2016 Siebel Scholars Announced
Five engineering graduate students from the University of California, San Diego from across the Departments of Bioengineering and NanoEngineering have been named 2016 Siebel Scholars. The Siebel Scholars program recognizes exceptional students at the world’s leading graduate schools of business, computer science, and bioengineering and provides them with a financial award for their final year of studies. With the Class of 2016, the Siebel Scholars program has expanded to engage outstanding leaders in the field of energy science. Full Story
October 6, 2015
NIH Common Fund selects UC San Diego engineers as High-Risk, High-Reward Research Awardees
Two engineering professors from the University of California, San Diego have received $5.9 million in combined funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) High-Risk, High-Reward Research program supported by the NIH Common Fund. The two professors, Sheng Zhong in the Department of Bioengineering and Darren Lipomi in the Department of Nanoengineering, are among five professors from UC San Diego to receive an award from the program in 2015. Full Story
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
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
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
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
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