News

Four UC San Diego Physician-engineer teams receive the 2016 Galvanizing Engineering in Medicine awards

October 12, 2016

Four UC San Diego Physician-engineer teams receive the 2016 Galvanizing Engineering in Medicine awards

Four physician-engineer teams from UC San Diego have been selected to receive the 2016 Galvanizing Engineering in Medicine (GEM) awards, which were created to bring engineers and clinicians together to develop innovative technology solutions to challenging problems in medical care. One engineer-physician team is developing battery-free wireless wearable sensors for sleep monitoring that could eventually be widely deployed at minimal cost. Full Story


UC San Diego breaks income boundaries in engineering

October 7, 2016

UC San Diego breaks income boundaries in engineering

“This is just the beginning of what technology like this can do,” said Gabriel Davalos, an incoming aerospace engineering major. Davalos was referring to a miniature table lamp he and some of his peers built that turned on when something nearby made a loud noise. The students also fabricated a tiny house to protect the lamp using 3D printed materials and rapid prototyping tools. Full Story


From Satellites to Biodegradable Surfboards

October 6, 2016

From Satellites to Biodegradable Surfboards

UC San Diego showcases real-world applications of research at Maker FaireA surfboard made of algae-based foam. A small satellite that could be put into orbit around the moon. A balloon that carries experiments to the outer reaches of the atmosphere. These were some of the innovations that students, faculty and alumni from UC San Diego showed off this weekend at San Diego Maker Faire, a gathering of more than 200 innovators in a festival-like atmosphere at Balboa Park.  Full Story


Five Ph.D. students named Siebel Scholars

September 27, 2016

Five Ph.D. students named Siebel Scholars

Five engineering graduate students from the University of California, San Diego have been named 2017 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.  Full Story


'Inside Innovation' Series at UC San Diego Kicks Off with Todd Coleman

September 6, 2016

'Inside Innovation' Series at UC San Diego Kicks Off with Todd Coleman

“Inside Innovation,” a new series of free, public presentations, will feature the latest innovation technologies by UC San Diego, with opportunities for participants to get an inside look at what’s happening in our labs, explore commercialization opportunities, and inquire about licensing. Full Story


Researchers use a single molecule to command stem cells to build new bone

August 31, 2016

Researchers use a single molecule to command stem cells to build new bone

Researchers at the University of California San Diego have discovered an easy and efficient way to coax human pluripotent stem cells to regenerate bone tissue—by feeding them adenosine, a naturally occurring molecule in the body. The stem-cell-derived bone tissue helped repair cranial bone defects in mice without developing tumors or causing infection. Full Story


Nanobowls offer a way to magnetically deliver drugs in the body

August 4, 2016

Nanobowls offer a way to magnetically deliver drugs in the body

Imagine a device that could transport drugs to any diseased site in the body with the help of a small magnet. Engineers at UC San Diego have taken a step toward that goal by developing nano-sized vessels, called nanobowls, that could be filled with drug molecules and controlled with magnets for guided delivery to specific tissues and organs, including cancer tissue, small organs such as the pancreas and hard to access areas like the brain. Full Story


Researchers ID Cancer Gene-Drug Combinations Ripe for Precision Medicine

July 25, 2016

Researchers ID Cancer Gene-Drug Combinations Ripe for Precision Medicine

In an effort to expand the number of cancer gene mutations that can be specifically targeted with personalized therapies, researchers at University of California San Diego looked for combinations of mutated genes and drugs that together kill cancer cells. Such combinations are expected to kill cancer cells, which have mutations, but not healthy cells, which do not. The study, published July 21 in Molecular Cell, uncovered 172 new combinations that could form the basis for future cancer therapies. Full Story


Synthetic Biology used to limit bacterial growth and coordinate drug release

July 20, 2016

Synthetic Biology used to limit bacterial growth and coordinate drug release

Researchers at the University of California San Diego and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have come up with a strategy for using synthetic biology in therapeutics. The approach enables continual production and release of drugs at disease sites in mice while simultaneously limiting the size, over time, of the populations of bacteria engineered to produce the drugs.  Full Story


Color Block

July 19, 2016

Wellcome Trust Picks Up Support of NIH-developed LIPID MAPS Website/Database

Our understanding of the role of lipids in the development of diseases such as heart disease and dementia is about to get a boost as a UK-led consortium receives a £1.3 million grant to host the world’s largest curated lipid database and associated resources. The new grant, awarded by the Wellcome Trust, will allow Cardiff University’s Systems Immunity Research Institute, the Babraham Institute, Cambridge, and the University of California San Diego to continue the important work of identifying and analysing lipids – the molecules our bodies use to regulate normal processes such as blood clotting, fighting infection and development.  Full Story