Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering

David Schaffer Harnesses 'Directed Evolution' for Gene Therapy

March 18, 2021
Jeannine Mjoseth | The Hertz Foundation

David Schaffer

David Schaffer, Hertz Fellow, gene therapy researcher, and The Hubbard Howe Jr. Distinguished Professor of Biochemical Engineering at UC Berkeley says he “plays Darwin” in his Berkeley lab, using high throughput genetic sequencing technology to test over a billion genetic samples for the desired biological activity.

He mutates promising genes and selects...

Podcast: Nobel Laureates Frances Arnold and Jennifer Doudna on prizes, pandemics, and Jimmy Page

February 18, 2021
Lisa M. Jarvis | C&EN

Frances Arnold and Jennifer Doudna

The recent Nobel chemistry-prize winners, alumna Frances Arnold and Professor Jennifer Doudna, tell Stereo Chemistry about what comes after that momentous call from Stockholm. Credit: Frances Arnold photo (Caltech); Jennifer Doudna photo (Lauran Morton Photography)

Where do you take your career after you’ve won...

Alumna and Nobel Laureate Frances Arnold tapped by President Biden to be co-chair of the President's Council of Advisers on Science and Technology

January 19, 2021
UC Berkeley, College of Chemistry Press Release

Frances Arnold speaks at announcement ceremony

Professor Arnold speaks on the importance of science during a press conference.

President-elect Joe Biden on Saturday introduced key members of his White House science team, including his nominee for director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP).

"These are among the brightest,...

Tracing the many paths of vision

December 23, 2020
Christina Bielmeier| Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology

zebra fish eye under fluorescent lighting

A new study reports results on decodeing the molecular diversity of neurons in the zebrafish retina. The resulting catalog documented studying individual cell types in the retina and linking them to a specific structure, function and behavioral...

AIChE student chapter wins Western Region title

November 19, 2020
UC Berkeley, College of Chemistry Press Release

2019-2020 executive board AIChE student chapter

AIChE UC Berkeley Student Chapter leadership pose during their weekly ZOOM meeting to discuss club events. Members include Jeremy Murphy-Ortega, Ashutosh Bhadouria, Julia Glasser, Stephen Chang, Esther Leem, Sancialita Sathiyamoorthy, Andrea Chen, Samantha Yang, Meagan Macavinta, Ariana Dunlap,...

Enrique Iglesia receives 2021 NACS award

July 2, 2020
North American Catalyst Society Press Release

Enrique Iglesia

Jingguang Chen, President of the North American Catalysis Society, has announced that Enrique Iglesia, Theodore Vermeulen Professor in Chemical Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley has been named the recipient of the 2021 NACS Award for Distinguished Service in the Advancement of Catalysis.

David Schaffer selected to serve as next director of QB3-Berkeley

July 10, 2020
UC Berkeley, College of Chemistry Press Release

David Schaffer

Professor David Schaffer has been selected to serve as the next director of Berkeley’s California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences (QB3-Berkeley), effective July 1, 2020, following a campuswide search chaired by MCB Professor Jasper Rine. Schaffer is succeeding Susan Marqusee, who stepped down June 30, at the end of two highly successful terms in the position.

Nano strategy overcomes barriers to plant genetic engineering

May 28, 2020
by Wallace Ravven | Berkeley Research

Markita Landry files paten for new nanotube technology

Markita Landry and UC Berkeley recently filed patents on a new nanotube technology to delete genes in crop plants without the risk of inserting new genes. Editing the genome of crop plants can boost such traits as disease resistance or drought tolerance. Since the new process adds no genes to the plant genome in the editing process, it conforms to non-GMO requirements in the U.S. and several other countries outside Europe.

The power of change in science

March 9, 2020
Multiple authors | C&EN

women trailblazers

Guided by CRISPR pioneer Jennifer Doudna, a formidable entrepreneur in her own right, C&EN profiled 15 women working in the Chemical industry in academics and startups in C&EN's 2020 Trailblazers. Four of them are affiliated with UC Berkeley's College of Chemistry. They have collectively launched more than 30 start-ups aimed at developing treatments for rare diseases, building better batteries, and more. They’re chemical scientists at the top of their game. They’re role models building and mentoring teams. And yes, they’re badasses. They live by the motto “Nobody ever got anywhere by listening to no.”

Scientists use DNA origami to alter gene expression in plants

April 4, 2019
Marge d'Wylde |College of Chemistry

DNA origami could change the way we alter plants

new research reported from the lab of Markita Landry, a professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at UC Berkeley, a team of scientists has taken an original approach of using DNA origami nanotechnology to slip through plant cell walls and graft small interfering RNA (siRNA) directly onto plant cells. Their research shows it is possible to directly silence genes in plants without damaging plant tissues, and without making any alterations to the plant’s genome.