2020
Biomolecular Engineering
- December 15, 2020
UCSC expands COVID-19 testing during surge to support community needs
A gift from Bud and Rebecca Colligan will expand testing capacity and help fund a new, dedicated laboratory space to house the diagnostic lab in the Genomics Institute’s facilities at the Westside Research Park.
- December 14, 2020
New cryo-electron microscopy facility a boon for UCSC structural biologists
With major funding from NIH, researchers at UC Santa Cruz have acquired powerful imaging tools for studying the structures of biomolecules and their roles in disease.
- December 10, 2020
New serological assay provides rapid, accurate testing for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies
Using optical biosensor technology, the test provides quantitative measurements of antibodies in blood plasma in less than 20 minutes.
- November 17, 2020
Approval of Proposition 14 boosts funding for stem cell agency
The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) has provided major funding for research and training at UC Santa Cruz since its creation in 2004.
- November 11, 2020
New genome alignment tool empowers large-scale studies of vertebrate evolution
Important new studies of the evolution of birds and mammals relied on Progressive Cactus, a genome alignment tool developed at the UC Santa Cruz Genomics Institute.
- October 23, 2020
UC Santa Cruz iGEM team seeks a solution to plastic waste
Through campus shutdowns, wildfires, and a two-week quarantine, 13 UCSC students have been finding ways to research a solution to agricultural plastic pollution.
- August 12, 2020
UCSC partners with CSUMB for postdoctoral training and mentorship program
A $4.2 million NIH grant to UCSC’s Institute for the Biology of Stem Cells is funding an innovative program to address underrepresentation of minorities in biomedical faculty.
- July 14, 2020
Scientists achieve first complete assembly of human X chromosome
The first end-to-end (‘telomere-to-telomere’) completely gapless DNA sequence of a human chromosome is a major milestone for genomics research.
- July 14, 2020
CITRIS UCSC funds new pandemic-related research projects
The campus seed funding program is providing $40K grants for three new projects to address the challenges of COVID-19.
- June 18, 2020
Raising a glass (and funds) for research
The father and uncle of the virologist Rebecca DuBois, UC Santa Cruz Cruz associate professor of biomolecular engineering, are honoring and helping to fund her research through sales of their "Going Viral" wine.
- June 18, 2020
Raising a glass (and funds) for research
The father and uncle of the virologist Rebecca DuBois, UC Santa Cruz Cruz associate professor of biomolecular engineering, are honoring and helping to fund her research through sales of their "Going Viral" wine.
- June 05, 2020
UC COVID-19 seed funding supports UCSC coronavirus genome browser
The UC Santa Cruz Genomics Institute’s Genome Browser Team has received UC seed funding for its work on the UCSC Genome Browser for SARS-CoV-2.
- May 14, 2020
COVID Catalyst Fund supports work on rapid serology test at UC Santa Cruz
Biomolecular engineer Nader Pourmand is evaluating the use of a novel nanosensor to provide rapid, low-cost, and accurate serology tests for coronavirus antibodies.
- May 04, 2020
Eleven human genomes sequenced and assembled in nine days
The dawn of good, fast, and cheap human genome assembly has arrived, thanks in part to collaboration and innovation by an international team led by UC Santa Cruz researchers.
- April 23, 2020
Watch UCSC participants talk about hope during TEDx Santa Cruz
Last December, TEDx Santa Cruz hosted a day-long extravaganza of talks curated around the theme of "The Art of Hope." Those talks, including ones by several UCSC affiliates, are now available for online viewing.
- April 03, 2020
Genomics Institute launches landing page for COVID-19 data resources
The browser team at the UC Santa Cruz Genomics Institute has launched a new landing page for resources related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- April 01, 2020
UCSC researchers are taking on the coronavirus challenge on multiple fronts
From developing diagnostic tests to conducting surveys of infection prevalence, campus researchers are doing what they can in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- February 27, 2020
UC Santa Cruz leads collaboration to speed wound healing with a novel smart bandage
With up to $16 million in funding from DARPA, UC Santa Cruz engineers will work with doctors and scientists at UC Davis and Tufts University to develop bioelectronic intelligent control of wound regeneration.
- February 07, 2020
Coronavirus genome posted on the UCSC Genome Browser
The UC Santa Cruz Genomics Institute is facilitating research into the novel coronavirus that has infected thousands of people since an outbreak began in Wuhan, China, last year.
- February 05, 2020
Unprecedented study yields most comprehensive map of cancer genomes to date
Pan-Cancer Project discovers causes of previously unexplained cancers, pin-points cancer-causing events, and zeros in on mechanisms of development.
- January 09, 2020
Better protection from the flu could be on the horizon
Biomolecular engineer Rebecca DuBois is collaborating on a large multi-institutional NIH project to create a universal vaccine for influenza.
