Category Archives: BioEngineering

The University of California San Siego (UCSD) has formed the San Diego Institute for Materials Discovery and Design, a joint initiative of the Jacobs School of Engineering and Division of Physical Sciences at UCSD. Shirley Meng, Zable Professor of NanoEngineering, will serve as director of the Institute; Michael Sailor, Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry, will serve as co-director.

The institutions goal is to position UC San Diego as the recognized global academic leader in nanoscale and quantum materials design and discovery. The Institute will apply data analytics and machine learning together with rapid materials synthesis and multi-scale characterization in order to accelerate the discovery, design, synthesis and evaluation of novel functional materials. Application areas include energy systems, electronics, information technology, telecommunications, space systems and medicine.

The Institute will build on UC San Diego resources such as the Nano3 Facility and the San Diego Supercomputer Center. In addition, the campus-wide Materials Science and Engineering Graduate Program will be an important part of the Institute.

This program, which is administered by the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (MAE) Department under the leadership of MAE Professor Prabhakar Bandaru, already includes more than 90 participating faculty from the departments of MAE, Structural Engineering, Bioengineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering, NanoEngineering, Physics, Chemistry and Biochemistry, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, as well as the School of Medicine and Division of Biological Sciences.

The San Diego Institute for Materials Discovery and Design will initially focus on several important initiatives, including:

Deployment of Frontier Instrumentation: The Institute will build up a world-class nanoanalytical instrumentation facility, within the Nano3 facilities in Atkinson Hall. The first acquisition is a state-of-the-art Thermo Fisher Scientific Transmission Electron Microscope (Talos F2001 S/TEM) dedicated to materials characterization. Installation of the TEM is expected to be complete by January 2020.

Contributions to Graduate Education: The Institute aims to develop new training and curricula in data analytics and machine learning applied to materials science and engineering as well as nanoanalytical/nanofabrication training associated with the Nano3 facility. The Institute will also work towards establishing new graduate fellowships in materials science through collaboration with industry, foundation and community partners.

Multi-Investigator Grants: As the Institute builds up the campus research instrumentation capability, UC San Diego will be better positioned to compete for large multi-investigator materials research center awards. Several joint proposals are already under development or have been submitted.

Distinguished Seminar Series: The Institute will host a distinguished seminar series aimed at catalyzing new collaborations while raising UC San Diegos national profile and international stature.

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UC San Diego launches Institute for Materials Discovery and Design - Green Car Congress

The Miss Auburn and Miss Auburn Outstanding Teen Scholarship program is the strongest community-based scholarship competition of its kind in the state, according to the program website. An official preliminary to the Miss Washington and Miss America Pageants, this competition boasts of dynamic, talented and intelligent contestants competing for scholarships and the title of Miss Auburn or Miss Auburn Outstanding Teen.

This years class includes eight Miss contestants and 13 Teen contestants. The competition, sponsored by The Auburn Noon Lions Club, is scheduled for Saturday, January 25, 2020, at the Auburn Performing Arts Center.

In addition to crowing the 2020 titleholders, January 25th will be the final time our current title holders, Amanda Enz and Austin Douglas will wear the crown.

The 2020 Miss Auburn class includes young women from Auburn High School, multiple contestants with social impact platforms related to mental health, a Bioengineering Major.

The 2020 Miss candidates are Aaliyah Coley, Cami Werden, Caylee Collins, Katie Storm, Kimberly Santos, Marissa Modestowicz, Natalie Myers and Soleil Lewis.

The 2020 Miss Auburn Outstanding Teen class is equally as well rounded, with contestants from schools all over the Auburn Area. These contestants proudly share platforms related to bullying, self-image and heart health, to name just a few.

The 2020 Teen candidates are Brandi Ridge, Cassidy Collins, Christine Wang, Farrell Sessler, Jasmyn Burger, Jessica Tuggey, Kaitlyn Gallo, Kerry Everett, Madison Lindsey, Medison Zantello, Reilly Mahoney, Rosalinda Tomich, and Taylor-Olsen-Dement.

Like the Miss candidates, the Teen contestants are ready to shine with a variety of talents.

Over the next several weeks we will be introducing these stellar young women to you through individual profiles each contestant has filled out.

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Introducing the 2020 Class of Miss Auburn and Miss Auburn Outstanding Teen... - Auburn Examiner

Heres a batch of fresh news and announcements from across Imperial.

From observations of a distant star-forming galaxy, to a new documentary featuring Imperial bioengineering, here is some quick-read news from across the College.

Astronomers, including some from Imperial, have spotted the light of a massive galaxy seen only 970 million years after the Big Bang. This galaxy, called MAMBO-9, is the most distant dusty star-forming galaxy that has ever been observed without the help of a gravitational lens.

Gravitational lensing is when the light of a galaxy is bent by the mass of a galaxy in front of it, making it easier to find, but distorting the details. Now, ten years after its light was first observed, the team have identified MAMBO-9 as a very dusty star-forming galaxy and determined how far away it is, providing its age. They were also able to measure its mass as ten times more than all the stars in the Milky Way.

Read more from the National Radio Astronomy Observatory.

In a talk delivered to mark Disability History Month, entrepreneur Elizabeth Takyi discussed her late dyslexia diagnosis and how employers can better support those with the learning difference.

Having left a job due to her dyslexia, Elizabeth wondered how many other people had struggled to reach their full potential because of the learning difference. Elizabeth went on to set up Aspire2Inspire Dyslexia, which offers support to dyslexic adults who want to return to education or work.

Elizabeth stressed that dyslexia does not look the same for everyone: "Support should be tailored to the individual, tackling the barriers they feel are affecting them most. Make no assumption about their capabilities, or aspirations."

Imperial Business 2020, Imperial College Business Schools annual magazine, is out now. It looks at the theme of sustainable business, from air pollution to the newly launched sustainability research centre.

It explores the impact of machine learning and how data science can help solve many of the worlds most pressing challenges. Also included are profiles of Professor Maurizio Zollo, the new Head of the Department of Management and Scientific Director of the Leonardo Centre, and Dr Harveen Chugh, entrepreneurship expert and one of Poets & Quants Best 40 Under 40.

The 2020 issue of Imperial Business is available around the Business School, you can also read Imperial Business magazine online.

A new book by Imperials Professor Sir Gordon Conway, Dr Katrin Glatzel, Program Head of the Malabo Montpellier Panel (and Imperial Visiting Researcher), and Dr Ousmane Badiane, Director for Africa at the International Food Policy Research Institute, explores the concept of sustainable intensification (SI) for African farmers.

Food for All in Africa lays out ideas and methods for sustainably transforming Africas agriculture sector and the livelihoods of millions of smallholders, by producing more with less, using fertilisers and pesticides more prudently, adapting to climate change, improving natural capital, adopting new technologies, and building resilience at every stage of the agriculture value chain.

Pick up a copy of Food for All in Africa.

Dr Claire Higginsfrom ImperialsDepartment of Bioengineering, featured in a new BBC4 documentary Secrets of Skin on Sunday 15 December.

The episode included new work from her research group that could inspire re-engineering of stump skin for more comfortable prosthetics using skin from the sole of the foot as a template.

Dr Higgins, who led the new research, said: It was a great experience to work with the BBC and have the opportunity to showcase our work to such a large audience.

Want to be kept up to date on news at Imperial?

Sign up for our free quick-read daily e-newsletter, Imperial Today.

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New galaxy observations and secrets of skin: News from the College | Imperial News - Imperial College London

Dr. Karl Jacob Jr. and Karl Jacob III Early-Career Chair Eun Ji Chung. Photo courtesy of Viterbi Staff.

Eun Ji Chung, USC Viterbis Dr. Karl Jacob Jr. and Karl Jacob III Early-Career Chair and Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, has recently been honored by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES) for her research in nanomedicine and bioengineering.

The IEEE has selected Chung as a NANOMED New Innovator, with the award to be presented at the IEEE International Conference on Nano/Molecular Medicine and Engineering in Gwangju, Korea on 21 24 November. The latest honor recognizes Chungs eminent research activities in the field of nanomedicine and molecular engineering as well as her continuous contribution to the IEEE-NANOMED community.

Meanwhile the BMES will honor Chung with the 2020 Rising Star Junior Faculty Award, to be presented at the BMES Cell and Molecular Bioengineering conference on January 2 6 in Puerto Rico. Chung will be recognized at the conference gala, and will be invited to present at the event. The BMES describes the Rising Star Award as a leading form of recognition of outstanding research in the field of cell and molecular bioengineering.

Chung and her research groupinvestigate molecular design, nanomedicine and tissue engineering to generate biomaterial strategies for clinical applications. A key focus of Chungs labs research involves the design and application of self-assembling, peptide nanoparticles for targeted cardiovascular and cancer treatments, as well as for the treatment of kidney disease.

A faculty member of theUSC Michelson Center for Convergent Bioscience, Chung received her B.A. in Molecular Biology with honors from Scripps College, Claremont, California, and her Ph.D. from the Interdisciplinary Biological Sciences Program and the Department of Biomedical Engineering from Northwestern University.

She was recently named 2019 Orange County Engineering Council Outstanding Young Engineer and a Journal of Materials Chemistry B Emerging Investigator for 2019.

Last year, Chung was awarded the NIH New Innovator Award to develop a new approach to a type of kidney disease, known as autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease, the most commonly inherited kidney disorder.

Chung is a recipient of the SQI-Baxter Early Career Award, the American Heart Association Postdoctoral Fellowship, the Postdoctoral Research Grant from the Chicago Biomedical Consortium, and the K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Award from the NIH. She is a member of the Society for Biomaterials, the BMES, and the American Institute for Chemical Engineers.

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Eun Ji Chung Named as IEEE New Innovator and BMES Rising Star - USC Viterbi School of Engineering

A fully automated algorithm-driven platform can not only design, build and test biochemical pathways to make valuable compounds, it can learn from its mistakes and optimise the process too.1 After the initial setup, the robotic system plans and performs all the experiments without further human participation. The new approach can be used to produce a variety of chemicals using biological engineering.

The prospects of computer scientists working more closely with bioengineers is salivating

Vikramaditya Yadav,University of British Columbia

Materials developed using synthetic biology and bioengineering are important for research, medicine and industry, but biological systems are complex, so many rounds of design, build, test and learn (DBTL) are usually required. The development of biofoundries systems that mimic factories and can produce valuable compounds by making use of biochemical pathways has been an important step towards automating the design, build and test components of the cycle, but there are no examples of automating learning. Now, a US team has created the BioAutomata platform that can do just this.

We empowered a state-of-the-art robotic system for chemical manufacturing and biological experimentation with artificial intelligence (AI) for planning its experiments without human intervention, says Saurabh Sinha of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, US. His colleague Huimin Zhao points out that previous biofoundry efforts focused on one or two components of the DBTL cycle whereas theirs can perform all four. We have demonstrated for the first time that we can close the entire cycle by combining AI and automation, he says. Sinha adds that the system contains an algorithm that can learn and plan new experiments as it goes. We incorporated the learn component in the cycle, where the robotic system learns from its tests and gets ready to repeat the cycle of engineering, he says.

BioAutomata was built using the Illinois Biological Foundry for Advanced Biomanufacturing (iBioFAB), which was developed by Zhaos team in 2014.2 iBioFAB integrates more than 20 instruments with a robotic arm on a large platform and can be used to perform many different biological engineering experiments, Zhao says. The scientists tested their system by optimising the biosynthesis of lycopene, a red food additive and colourant found in tomatoes. Sinha explains that BioAutomatas task was to tune the activities of three genes in the pathway to obtain the desired product. But each of the genes can be tuned to one of many different levels of activity, so theres a huge number of possible combinations.

To explore this large space of possibilities, each of which can be achieved by an experiment that will reveal if its a productive setting, BioAutomata adopts a special algorithm called Bayesian optimisation, Sinha says. Using this algorithm, the new platform evaluated less than 1% of the 13,824 possibilities and was still able to outperform conventional trial-and-error strategies by 77%.

Paul Freemont at Imperial College London, UK, who was not involved in the study, says that the work demonstrates the power of new biofoundry approaches for biosynthetic pathway engineering. By showing the clear advantage of using automated experimental design over random approaches for biosynthetic pathway engineering, it reinforces the emerging roles of biofoundries in synthetic biology.

Vikramaditya Yadav of the University of British Columbia, Canada, adds that the results are an elegant demonstration of how machine learning will drive biosystems optimisation in the future. The closest rival technology is George Churchs Multiplex Automated Genome Engineering, which is also a very successful method, he says.3 The big difference is the elimination of randomness in this work.

The researchers point out that their approach can also be applied to the production of other chemicals. This strategy can be used for engineering of enzymes, pathways and genomes for basic and applied biological research, and for identifying new biological mechanisms or insights, says Zhao.

Yadav believes that there are exciting times ahead. Machine learning is the ultimate differentiator and the prospects of computer scientists working more closely with bioengineers is salivating. We are looking at a new era of targeted, high-precision and high-throughout bioengineering, he says.

Originally posted here:
Robotic system can plan and perform biosynthesis without human intervention - Chemistry World

Five Berkeley faculty members have been named fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), an honor bestowed upon the societys members by their peers.

The five are among 443 members awarded the honor because of their scientifically or socially distinguished efforts to advance science or its applications. Founded in 1848, the AAAS is the worlds largest general scientific society and publisher of Science and five other journals.

The new fellows are:

Rebecca Abergel, assistant professor of nuclear engineering and faculty scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab), for distinguished contributions to heavy element chemistry, particularly applied to the development of new chelation therapies, separation processes, and radionuclide targeted delivery strategies. At Berkeley Lab, she leads the BioActinide Chemistry Group, the Heavy Element Chemistry Program and the Heavy Element Research Laboratory, and she is director of the Glenn T. Seaborg Center.

Roland Brgmann, professor of earth and planetary science, for outstanding contributions to research, teaching, innovation, service to societies and to the public in geodynamics, tectonics, rheology, seismology, geodesy and volcanology. Brgmann is a faculty scientist at Berkeley Lab.

Richard Ivry, professor of psychology, for foundational research on the cognitive processes underlying movement selection, planning, and execution, and the implementation of action in neural structures. He is director of the The Cognition and Action Lab and a member of the Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute.

Michael Manga, professor of earth and planetary science, for many outstanding contributions to geological processes involving fluids in physical volcanology, geodynamics, hydrogeology, and geomorphology, and for service to academe, government, and societies. Manga is the Garniss H. Curtis Endowed Department Chair, a faculty scientist at Berkeley Lab and a member of the Berkeley Seismological Laboratory.

David Schaffer, professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering and of bioengineering, for pioneering contributions to biomolecular engineering, with particular attention to directed evolution to create viruses for the efficient, targeted and safe delivery of gene medicines. He is director of the Berkeley Stem Cell Center, a faculty scientist at Berkeley Lab and a member of the Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute.

The new fellows will be presented with an official certificate and a rosette pin in gold and blue representing science and engineering, respectively on Saturday, Feb. 15, during the 2020 AAAS annual meeting in Seattle, Washington.

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Five Berkeley faculty members elected fellows of the AAAS - UC Berkeley