Research shines a light on development of the visual cortex during the critical period after birth

  Scientists have long researched the interplay of how nature (genetics) and nurture (sensory experience following birth) shape our brains and make us who we are. In early brain development, environmental stimuli are considered indispensable for the healthy development of many brain regions executing functions essential for the organism’s survival. This formative period addresses the…

Seek and (don’t) destroy

UC Berkeley research strives to understand the cell’s complex recycling program and how we can use it to treat diseases. Our bodies are composed of trillions of cells—each one equipped with a microscopic recycling center known as the ubiquitin-proteasome system, or UPS. When proteins inside the cell need to be removed, the UPS recognizes, marks,…

Chan Zuckerberg Biohub awards $9 million to QB3-Berkeley faculty members

The Chan Zuckerberg Biohub announced today (Jan. 11) the second cohort of scientists to be named CZ Biohub Investigators, 21 of whom are UC Berkeley faculty members. Of these 21 Berkeley faculty members, nine are QB3-Berkeley faculty affiliates. The investigator competition, open to faculty members at Stanford University, UC San Francisco and Berkeley, awards $1 million…

An Interview with Elise Kikis: Balancing Teaching and Research at a Liberal Arts College

Elise Kikis, PhD, is a professor of biology and chair of the biology department at the University of the South (Sewanee). Kikis is joining the QB3-Berkeley Professionals in Residence (PIR) program on January 12th and 20th. UC Berkeley and Lawrence Berkeley Lab graduate students and postdocs may register for Kikis’ events here. Kikis spoke with…

A group of students sits in an auditorium listening to a lecture.

New Berkeley pedagogy course introduces the science of teaching

Research shows that certain teaching practices improve learning and reduce inequities. Graduate student Eva Gerber explores how one UC Berkeley department is bringing these crucial findings from education journals into classrooms. By the time that Danielle Spitzer, a fifth-year graduate student in the department of Molecular and Cell Biology (MCB), attended her departmental first-time Graduate…

QB3 workforce development programs receive $5 million state funding boost

The State of California allotted $20 million in this year’s budget to QB3 and its sibling California Institutes for Science and Innovation to plan and implement programs to strengthen and grow the workforce. QB3 will use its share — $5 million over five years — to provide students with training in advanced biotechnology, and to…

Image of the Arc Institute building at sunset

UC Berkeley partners with new Arc Institute to tackle complex diseases

UC Berkeley is partnering with UC San Francisco and Stanford University as founding scientific members of a new institute that aims to accelerate breakthroughs in complex diseases. The Arc Institute was officially launched today (Dec. 15) with the goal of developing a new model for collaborative research that brings together world-class research with unconstrained funding…

Lost in translation

Graduate student Leah Gulyas explores how one tiny coronavirus protein blockades host cells—and how a few simple changes can flip the script. Mission control! Mission control! Do you read me? While these lines might first bring to mind a movie scene of astronauts frantically trying to contact their home base following a disastrous event in…