Exploring Science Communication and Education with Professional in Residence Lee Bishop

Lee Bishop, the Biotech and Design Lead at the Lawrence Hall of Science, has built a career bridging the worlds of science, education, and communication. Ahead of his Professional in Residence on March 20th, he shares insights into his role, the challenges of designing educational experiences, and advice for those considering a similar career path.…

A researcher in safety glasses holds up a beaker of yellow fluid.

QB3-Berkeley researchers engineer biological assembly-line enzymes to create new, sustainable products

Scientists are leveraging the modular nature of polyketide synthases (PKSs), or biologically-based, multi-domain enzymes, to design molecules in a way that could revolutionize everything from pharmaceuticals to biofuels. In the world of chemistry, the smallest changes can have profound impacts. Altering even a single carbon atom in a molecule can completely change its function and…

An interview with Professional in Residence Abe Anderson

Abe Anderson, PhD, is a Computational Biology Scientific Associate Director in Precision Medicine at Amgen. He is joining QB3-Berkeley’s Professional in Residence (PIR) program in February 2025 and will be leveraging his background to host a virtual program on career development; trainees are invited to register for this PIR program. Anderson spoke with graduate student…

A group of researchers sits around a table and looks at logos for CTEG.

Meet the Center for Theoretical Evolutionary Genomics

How a small group of scientists has grown into a collaborative community For most graduate students, a 4:00 pm meeting on a Friday is the last place they would choose to be. But if you walk into 4163 VLSB, you’ll see a gathering of graduate students, postdocs, PIs, and other curious scientists listening intently to…

A pair of gloved hands performs RNA sample extraction in the centrifuge.

Science with a story: diverse paths to discovery at UC Berkeley

How unique backgrounds in graduate student and postdoctoral researchers fuel innovation in science. As a child, my world was bound by curiosity, but also by barriers. As a first-generation, low-income Latinx student, I often felt like a fish trapped in a plastic bag—watching the ocean of opportunities just beyond my reach, the thin walls of…

Cuddling prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster). Image courtesy of the Beery Lab at UC Berkeley.

On the same wavelength: Nanosensors reveal neurochemicals in social behavior

An interdisciplinary group of UC Berkeley researchers are exploring the molecular mechanisms of friendship in prairie voles using fluorescent carbon nanotube sensors. From parental care to mating systems, scientists have long relied on mouse models to study the critical biological pathways that underpin social relationships. But this model falls short when it comes to understanding…

QB3-Berkeley hosts symposium on the “One Health” approach

One-day research conference considers the interconnectedness of human and environmental health as well as that of global communities and brings new insights to biosciences research. On a Friday in August, QB3-Berkeley hosted the Bioscience Meeting “Algorithms, Detection, and the ‘One Health’ Approach” at Stanley Hall on UC Berkeley’s campus. Organized by UC Berkeley bioengineering postdoc…

Leveraging Academic Training in Industry: Q&A with Professional in Residence Annie Tsong

On a sunny Friday morning graduate students and postdocs gathered in a conference room in Stanley Hall to have an intimate and frank conversation with Annie Tsong, PhD. Tsong is the chief strategy and product officer at Amyris, a company based in Emeryville, CA, and founded out of UC Berkeley’s Jay Keasling’s lab. She obtained…