An in-depth look at research by Professor Phil Messersmith, who draws on biology to develop cutting-edge materials for medicine. His lab creates adhesives and therapies designed to work with the human body, offering new ways to repair tissues, heal wounds and treat disease.

Professor Seung-Wuk Lee has pioneered a biomining technique that could be a clean and more sustainable way to mine the rare earth elements essential to modern technology. His lab genetically engineered a harmless virus to act like a “smart sponge” that grabs rare earth metals from water, and, with a gentle change in temperature and…

Professors Paul Adams, Adam Arkin, Patrick Hsu, and Jay Keasling have been recognized in the “2025 Highly Cited Researchers” list, meaning their work ranks in the top 1% of citations for their field and publication year in Clarivate’s Web of Science citation index

Biologists believed that urchin reproduction along the Pacific Coast would only be affected by marine heat waves at lethal ocean temperatures, a new study conducted by IB Assistant Professor Daniel Okamoto and other marine biologists at UC Berkeley suggests that this threshold of susceptibility, for urchins and other marine species, may be at lower temperatures than previously thought. Read the full article here.

The origins of ever-evolving life are never sufficiently explained; innovations in the complex origins of life are continually being expanded into new horizons. Join Wonderfest’s guest speaker, Distinguished IB Professor and Director of the University of California Museum of Paleontology, Dr. Charles Marshall, on November 18, 2025, as he explores the integral role of energy and information in the past, present, and future of life on Earth. Read the full article here.

Michael Chamberlin

Associate Professor of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Structural Biology Evan Miller was selected as one of 16 Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Supplemental Grant recipients for 2025. This award, from the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation, provides funds to support Miller's research project "A Generalizable Method to Improve the Brightness of Long-Wavelength Fluorophores". Read more about the award and 2025 recipients here. 

A team led by Professors Kevin Healy and Niren Murthy have developed a microfluidic heart-on-a-chip, with which they were able to discover a lipid nanoparticle that could penetrate the dense heart muscle and efficiently deliver its cargo of therapeutic mRNA into heart muscle cells. This new drug delivery method and testing platform may pave the way to new cardiac treatments.

Adjunct Professor Taner Sen and his colleagues at the USDA and beyond have assembled and annotated the genomes of 33 wild and domesticated oat lines, along with an atlas of gene expression across in 23 of these lines, which will enable future efforts to even more hardy and productive strains of the popular grain.

Assistant Professor Victor Ortega-Jiménez and his lab have discovered that jumping entomopathogenic nematodes can be electrostatically attracted by the natural electric fields of the flying insects, thus increasing the effectiveness attachment to distant hosts and likelihood of infection. Read more...

Carina Galicia has received the College of Letters & Science Staff Achievement Award for 2024-2025. Read more here. 

Professor (Affiliated) of Cell Biology, Development and Physiology Daniel Fletcher has been elected to the National Academy of Medicine (NAM). Fletcher was recognized "For the development of mobile phone-based microscopy to diagnose infectious diseases in developing countries, and for contributions to the mechanistic understanding of biological self-assembly and mechanotransduction." Read more in the National Academy of Medicine press release. 

BioE alumnus Connor Tou (B.S. 2020) has been named a 2025 STAT Wunderkind by by STAT News - an award that honors early-career scientists whose creativity and perseverance are helping to reshape biomedical research and health care.

Carina Galicia, Director of Administration and Operations for MCB and Biosciences Divisional Services, has received the College of Letters & Science Staff Achievement Award for 2024-2025. This award recognizes staff who have demonstarted an outstanding commitment to Berkeley's shared mission of  teaching, research and public service. Galicia and other award recipients will be honored at an awards ceremony on November 4, 2025. 
 

Professor Dan Fletcher has been elected to the National Academy of Medicine for his contributions to the mechanistic understanding of biological self-assembly and mechanotransduction, and his work developing mobile phone-based microscopy for remote diagnosis of infectious diseases. Election to the academy is considered one of the highest honors in the fields of health and medicine.

Welcome to MCB's newest faculty member, Thomas Mann, who will join us as an assistant professor of Immunology and Molecular Medicine (IMM) on January 1, 2026. The Mann Lab will study how post-translational signaling is intertwined with differentiation in CD8 T cells. Using genetics, proteomics, and mouse models of cancer and viral infection, the lab will dissect signaling pathways to identify new targets for immunotherapy.
 

Research by IB's Adjunct Assistant Professor Juan Liu on a newly discovered fossil fish is being used to reshape the origin story of freshwater fish evolution. Read more in the Berkeley News article here. 

We are excited to announce the recipients of our annual MCB Outstanding Postdoc Awards! Each year, the department honors postdocs for excellence in research, leadership, and service. 

 

Erin Doherty (Doudna Lab) discovered a new role for cyclic nucleotides in immune signaling, revealing how cells use a novel toxin–antitoxin system to protect against viral anti-defense.
 

To combat the disparaging numbers of marginalized students opting out of pursuing STEM careers, a study was conducted by several IB researchers, including Jennifer Imamura, Tamara Mau, Joshua Povich, Timothy Herrlinger, Julianne M. Winters, and other collaborators. The research aims to address the growing concerns of equity and inclusion in academic and professional fields by creating and implementing the Faculty Optimizes Student Success (FLOSS) program, which relies on the feedback and cooperation of faculty members to foster an inclusive learning environment where students can become better equipped for their professional goals. Read the full article here.

Genomic research on the Turkana of northwestern Kenya, led by IB’s Julien Ayrole and Vanderbilt University’s Amanda Lea, in collaboration with Kenyan researchers and the Turkana community, reveals genetic adaptations developed for surviving the scorching and unforgiving desert conditions through an animal-based diet. The research concludes that the existence of these genetic adaptations may predispose individuals from the Turkana community to chronic diseases as the community transitions from pastoralist lifestyles to urban cities. Read the full Berkeley News article here.