UC Santa Barbara researchers have discovered Salmonella bacteria that are up to 100 times more capable of causing disease. Their findings may help prevent food poisoning outbreaks that continue to plague public health and the food industry.
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UCSB Researchers Discover Particularly Dangerous Salmonella
Apr 12, 2012
Study by UC Santa Barbara Researchers Suggests That Bacteria Communicate by Sense of Touch
Mar 1, 2012
What if bacteria could talk to each other? What if they had a sense of touch? A new study by researchers at UC Santa Barbara suggests both, and theorizes that such cells may, in fact, need to communicate in order to perform certain functions. The findings appear today in the journal Genes & Development.
Prominent Stem Cell Scientist to join MCDB
Nov 2, 2011
Pete Coffey, an internationally prominent researcher from Britain who works on stem cell biology and the prevention of blindness, will direct UCSB's Center for the Study of Macular Degeneration, and will also work with the university's Center for Stem Cell Biology and Engineering. Both centers are part of UCSB's Neuroscience Research Institute. The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine provided a grant to recruit Coffey, who is currently the director of the London Project to Cure Blindness at the University College of London. "Pete Coffey is not only a boon to UCSB, but to the entire state of California," said Kenneth S. Kosik, co-director of UCSB's Neuroscience Research Institute.
Scientists Make Strides Toward Drug Therapy for Inherited Kidney Disease
Oct 27, 2011
Scientists Make Strides Toward Drug Therapy for Inherited Kidney Disease Research in the laboratory of Thomas Weimbs in MCDB has led to the discovery that patients with an inherited kidney disease may be helped by a drug that is currently available for other uses. The findings are published in this week's issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Nanoparticles Seek and Destroy Glioblastoma in Mice
Oct 3, 2011
MCDB scientist in collaboration with Sanford-Burnham and Salk Institute scientists combine tumor-targeting peptides and nanoparticles to eliminate glioblastoma in a previously untreatable mouse model. In a study published the week of October 3 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA, a team of scientists led by Dr. Ruoslahti, combined a tumor-homing peptide, a cell-killing peptide, and a nanoparticle. When administered to mice with glioblastoma that could not otherwise be treated, this new nanosystem eradicated most tumors in one model and significantly delayed tumor development in another.
Erkki Ruoslahti, M.D., Ph.D., distinguished professor in both Sanford-Burnham’s NCI-designated Cancer Center in La Jolla and the Center for Nanomedicine, a Sanford-Burnham collaboration with the University of California, Santa Barbara.
How Fat and Obesity Cause Diabetes
Aug 14, 2011
Newly diagnosed Type 2 diabetics tend to have one thing in common: obesity. Exactly how diet and obesity trigger diabetes has long been the subject of intense scientific research. A new study led by Jamey D. Marth, director of the Center for Nanomedicine, a collaboration between the University of California, Santa Barbara and Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute (Sanford-Burnham), has revealed a pathway that links high-fat diets to a sequence of molecular events responsible for the onset and severity of diabetes. These findings were published online August 14 in the journal Nature Medicine.
MCDB Establishes Interdisciplinary Emphasis in Pharmacology and Biotechnology within the M.A. Degree
Jul 18, 2011
MCDB is proud to announce the establishment of an Emphasis in Pharmacology and Biotechnology within the M.A. degree. The proposal for the new degree was approved last week by the Graduate Council and Letters and Science Executive Committee. The new interdisciplinary Master's Emphasis is designed to take advantage of the many interdisciplinary opportunities in the fields of pharmacology and biotechnology on the UCSB campus. Students have the option of enrolling in a wide variety of courses offered through three UCSB departments, MCDB, Chemistry and Biochemistry, and Psychology. Additional summer internships in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries, or a thesis projects in an academic setting give students an opportunity to gain experience in the field. Dr. Tanja Stoyan has been appointed as Director of Industry Internships and Relations and will be developing an Industry Internship program within MCDB.
New Drug Target for Kidney Disease Discovered
Apr 26, 2011
Research from the laboratory of Thomas Weimbs in MCDB points to potential new drug therapies for patients with polycystic kidney disease. The findings, implicating the transcription factor STAT3 as a promising drug target, are published in this week's issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Studies of Marine Animals Aim to Help Prevent Rejection of Transplanted Organs
Apr 14, 2011
Studies of the small sea squirt may ultimately help solve the problem of rejection of organ and bone marrow transplants in humans, according to recent work from Professor De Tomaso's laboratory in MCDB.
MCDB Receives Gift from Gary and Sue Wilcox to Support a Graduate Student Within MCDB
Apr 11, 2011
Gary Wilcox is a trustee of The UC Santa Barbara Foundation and currently chairman of the board and CEO of a start-up antiviral drug discovery company, Cocrystal Discovery, Inc. Previously, he was executive vice president of ICOS Corporation in Bothell, Washington, and earlier he co-founded International Genetic Engineering, serving as its chairman, president, and CEO until its merger with XOMA Corporation in 1989. From 1974 until 1984, Wilcox was a professor of microbiology and a member of the Molecular Biology Institute at UCLA. He is the author of more than 70 scientific papers and holds 15 patents.
Sue Wilcox is active in investing and has assisted in several start-up biotechnology companies. She plays a leadership role in various charity and volunteer organizations, while maintaining a single digit golf handicap. She previously served as an adjunct professor of economics at Pepperdine University and worked for Atlantic Richfield Company from 1974 to 1983.
Gary and Sue received their BAs, MAs, and PhDs from UC Santa Barbara. The couple resides in Santa Barbara, California.
"The generous gift from the Wilcox's will stimulate doctoral-level training of outstanding graduate students and will help to build the careers of future scientific leaders", stated Dr. Joel Rothman, Chair of the Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology.
"Education is an essential investment in the future. Our goal for this gift is to allow the best students access to the best education," added Gary Wilcox.