 Dear Colleagues,
Thank you all for your extraordinary efforts as the School and campus transitioned to remote instruction. Let me also convey a special thank you to Matt Martinez and the BioSci computing staff. BioSci is committed to maintaining a safe and supportive work environment, and the changes that have been implemented for the spring quarter are part of the UC system’s efforts to promote “social distancing” to reduce the likelihood of transmitting COVID-19. While all instruction has transition to a remote mode for the quarter, the university will remain open for certain critical research; however, we recommend that all graduate students and research staff limit their time on campus. Circumstances are evolving rapidly, so please check your email often as the campus refines guidelines pertaining to research and instruction.
To help our faculty, staff, and graduate students with the transition to working remotely, we have created a series of dedicated resource pages that can be accessed anytime through the BioSci homepage. Please be sure to check out the new BioSci Remote. And stay tuned for an invitation from me to participate in a big, upbeat, informative and frequent online gathering, the “BioSci Zoom Cafés” coming soon!
For those of you who normally interact with our many undergraduates, it is important to note that these new changes this quarter will greatly impact our student engagement. The dean’s office is working on ways to help facilitate and support student engagement online, and I would like to call upon all of you to reach out and stay engaged with your students to the best of your ability.
The steps we have implemented should help accommodate the needs of our students, staff, and faculty, as well as those in the community who are at a high risk of contracting COVID-19. We understand there may be many questions in the weeks ahead, and are committed to forwarding timely information as we handle this public health emergency. You can also look to the BioSci website for up-to-date information from both the campus and school.
On behalf of the school leadership, I thank you all for your help, patience and understanding during these challenging times.
Sincerely,
Frank M. LaFerla, Ph.D.
Dean and Chancellor's Professor,
UCI School of Biological Sciences
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DISCOVER THE LIVING WORLD
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Putting the "Lazy Eye" to Work
UCI Research Suggests Expanding Amblyopia Treatment Approaches
BioSci neurobiologist Carey Y.L. Huh, Ph.D., Neurobiology and Behavior Associate Professor Sunil P. Gandhi, and colleagues have just found that amblyopia (also known as Lazy Eye) originates in an earlier stage of the visual pathway than was previously thought. Traditionally, scientists have thought amblyopia starts in the brain’s visual cortex, however, Huh and colleagues investigated this accepted belief in rodent models. Their research revealed amblyopia’s impact on binocular vision actually originates in the thalamus, which serves as the information relay station between the eyes and the visual cortex.
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Veggie-Loving Fish Could be the New White Meat
Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Associate Professor Donovan German, researcher Joseph Heras and their colleagues’ study of the genome of an unusual fish offers possibilities to obtain dietary protein as climate change imperils traditional sources. By sequencing and assembling a high-quality genome for the monkeyface prickleback, the team discovered the secret to their unique digestive system. The discovery holds promise for developing new sources of protein for human consumption by helping to understand what to feed new types of dietary fish.
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Starve a Tumor, Feed a Cell: How Cancers Can Resist Drugs
Developmental and Cell Biology Professor Aimee Edinger and researcher Vaishali Jayashankar have discovered that macropinocytosis makes a previously unappreciated contribution to drug-resistance in solid tumors. Their work, published in Nature Communications, may help overcome an obstacle that is a major challenge in the fight against cancer. Many commonly used cancer therapies kill tumors by starving them. These drugs often work at first but lose their activity over time. Macropinocytosis enables cancer cells desperate for nourishment to scoop up dead cell material within a tumor and feed on it. By stopping this scavenging, blocking micropinocytosis may help oncologists treat patients with breast, prostate, and pancreas cancer more effectively.
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Contradicting Prevalent View, UCI Oceanographers Predict Increase in Phytoplankton
Earth System Science and Ecology & Evolutionary Biology Professor Adam Martiny is the senior author on a new study predicting future phytoplankton populations. The study runs counter to the longstanding belief on the impact of global climate change on phytoplankton viability in warmer waters. After analyzing samples from more than 10,000 locations around the world, Martiny and team created a global synthesis of the main phytoplankton groups in warm regions. Using machine learning analysis to determine the current amount of plankton biomass versus the year 2100, they found a big surprise: In many regions, the model predicts an increase of 10 to 20 percent in plankton biomass, rather than a decline.
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UCI BioSci Professor Awarded Donald Bren Title
Professor Leslie M. Thompson, Neurobiology & Behavior and Psychiatry & Human Behavior, has been awarded the title of Donald Bren Professor. The Bren Fellows Program was established to enhance faculty scholarship, research, and creative achievement at UCI. This appointment follows a series of previous honors from the university that included selections as a Chancellor's Fellow in 2014 and Chancellor's Professor in 2018. This is a wonderful accomplishment for Professor Thompson, as the title of Donald Bren Professor has been designated for faculty who have demonstrated exceptional academic merit. Congratulations Professor Thompson!
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Rhoda Peng, Director of Finance
In her new role as Director of Finance at UCI BioSci, Rhoda Peng has broad financial and administrative responsibilities for the development and recommendation of school-wide policies and procedures, coordinates the budget planning and allocation process, and implements management controls for all financial resources of the school. She will also provide leadership, management and direction of the School’s finance team.
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UC Irvine (UCI) Beall Applied Innovation Faculty Innovation Fellows
BioSci Professors Aimee Edinger and Sunil Gandhi were selected as 2020-2021 Faculty Innovation Fellows by UCI Beall Applied Innovation. The Faculty Innovation Fellows program was established to acknowledge faculty who have a record of translating their society-impacting research from the lab towards commercial purposes. Fellows will serve as ambassadors for UCI’s innovation culture; acting as advisors and knowledge experts for entrepreneurs and others within the university. Professors Edinger and Gandhi join 15 other UCI faculty members as the program’s inaugural class.
“Having faculty innovators in individual schools to serve as ambassadors to help connect faculty across the university to Beall Applied Innovation and to each other holds the promise of amplifying the innovation signal way beyond our abilities at Applied Innovation,” said Richard Sudek, UCI chief innovation officer and executive director of Applied Innovation.
Congratulations Professors Edinger and Gandhi!
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BioSci Professor Receives NSF Grant to Support Research and Education
Developmental and Cell Biology Assistant Professor Zeba Wunderlich has recently received a $1M grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to study non-coding DNA. Unlike coding DNA, which holds the directions for how to build proteins, non-coding DNA includes instructions for when, where and how much protein should be built. Professor Wunderlich will work to decipher the rules that govern the function of non-coding DNA in the innate immune response to infection. The work will help shed new light on the role of non-coding DNA in the immune response. The funding will also help support an impact plan to improve quantitative literacy among biology undergraduate and graduate students. Congratulations Professor Wunderlich!
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UCI BioSci Professor is Scientific Lead on New Chan Zuckerberg Award
Christopher Hughes, Ph.D., a Professor in the Departments of Molecular Biology & Biochemistry and Biomedical Engineering, is the Scientific Lead on a new Rare-as-One Network grant awarded to CureHHT by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. CureHHT is a non-profit patient advocacy group for people with the rare vascular disorder Hereditary Hemorrhagic Telangiectasia. The prestigious award will help expand CureHHT’s collaborative network for patients, scientists and physicians. Congratulations Professor Hughes!
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Knowable Magazine Features BioSci Regenerative Biologist
Developmental and Cell Biology Professor David Gardiner was recently featured in Knowable Magazine’s special report on “building bodies.” Knowable Magazine is a California-based publication from Annual Reviews— a nonprofit publisher dedicated to synthesizing and integrating knowledge for the progress of science and the benefit of society. Professor Gardiner was one of several regenerative biologists interviewed for the article, which discussed how he and other scientists have gained insights into limb regeneration by studying salamanders.
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UCI Biologists Spearhead Creation of Microbiome Centers Consortium
The Microbiome Centers Consortium has been launched to advance growth in microbiome research. A primary purpose of the consortium is to help researchers across scientific areas incorporate microbiomes into their work. Ecology & Evolutionary Biology Professor Jennifer Martiny and Molecular Biology & Biochemistry Assistant Professor Katrine Whiteson co-authored a paper in the online journal Nature Microbiology describing the new organization and its mission.
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Why Does Our Memory Decline With Age?
On February 25, Neurobiology and Behavior Professor Craig Stark discussed his research using sophisticated brain imaging and behavioral techniques to study the effects of aging on memory at the Winter 2020 BioSci Dean’s Distinguished Lecture.
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Coronavirus Updates
UCI is closely monitoring the coronavirus (“COVID-19”) situation and associated communications from the county, state and federal authorities. We will continue to provide updates through this website and email communications, and take steps to ensure the health and safety of our community.
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