Biosciences News

The projects of 13 Biosciences Area scientists and engineers received funding through the FY17 Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) program. The funded projects cover a broad range of topics including the study of microbiomes in relation to their environment, plants, and gut health; catalysis for solar conversion to energy; and genomic expression in tissue. Among them were three projects related to Lab-wide initiatives. Together, these efforts account for 17.5% of the $25.2 million allocated. Lab-wide, a total of 88 projects were selected from a field of 166 proposals.

The Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) is set to receive close to $4.6 million over four years as part of an ongoing federally funded project to create a comprehensive catalog for fundamental genomics research. This work will be part of the National Human Genome Research Institute’s Encyclopedia of DNA Elements ENCODE project.

The new Berkeley Lab grant, awarded at more than $1.1 million per year, will be used to establish the Center for In Vivo Characterization of ENCODE Elements (CIViC). It will be one of five characterization centers tasked with investigating how genomic elements function in vivo. CIViC will be led by principal investigators Len Pennacchio and Axel Visel, senior scientists at Berkeley Lab’s Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology Division. Research scientist Diane Dickel will be the center’s project manager. Read more in the Berkeley Lab News Center.

The groundbreaking for the Integrative Genomics Building (IGB), the future home of the DOE Joint Genome Institute (JGI) and the Systems Biology Knowledgebase (KBase), took place under sunny skies yesterday, January 31, at the former site of the Bevatron particle accelerator. Notables in attendance included Sharlene Weatherwax, associate director of science for Biological and Environmental Research (BER) at DOE Office of Science; Pier Oddone, former Fermilab director and former Berkeley Lab deputy director; and Kimberley Budil, vice president for national laboratories in the University of California Office of the President. To symbolize their future partnership and signify some of the vast and complex communities of microorganisms that provide the foundation for the research that will be conducted in the IGB, JGI Director-Designate Nigel Mouncey and KBase Principal Investigator Adam Arkin mixed soil samples in beaker mugs and toasted to their shared vision for the Biosciences future colocation on the Hill.

JBEI’s iCLEM program offers paid summer science experience to current sophomores and juniors in Alameda, Contra Costa, and San Francisco schools. Selected students will complete a real-world biofuels research project in a state-of-the-art lab, prepare for the college admissions process, and explore STEM careers. Application deadline is March 12. Read more on the JBEI website.

During their annual food drive, JBEI and ABPDU raised food and funds for the Alameda County Community Food Bank. A total of $2514 was raised in monetary contributions for the Virtual Food Drive. A friendly competition was promoted between ABPDU and JBEI’s Divisions to see which group could raise more pounds of food. JBEI’s Operations staff collected the highest number of pounds of food this year. This initiative helped raise awareness of food insecurity of children, adults and seniors in the Alameda County. To learn more about how you can help visit http://www.accfb.org/.