Biosciences News

Eva Nogales, a senior faculty scientist in the Molecular Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging (MBIB) Division, was appointed as a foreign member attached to the Natural Sciences Section of the Royal Academy of Exact, Physical, and Natural Sciences of Spain. The Royal Academy, founded in 1847, is tasked with promoting study and research in the mathematical, physical, chemical, geological, and biological sciences, as well as disseminating the knowledge gained thereby. It is made up of a maximum of 72 permanent members, 144 corresponding members, and supernumerary members and foreign members. Nogales, who is also a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) investigator and professor at UC Berkeley, obtained her bachelor’s degree in physics from the Universidad Autonoma de Madrid in Spain. Her research specialty involves using electron microscopy (EM) and image analysis, as well as biochemical and biophysical assays to gain mechanistic insights into crucial molecular processes in the life of eukaryotic cells.

Researchers from the Baylor College of Medicine employed previously constructed DNA-encoded chemistry technology (DEC-tec) libraries to identify several candidate molecules that could inhibit the action of M^pro, the main protease of SARS-CoV-2. In a recent study, the researchers described CDD-1713, a new inhibitor to the enzyme M^pro that is involved in propagating the virus. The X-ray crystallographic data, which was collected by Banumathi Sankaran in the Molecular Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging Division, allowed the researchers to determine that CDD-1713 inhibits the activity of M^pro by binding in the active site of this enzyme.

Lydia Rachbauer, a postdoctoral researcher at the Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI) in the Biosciences Area’s Biological Systems and Engineering Division was selected for first place and people’s choice prizes in the inaugural Bay Area Research SLAM competition on October 28.  Rachbauer delighted the audience and judges with her three-minute story on utilizing the microbes found in fish guts to convert seaweed into sustainable biofuels. 

On October 25, 2021, the Department of Energy recognized the completion of the Integrative Genomics Building (IGB) with a 2020 Project Management Achievement Award. According to the IGB project management award citation, project managers oversaw the completion of the building ahead of schedule and on budget in a highly competitive construction environment.

Three Biosciences Area members were recently highlighted in the video series, Basics2Breakthroughs, which focuses on early career scientists discussing their research and what they hope for the future in that research.