MicroRNA Control of Embryonic Stem Cell Fate

A team lead by MCDB professor Ken Kosik has made a significant discovery in understanding the way human embryonic stem cells function. New research by CIRM-funded postdoctoral scholar Na Xu, working with UCSB Center for Stem Cell Biology and Engineering Co-Director James Thomson, explain nature's way of controlling whether stem cells will renew, or differentiate to become a brain cell or heart cell, or any other part of the human body. The study is reported in the May 1 issue of the journal Cell. Link UCSB Press Release

UCSB Receives Grant for Training Program in Stem Cell Biology and Engineering

UC Santa Barbara has received a $1.2 million training grant from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) to continue an interdisciplinary training program in stem cell biology and engineering. The three-year grant will make it possible for pre-doctoral and postdoctoral students to participate in groundbreaking research in two broad but interrelated areas: the fundamental molecular biology of stem cell proliferation and differentiation, and bioengineering approaches to develop novel biotechnologies for stem cell research. UCSB Press Release

Steven Fisher Named 2009 ARVO Fellow

MCDB Professor Steven K. Fisher has been elected a Fellow of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO). ARVO was founded in 1928 in Washington, DC, "to encourage and assist research, training, publication, and dissemination of knowledge in vision and ophthalmology", and the ARVO Annual Meeting is the major scientific forum for vision researchers and practitioners to close the knowledge gap about eye diseases and treatment. ARVO membership is multidisciplinary and consists of both clinical and basic researchers.The title of ARVO fellow is an honor that recognizes members for their individual accomplishments, leadership and contributions to the Association. A Fellow's Medal will be presented to Prof. Fisher at the association's annual meeting in May.

UCSB Eye Researchers to Develop Mouse Model of Retinal Disease

UCSB researchers led by MCDB scientist Steven Fisher have been awarded a grant from the Macula Vision Research Foundation to develop a mouse model of the eye disease central serous chorioretinopathy (CSR). In humans with this disease, abnormal fluid accumulation leads to retinal detachment. Recently, a mouse strain was identified that spontaneously develops serous retinal detachment similar to the human disease. Fisher and his collaborators will characterize the cellular and molecular changes occuring in this mouse model of CSR. Understanding the underlying mechanisms may suggest novel approaches to treatment of patients with CSR. (UCSB press release)

MCDB Researchers Show How Vegetables Combat Breast Cancer

MCDB Ph.D. student Olga Azarenko, working with others in the labs of Les Wilson Mary Ann Jordan, discovered that sulforaphane, a chemical present in cruciferous vegetables, has similar effects on breast cancer cells as the commonly used anticancer drug taxol. In a paper published in the December 2008 issue of the journal Carcinogenesis, they show that sulforaphane reduces the rate at which microtubules grow and shrink, and this stabilization of microtubules interferes with cell division in cancer cells. (UCSB press release)

Herb Waite Named 2008 AAAS Fellow

Congratulations to MCDB Professor Herb Waite, who has been honored by election as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science! Herb was recognized for his "fundamental studies of the chemical and physical aspects of biological adhesion leading to new biomimetic materials". Election as a Fellow of AAAS is an honor bestowed upon members by their peers. Fellows are recognized for meritorious efforts to advance science or its applications. (UCSB press release)

Tony DeTomaso

MCDB is pleased to welcome new Assistant Professor Tony DeTomaso from Stanford University's Hopkins Marine station. Dr. De Tomaso received his BS in Biological Sciences from Stanford University in 1987, and his Ph.D. from Washington University (St. Louis). Dr. De Tomaso went on to carry out innovative post-doctoral research with Dr. Irving Weissman at Stanford in a very different area: allorecognition in colonial tunicates. Dr. De Tomaso is currently an independent investigator in the Department of Biology at Stanford University. He heads a large, widely respected and highly productive laboratory at Hopkins that has gained international recognition for its ground-breaking work on the biology of the colonial ascidian Botryllus schlosseri . Dr. De Tomaso's work in Botryllus schlosseri is providing new insights into animal stem cell biology and tissue regeneration.