Bioengineering
At UC Berkeley’s Department of Bioengineering, we pursue research and educational programs at the intersection of engineering, biology and medicine, equipping students with unique skills to make the world a healthier, more sustainable and more equitable place. Our research and educational programs open new areas of scientific inquiry, drive transformational technologies and foster a community that trains and motivates the next generation of bioengineers. In addition to B.S. and MEng degrees, we offer Ph.D. and Master of Translational Medicine joint degrees in partnership with UCSF.
Did you know?
Innovative research at Berkeley Bioengineering is improving disease detection and treatment, and helping to improve people’s health and well-being. Examples of this work include:
- Creating a new generation of micro- and nanotechnologies to diagnose disease and make measurements on single cells.
- Reprogramming microbes to mass-produce lifesaving medications.
- Engineering microchip-sized organs for disease modeling and drug screening.
- Developing sophisticated new materials inspired by nature.
- Exploring how individual molecules and cells convert mechanical forces into chemical reactions
- Harnessing stem cells to treat incurable diseases
Career Honors
Damaris J. Cruz Alvarado
B.S.’27, BioE
What can the only flying mammal
teach us about the brain?
Professor Michael Yartsev has a unique flight room where he studies the neural circuitry of Egyptian fruit bats, yielding fascinating insights into the capabilities of the mammalian brain— including navigation, communication and language. What researchers have discovered is helping them understand how brains process complex group social behavior. It has also challenged our understanding of diseases like Alzheimer’s and may be translated into computational algorithms for navigation systems in driverless cars.
Understanding aging through
the study of blood
What if conditions like Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and arthritis could be delayed or even reversed? That’s a question that Irina Conboy, professor of bioengineering, has been researching for the last 20 years. Describing her work as “developing solutions to keep humanity healthier and younger for additional decades,” Conboy is studying the role blood plays in the aging process and its connection to such seemingly distinct diseases as dementia and certain cancer.
