Department News
Invoke Bio wins $100K QB3 mentoring award for precision cancer vaccines
June 17, 2026Biotech startup Invoke Bio won a $100K proof-of-concept award from QB3 after pitching its technology at Bakar Bio Labs on Thursday, June 11, 2026. The live pitch session included founders from six companies selected from the QB3 mentoring program, which helps scientific entrepreneurs shape their companies for investment.
The CEO of Invoke Bio is BISB Ph.D. alumnus Dr. TJ Sears.
Anna Qi and Yotam Voskoboynik awarded Merkin Graduate Fellowships
June 4, 2026Congratulations to BISB PhD students Anna Qi and Yotam Voskoboynik on being awarded Merkin Graduate Fellowships!
Wilfredo Gonzalez-Rivera awarded an Oceanids Fellowship
January 19, 2026Congratulations to Wilfredo Gonzalez-Rivera (BISB PhD student) on being awarded an Oceanids Fellowship!
Wilfredo Gonzalez-Rivera receives ASHG Human Genetics Scholar award
October 15, 2025Congratulations to BISB PhD student Wilfredo Gonzalez-Rivera on being named a 2025 ASHG Human Genetics Scholar!
AI Helps Unravel a Cause of Alzheimer’s Disease and Identify a Therapeutic Candidate
May 7, 2025A new study, published in Cell, found that a gene recently recognized as a biomarker for Alzheimer’s disease is actually a cause of it, due to its previously unknown secondary function. Researchers at the University of California San Diego used artificial intelligence to help both unravel this mystery of Alzheimer’s disease and discover a potential treatment that obstructs the gene’s moonlighting role.
The paper's main PI is BISB Prof. Sheng Zhong, and BISB Ph.D. student Xingzhao Wen is a coauthor.
Dr. Elizabeth Winzeler elected to National Academy of Sciences
May 5, 2025Dr. Elizabeth Winzeler was one of three professors from the University of California, San Diego, and one of 120 academics across the country, to be elected as a member in The National Academy of Sciences, one of the highest honors bestowed on U.S. scientists and engineers.