A major focus of our lab is engineering innovation for analysis of complex biological systems — as is required to address questions important to both fundamental biological systems and applied clinical research. We employ a combination of approaches drawn from bioengineering, chemical engineering, mechanical engineering, and electrical engineering with strong foundations in biology, materials science, and analytical chemistry. In essence, we strive to advance the “mathematization” of biology & medicine.
We are part of the UC Berkeley Department of Bioengineering and the UC Berkeley/UCSF Graduate Group in Bioengineering. A primary focus of our research is in tools to push the frontier of single-cell biology. To accomplish this, we design and create instrumentation that exploits scale-dependent physics and chemistry. Our work accelerates development of bioanalytical methods, streamlines sample preparation strategies, improves biomarker validation studies, and advances clinical diagnostics.
Affiliations: QB3: The California Institute of Quantitative Biosciences, The Chan Zuckerberg Biohub, The Berkeley Stem Cell Center, Jacobs Institute of Design Innovation, and The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
Graduate student researchers join us from a variety of UC Berkeley & UCSF Graduate Programs: Bioengineering, Chemical Biology, and Applied Science & Technology, as well as various engineering & chemistry programs.
News
- Congratulations to Nazibul & Yang on our paper “Electromigration of Charged Analytes Through Immiscible Fluids in Multiphasic Electrophoresis” accepted at the journal Electrophoresis.
- Trinh wins Best Paper Award at MicroTAS 2024 for “scBlot-seq: A Multi-modal, same-cell assay for chromatin accessibility and protein immunoblotting”, with co-authors Anna, Amy, and alumna Ali Su.
- “How to Build the Virtual Cell with Artificial Intelligence: Priorities and Opportunities” co-authored with CZI colleagues is now available on arXiv.org.
- Prof. Herr presents research talk at the 2024 Chicago BioEngineering Conference (CBEC) convened by the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub Chicago.
- Prof. Herr delivers the Harry G. Day Lecture in the Department of Chemistry at Indiana University.
- Anna to present “Integrating scATAC-seq with imaging modalities via magnetic-based deterministic barcoding” and Trinh to present “scBlot-seq: A Multi-modal, same-cell assay for chromatin accessibility and protein immunoblotting” at MicroTAS 2024 in Montreal.
- Our study “ContactBlot: Microfluidic Control and Measurement of Cell-Cell Contact State to Assess Contact-Inhibited ERK Signaling” is just accepted to Analytical Chemistry. Congrats postdoc alumna Yizhe Zhang and team from University of Tokyo!
- Our Review paper entitled “Microfluidics for macrofluidics: addressing marine-ecosystem challenges in an era of climate change” was just accepted to the Royal Society of Chemistry journal Lab on a Chip. Congratulations Fangchen & Cyril!
- Additional congrats to Iyla for winning a 2-year PhD T32 Fellowship from the NIH Biology and Biotechnology of Cell and Gene Therapy (Berkeley Stem Cell Center & QB3).
- Congrats to new doctoral student Iyla Rossi for being awarded UC Berkeley’s prestigious Chancellor’s Fellowship for Graduate Study, a 1-year fellowship to recognize cumulative academic achievement and support achievement during early PhD studies. Great start, Iyla!
- Congratulations to doctoral student Maya for being recognized by the UC Berkeley/UCSF Bioengineering Graduate Program’s Service and DEIB Award for individuals “who go above and beyond to improve the program’s climate for current and future students”. Thank you, Maya.
- Our Liu & Herr paper entitled “DropBlot: single-cell western blotting of chemically fixed cancer cells” was just accepted to Nature Communications. Congratulations, Prof. Liu!
- Postdoctoral scholar Nazibul submits our manuscript with Prof. Yang Lui entitled “Electromigration of Charged Analytes Through Immiscible Fluids in Multiphasic Electrophoresis” for peer review.
- Professor Herr presents to the NASEM Board on Life Sciences regarding Competing Responsibilities of Life Sciences and Biotechnology Research and Development, and roles & responsibilities of alternative research organizations like the CZ Biohub Network.
- Congratulations to Maya for passing her Qualifying Exam in the joint Bioengineering program with UCSF.
- Just accepted to Analytical Chemistry: “Reducing Cathodic Drift during Isoelectric Focusing Using Microscale Immobilized pH Gradient Gels” co-authored with alumna Gabi Lomeli, Ph.D..
- Our study “Contact-Inhibited ERK Signaling is Determined by Cellular-Resolution Western Blotting” authored by postdoc alumna Yizhe Zhang, Ph.D. and collaborators at the University of Tokyo Prof. Isao Naguro and Hiroki Ryuno is posted to bioRxiv and submitted for peer review.