IN THE NEWS

  • Life Science Professors James A. Lake and Larry Simpson, Elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences
    UCLA Newsroom - April 17, 2012

    James A. Lake, Distinguished professor of Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology and Human Genetics, and Larry Simpson, Professor of Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics are among 220 distinguished scholars, scientists, authors, artists, and business and philanthropic leaders elected today to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in recognition of their outstanding accomplishments.
  • Which Plants Will Survive Droughts, Climate Change?
    Science Daily - April 6, 2012

    Megan Bartlett and Christine Scoffoni, UCLA graduate students in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, working with Lawren Sack, a UCLA professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology recently publish findings that could lead to predictions of which plant species will escape extinction from climate change.
  • UCLA stem cell research may benefit diabetics
    Examiner - March 11, 2012

    Ji Won Shim, a UCLA postdoctoral fellow working with Utpal Banerjee, UCLA Professor and Chairman of the Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology department, recently published a study in Nature Cell Biology showing that insulin and nutrition keep blood stem cells from differentiating into mature blood cells. This finding could benefit diabetics, through its implications for studying inflammatory response and blood development in response to dietary changes in humans.
  • A bird's song may teach us about human speech disorders
    UCLA Newsroom - March 6, 2012

    Stephanie White, a UCLA associate professor of Integrative Biology and Physiology is senior author of a new study that found 2,000 genes expressed in a region of the male zebra finch's brain, that are significantly linked to singing. At least some of these genes are shared by humans, and are likely important for human speech.
  • UCLA scientists identify a cell signaling pathway that regulates blood stem cells in placenta
    UCLA Newsroom - March 1, 2012

    Dr. Hanna Mikkola, UCLA associate professor of Molecular Cell and Developmental Biology, recently led a study that found a specific cell signaling pathway in the placenta that plays a key role in stopping blood stem cells from differentiating into mature blood cells in the placenta. This is critical to ensure proper blood supply for an individual's lifetime.
  • UCLA Life Sciences Assistant Professor awarded prestigious Sloan Research Fellowship
    UCLA Newsroom - February 16, 2012

    John Novembre, an assistant professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology is among 126 scientists and scholars to receive a 2012 Sloan Research Fellowship from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.
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FEATURED FACULTY

Making Sense of Our Inner Worlds
Shelley Taylor, winner of the 2010 Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Psychological Association, is a founder of three fields in psychology that explore the issues that profoundly affect mental and physical health.
Shifting from Pure Theory
John Novembre, UCLA assistant professor of ecology and evolutionary biology, analyzes data to understand patterns of genetic variation in humans, such as the geographic spread of a rare genetic mutation that provides resistance to HIV.
UCLA life scientist, Elissa Hallem, awarded Sloan Research Fellowship
Elissa Hallem, assistant professor of Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics, is among 118 scientists and scholars from 54 universities and colleges in the U.S. and Canada to receive a 2011 Sloan Research Fellowship from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.
Prof. James Lake awarded prestigious Darwin Wallace Medal
James A. Lake, UCLA Distinguished Professor of Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology and Human Genetics, was awarded the Darwin Wallace Medal for major research advances in evolutionary biology. He received the award on May 24 at the anniversary meeting of the Linnean Society of London.
Professor Steven E. Jacobsen elected to the National Academy of Sciences
Steven E. Jacobsen, UCLA professor in the Department of Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology and Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator was elected be a member of The National Academy of Sciences. Election to the Academy is considered one of the highest honors that can be accorded a scientist or engineer.
A Unique Evolution
Biologist Robert Wayne and his research team mix old-fashioned detective work and sophisticated technology in their studies of genes in wolves and dogs.
Jeffrey H. Miller, Waging war against the superbug
UCLA Today profiles Jeffrey H. Miller, Professor of Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics, cutting-edge scientist and educator, who has been working on what has become a major public health crisis in the United States– the steep rise in drug-resistant infections.
How to Tame a Killer
Luisa Iruela-Arispe studies the growth of blood vessels to learn how controlling their development can stop humanity’s most pervasive diseases.
"We need to understand the body’s machinery to interfere with it when it goes wrong. We go back and forth between basic science and applied research. That cross-talk is fascinating.", she says.
The Amazing Regulation of the Human Gene
Xinshu (Grace) Xiao, assistant professor at UCLA in the Department of Integrative Biology and Physiology, and winner of a 2010 Research Fellowship Award from the Sloan Foundation, works with the most advanced computation modeling and data technology to analyze the role of alternative gene splicing in medical conditions and diseases.
The Search for Winners and Losers in Biodiversity
Evolutionary biologist Michael Alfaro studies why some animal lineages have beaten the odds and diversified into thousands of species, while others are represented by only a few.
What Happens When We Put Feelings into Words?
New brain imaging studies by psychologist Matthew Lieberman and colleagues are revealing why verbalizing our feelings makes our sadness, anger, and pain less intense.
Creating a New Defence for Biodiversity
Using unique planning and analysis of environmental threats, biologist Thomas Smith creates enlightened new conservation programs in key rainforest regions of the globe.
Examining Life in Exquisite Detail
Arnold Berk, who held the UCLA Presidential Chair in Molecular Cell Biology, has spent three decades pursuing the fundamentals of life.
Cutting to the Core of Prejudice
Psychologist Phillip Atiba Goff takes a 21st-century approach to exploring the broad social issues that can spur racial prejudice and inequality.