408D Stanley Hall, (510) 643-6075, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
http://bisl.berkeley.edu

Research Interests: My lab is developing a low-cost method of MRI called Prepolarized MRI.   This is a radical new architecture for MRI scanners, and uses two pulsed electromagnets rather than the conventional superconducting magnet.  We first polarize the sample with a strong polarizing field and then image in a weak field, called the readout field.   Because the polarizing field has no imaging role, it can be quite inhomogeneous (~20%) so the magnet is simple to manufacture.  Because the readout field is weak, again it is simple to manufacture.  In addition, Prepolarized MRI shows great promise for imaging near metal implants.  We are also initiating new research projects on Magnetic Particle Imaging, which promises 1000-fold improvement in SNR over MRI for stem cell tracking.  And we are working on advanced fMRI pulse sequences that are robust near the air sinuses.   Finally we are developing a pyrolytic graphite foam to improve the field homogeneity inside humans in a conventional MRI scanner.

608B Stanley Hall, (510) 643-5624, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
http://fletchlab.berkeley.edu

Research Interests:

The research in my laboratory combines physical and biological approaches to uncover how simple cells are engineered – and can be re-engineered in the future – to carry out complex tasks. My students and I are currently focused on understanding the physical basis of cell movements and their impact on health through the development of new instruments and techniques. Our work can be divided into three areas:

(1) Cell motility & the actin cytoskeleton: We are investigating actin filament network properties and their role in powering cell crawling through in vitro reconstitution.

(2) Cell mechanics & shape change in disease: We are characterizing mechanical properties of blood cells and movements of single-celled pathogens.

(3) Biophysical tools & medical devices: We are developing biophysical tools, including optical and force microscopy techniques, and biomedical devices, such as microfluidic injectors and assays.

308B Stanley Hall, (510) 666-3396, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
http://herrlab.berkeley.edu

Research Interests: 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 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.

Research includes design and development of 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.

274A Stanley Hall, (510) 643-0787, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
http://kumarlab.berkeley.edu/

Research Interests: Dr. Kumar's research program lies at the interface of molecular and cellular bioengineering, with a specific focus on understanding how cells sense, process, and respond to biophysical inputs from their environment (cellular mechanobiology).  His research group actively investigates molecular biophysical aspects of cellular mechanobiology, including the mechanics and dynamics of the extracellular matrix (ECM), cell-ECM adhesions, and the cytoskeleton, and the role these systems play in microscale tissue engineering, stem cell engineering, and neural tumor biology.

408C Stanley Hall, (510) 642-5855, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
http://biopoets.berkeley.edu

Research Interests: The BioPOETS (Biologically-inspired Photonics & Optofluidic Electronics Technology and Science) group is focusing on quantum nanoplasmonics for in vivo molecular and cellular imaging; microfluidic cellular BASICs (Biological Application Specific Integrated Circuits) for quantitative cell biology; soft-state biological devices for single cell biophysics; nanobiotechnology for molecular diagnostics; BioMEMS and BioPOEMS (Biomolecular Polymeric Opto-Electro Mechanical Systems) for the digitalization of quantitative systems biology, systematic neuroscience, and molecular medicine.

280 Hearst Memorial Mining Building, , This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
http://www.me.berkeley.edu/~liepmann/

Research Interests: I work in the area of BioMEMS, specifically on the application of micro - machined or fabricated devices for the investigation, diagnosis, or cure of medical and biological problems. MEMS devices are revolutionary because their small size (on the order of 10 - 100 microns, with features as small as 10 nanometers) not only reduces the size of current devices but makes entirely new procedures and paradigms possible from distributed micro-sensor systems to new drug delivery systems. Most of my research is focused on micro-fluid dynamics, but this includes design of new fluidic control systems.

Fundamental studies on the fluid mechanics of complex biological fluids in MEMS devices, this project includes work with LLNL on two-phase flows and a project on dielectrophoresis. Development of numerical tools for the design of micro-fluidic systems. Investigation of insect flight and control dynamics (with Michael Dickinson and Andy Packard). Other projects (non-Bio) include development of micro-heat removal devices and a micro-wankel engine.

1700 4th Street, QB3, 415 476 6830, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
http://mqir.ucsf.edu

Research Interests: The global focus of my research is in the area of assessment of the relationship between imaging characteristics and biochemical/ biomechanical/disease state/ disease progression. In particular:

* Quantitative imaging using magnetic resonance, computed tomography and micro computed tomography techniques to study the musculoskeletal system, in particular morphology and function in diseases such as osteoporosis, degenerative joint disease, arthritis, etc.
* Dynamic imaging of load bearing joints, and relationship to biomechanics.
* Image processing and texture analysis of images for tissue characterization.
* Quantitative imaging of multiple sclerosis in the brain using MR and image processing.

274 Hearst Memorial Mining Building, N/A, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Research Interests: The Marriott laboratory investigates the molecular basis of complex biological processes including muscle contraction and cell motility borrowing principles and practices from biophysics, spectroscopy, chemical biology, microscopy and nanobiology. Current interests centre on: multiscale imaging and analysis of biological systems; molecular basis of muscle contraction and motility; development and application of optical techniques to image and manipulate specific proteins within biological systems; development of optical probes for single molecule and super-resolution imaging. 

303 Byers Hall, 415 476 6383, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
http://www.bioengineering.ucsf.edu/faculty-sarah_j_nelson.vp.html

Research Interests: The goal of my research program is to develop MR imaging and spectroscopy techniques that will allow the characterization of specific diseases and quantification of response to therapy in an individual patient through the use of sequential MR examinations. This is necessary because there are still many circumstances where conventional MRI is ambiguous or provides limited information concerning tissue function. Examples are in distinguishing recurrent tumor from necrosis or in identifying the extent of ischemic insult following a stroke or myocardial infarction. Results obtained using MR spectroscopic imaging have indicated that localized spectroscopy may be important for these applications as it can give new information that is valuable in elucidating the nature and spatial extent of regions with abnormal metabolic function. The clinical application of these techniques and integration of the results with data from conventional MRI requires the implementation of new approaches to data acquisition, as well as the development of image and signal processing algorithms for interpretation of the data. These techniques are currently being applied to patient populations with Multiple Sclerosis, brain tumors, and prostate cancer.

320 McLaughlin Hall, (510) 642-5771, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
http://robotics.EECS.berkeley.edu/~sastry

Research Interests: