2014 CCBS Annual Retreat
Friday, March 28 - Sunday, March 30, 2014
High-school student Kevin Lee selected as 2014 Intel STS Finalist
Congratulations to University High School student Kevin Lee from Ivine on being selected a finalist for the 2014 Intel Science Talent Search (STS) competition for his project entitled "Electromechanical modeling of the heart in moving domains using the phase-field method." Kevin was mentored by UCI professor John Lowengrub (CCBS/Math/BME/ChEMS).
Kevin's project focuses on the development of a new theory of the heartbeat through a system of partial differential equations. Cardiac arrhythmias are the leading cause of death in the industrialized world but are not well-understood due to difficulties in linking the physical beating motion of the heart with the propagation of electric signals, and vice versa.
This work successfully couples the mechanical and electrical dynamics and develops an algorithm that enables much more efficient simulations of the heartbeat than those in use today. The added insights from the model promise to improve our understanding of fatal heart conditions and ultimately aid in their treatment and prevention.
Article of the Month: Noise Attenuation
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This month's featured research paper is the cover article published by Meng Chen, Liming Wang, Chang C. Liu and Qing Nie from UCI in the October issue of ACS Synthetic Biology entitled: "Noise Attenuation in the ON and OFF States of Biological Switches." The paper describes a new theory for attenutating noise in biological systems. In the accompany- ing podcast Professor Nie discusses the paper's findings and impact. |
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News - September 30, 2013
News - August 2013
Interdisciplinary team of CCBS investigators garners collaborative NIH systems biology grant to discover gene regulatory networks of early development.
Center of Excellence for CdLS Research
The Cornelia de Lange Syndrome (CdLS) Foundation recently designated the University of California, Irvine, as a Cornelia de Lange Syndrome Center of Excellence for a second five-year period. This designation recognizes continued excellence and outstanding achievement in research work related to CdLS by five UC Irvine faculty.
"The research overseen by Anne Calof, Ph.D., Arthur Lander, M.D., Ph.D., Thomas Schilling, Ph.D., Kyoko Yokomori, Ph.D., and Ali Mortazavi, Ph.D., continues to further what we know about CdLS and, in turn, brings new hope to families affected by this syndrome," said Marie Malloy, Executive Director of the CdLS Foundation.
Cornelia de Lange Syndrome is a disabling multisystem genetic disease that affects about one in 10,000 children, although recent research suggests that the incidence may be higher. Individuals with CdLS show a wide range of physical and cognitive problems, some of which can be quite severe and can have a profound impact on quality of life and the families of individuals with the disorder.