Biological & Life Sciences
Department of
Faculty & Staff
Cancer Biology & Oncology
Investigators: Zhang, Cunha
Cancer is a disease that affects people from all populations and from many different backgrounds. The current pipeline of cancer research at ASDRP seeks to:
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develop new therapeutic options for leukemia, colorectal cancer, and breast cancer
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identify mechanisms of activation, proliferation, metastasis, and immortalization of cancer cells
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engineer new antibody therapeutics to selectively target cancer tissues
Research Areas
Research in the Biology department spans a variety of disciplines in the life sciences as we seek to discover more about the living world around us. Researchers in the Biosciences are currently working on a range of research campaigns from developing therapies for neurodegenerative disease to identifying factors for optimizing crop yields in urban agriculture, and from isolating and sequencing environmental DNA from soil samples to probing mechanisms of cell signaling in cancer cell proliferation.
Microbiology
Investigators: Kaur, Cunha
Studying the universe's smallest organisms can provide clues about the roles that microbes play in local ecology as well as in human disease. Our microbiologists are working on:
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developing antifungal compounds to combat mycotoxin-producing fungi and foodborne illness
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using environmental DNA (eDNA) sequencing techniques to determine species dispersion
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identifying molecular mechanisms of microbe-host communications
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developing next-generation antibiotics to treat bacterial and parasite infections
Environmental Science & Ecology
Investigators: Kaur, Adams, Suresh, Benson
Environmental and ecological research at ASDRP seeks to bring to light the complexity of the planet we live in. Our researchers in environmental science are working on:
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determining impacts of human activity on local ecology and on climate change
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combating destructive forest fires through mitigation strategies
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using environmental DNA (eDNA) to search for species dispersion
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identifying gene flow in wildlife populations and gauge susceptibility to climate change
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optimizing crop yields in urban agriculture to feed underprivileged communities in collaboration with local community gardens
Molecular Neuroscience
Investigators: Jahanikia
Developing new knowledge on how molecular mechanisms affect organism behavior is critical to identifying ways of treating numerous human diseases.
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using genetically engineered model organisms to investigate the progression and prevention of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease
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investigating drug dependence and treatments for Schizophrenia and other psychiatric disorders
Neuroimaging, Bioinformatics; Department Chair
Sahar Jahanikia
Experienced neuroimaging researcher and research data analyst with knowledge in Cognitive Neuroscience, Neuroimaging, Behavioral Sciences, Design Thinking, and Bioinformatics. Extensive experience in designing, collecting, and analyzing state of art neuroimaging studies using all forms of modality (fMRI, NIRS, EEG, Simultaneous EEG-fMRI). Co-author of multiple neuroimaging research papers.
Molecular & Cell Biology
Ankur Gupta
Ankur Gupta serves as the Director of the Biomedical Science Research Cluster, and uses his expertise in molecular and cell biology to better understand the signal transduction pathways that are critical in development of and progression of cancer, including oncogene expression patterns.
Synthetic Biology & Biotechnology
Michael Amadi
Michael Amadi is an experienced life scientist and the co-founder of Jikoro Sciences. At ASDRP, he and his research students are working on a number of high profile biotechnology and synthetic biology research projects, including development of mRNA vaccines for tropical viruses and using metabolomics by mass spectrometry to identify bioactives from natural sources.
Ecology, Evolution, Biodiversity
Avery Kruger
Avery M. Kruger’s lab performs research in the area of environmental biology, ecology, biodiversity, and evolution - using the tools of molecular biology and biotechnology to better understand the ecology of the Bay Area. Further, his research works on issues of environmental remediation and pollution, including attenuating chemical waste and the human environmental footprint.
Cancer Biology & Oncology
Tracy Zhang
Dr. Zhang holds a PhD in Biomedical Sciences from Hong Kong and has also completed two post-doctoral fellowships, one at MD Anderson Medical School (University of Texas) and the University of Connecticut. She has coauthored over twenty peer-reviewed publications in cancer biology and oncology, and is a 10+ year expert in molecular oncology.
Genetics, Microbiology
Prabhjeet Kaur
Professor Kaur's research interests involve using the tools of modern genetics and molecular biology, including PCR/qPCR, Sanger sequencing, and gel electrophoresis, to investigate dispersion of fungal species in the East Bay Area. Her research interests combine sophisticated genetics with ecology and environmental science.
Medicinal Biochemistry
Gayathri Renganathan
Gayathri is an experienced medicinal biochemist interested in pushing forwards the frontiers of molecular medicine. She received her M.Pharm in Pharmaceutical Analysis from Anna University and has several years of experience as a lecturer, and in quality control and in inorganic/analytical biochemistry. The Renganathan research group applies small molecule phytochemistry in a robust drug discovery platform towards understanding the molecular mechanisms of human disease. Additionally, the group uses a variety of biophysical computational tools to understand the interaction of small molecules with their protein targets.The Renganathan research group works on the interface of chemistry and biology, using both experimental and computational techniques to find phytochemicals with clinical potential.
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Marine Biology
Andrew Benson
Andrew is a marine biologist and graduate of San Diego State University and an avid diver and tide pooler. While there, he studied the effects of ocean acidification and warming on Zostera marina and on the seagrass epifauna. Researchers in the Benson group work on a variety of marine biology research areas.
Microbiology
Nardeen Mikhail
Nardeen received her M.S. in microbiology and has several years of teaching and research experience. Her research interests involve understanding the biology, physiology, and life cycle of diverse mycotoxin-producing fungi strains, which are associated with food spoilage. The Mikhail research group is affiliated with the Biomedical Research cluster and performs research in fungal microbiology.
Environmental Studies, Conservation & Ecology
Soumya Suresh
Soumya’s expertise as an environmental scientist ranges from using environmental DNA (eDNA) and genomics for understanding ecological systems and the impact of human activities and forest fires on Northern California forest ecology. Ms. Suresh's Environmental Science groups deal with conservation issues with plants and wildlife. Our groups employ various scientific collection and analysis methods such as molecular biology, field data collection, lab specimen growth and care, and permit application.
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Bioinformatics
Clinton Cunha
Clinton has a Masters in Bioinformatics (University of Guelph) and a Masters of Science in Cellular and Molecular Medicine (University of Ottawa). He also has an Honors Bachelor's degree in Biological Sciences (Carnegie Mellon University). His main areas of focus include Bioinformatics, Data Analysis, Python programming, Biology, Science, Cancer Research and ESL. Professionally, Clinton is a qualified Bioinformatician/Biologist/Instructor and knows how to deal with different types of biological data to derive meaningful relationships using Python, SAS, R and Unix.
Facilities & Instrumentation
Biological Laminar Flow Hoods/Cell Culture Hoods
Our biology research laboratory has four laminar flow hoods, which keep a sterile environment for work with sensitive cell culture or with genetic manipulation.
Pelton & Crane Sterilizing Autoclave
ASDRP has an industrial-grade autoclave used for sterilizing solutions and biological media using ultrahigh pressure (upwards of 300 degrees!) and pressure (over 3,000 torr!)
Jouan IG650 CO2 Incubator
Whether our biologists are growing cells in petri dishes, or keeping a uniform termperature and humidity, this industrial-grade incubator can accomodate it all.
Microscopes
ASDRP has a wide array of professional grade microscopes and microscopy supplies, from cell fixation to a confocal microscope for fluorescent imaging.
Centrifuges & Microcentrifuges
Our biology research laboratory is equipped with eight centrifuges of varying size, power, and speed; centrifuges separate mixtures such as cell lysate on the basis of density.
Hoefer Scientific DNA Fluorometer
Our DNA fluorometer captures fluorescence of nucleic acids and can be used to quantify nucleic acid concentrations in the micromolar range.
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LabLine 5 x Liter Incubated Shaker
One of two incubated shakers in operation in our laboratory, this is used to grow cell culture and to express proteins in up to 5 liters at a time. Shake away!
LC Packings High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC)
Our HPLC is capable of even the most challenging molecular separations, and is fully equipped with a reverse phase C18 column and a built-in UV detector.
BioRad SmartSpec 3000 UV-visible spectrophotometer
One of our six research-grade UV-vis spectrophotometers, this instrument is capable of absorbance spectra readings, time-resolved absorbance kinetics, and quantification of nucleic acids.
BioRad Criterion/Protean SDS-PAGE Station
Our biochemists are often interested in purifying and separating proteins based on molecular weight. SDS-PAGE is a technique for characterizing proteins.
DNA Gel Electrophoresis Station
Gel electrophoresis is used to characterize and separate nucleic acids (and other materials) on the basis of charge, molecular weight, or both.
MilliPore MilliQ Water Purification System
Sometimes, even de-ionized water isn't good enough! Our MilliPore tower generates nuclease-free "Milli-Q" ultrapure water for the most sensitive biological assays.
Bio-Tek MicroQuant 96-Well Plate Reade
One of three microplate readers, our BioTek instrument is capable of high-throughput fluoresence/absorbance screening in biochemical assays of up to 96 samples at once.
MJ Scientific Programmable PCR Thermal Cycler
Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a commonly used technique to amplify particular sequences of DNA. This is one of two thermal cyclers that ASDRP owns.
Bioreagent Stockroom
Our biology laboratory is fully equipped with almost any molecular biology kit imaginable from Qiagen, Zymo, Thermo, Millipore, and Sigma Aldrich.