BBE Welcomes Business Manager Venus Jones
Venus brings 20 years of experience in academic institutions to our team. Most recently, she served as the Center Administrator for the National Center for School Crisis and Bereavement at Children's Hospital, Los Angeles. Before that, she spent a significant portion of her career at both USC and UCLA. She has expertise in managing national programs, handling grants and contracts, navigating university policies and procedures, and overseeing human resources management. In her free time, Venus loves adventure, whether it's hiking in the mountains, traveling to new places, or exploring local eateries to discover a delicious new dish.
Venus can be reached at vjones@caltech.edu, ext 6444
Please Also Welcome
- Ethan Chu, Automation Platform Technician
- Olivia Finney, Cytometry Technician
- Jinjin Guo, Research Scientist
- Noa Hadas, Research Assistant
- Claudia Liu, Molecular Technologies Specialist
- Ivanna Nava, Zebrafish Facility Research Support
- Christina Rolon, Laboratory Support
'OUTWARDS' Features Shelley Diamond in an Animation Short
OUTWORDS is the first-ever national project to record the stories of LGBTQ+ elders across the United States to build community and catalyze social change. Shelley Diamond talks about coming out in the Science Industry.
Welcome Postdocs!
Sangheeta Bhattacharjee - Chan Lab
Vasiliki Bougou - Andersen Lab
Xinyan Chen - Chen/Meyerowitz Labs
Can Li - Bronner Lab
Irene Liao - Nolan Lab
Ling Sheng Loh - Parker Lab
Aditya Nair - Anderson Lab
Ethan Richman - Elowitz Lab
Welcome Postdoc Representative Nina Sharma!
Nina is the new Postdoc representative for BBE, she can be reached at ninadini@caltech.edu, ext. 2807
Please contact Stefany Nielsen, Postdoctoral and Visitor Programs Manager, for questions or additional information regarding BBE Postdocs.
Hosted by the Caltech Bioscience Industrial Partners Program (CBIPP), the annual Caltech Bioscience Industry Day brings together innovative startups, companies and nonprofits in life sciences for meaningful interactions with the Caltech community. This year the event took place on November 14th, 2024!
The Caltech Bioscience Industry Day gives students and postdocs a chance to interact with industry representatives to learn more about career opportunities and facilitate connections between industry and the Caltech bioscience research community.
The Keynote speaker this year was Omar Ishrak, Former Chairman & CEO of Medtronic. Omar Ishrak is a global healthcare and technology thought leader, with a passion for using technology to innovate, invent, and disrupt healthcare. He is recognized as a creative and forward-thinking problem solver — ranking in America's 100 Most Innovative Leaders by Forbes.
Omar served as Chairman and CEO of Medtronic from 2011-2020. In his more than 35 years in healthcare technology companies, Omar has fostered deep relationships with technology partners, healthcare providers, governments, and payers to advance the future of medicine. He speaks often on the global stage about the intersection of healthcare and technology, and the importance of innovation in transforming healthcare to deliver value for all stakeholders.
Farewell Santiago Laparra
After 37 years of Caltech service, Santiago Laparra has retired. He started his career at Caltech in 1987 as a busboy and waiter at the Athenaeum. In 1994, Santiago began working as a dishwasher in the Campbell Lab and soon after was promoted to making bacteria and yeast media into solutions for biochemistry. With his natural knack for lab work, Santiago was soon promoted to Senior Lab Staff and assisted in many BBE and CCE labs. Many professors became dependent on his technical services, but more importantly his dedication to the works success and keeping students, postdocs, and fellow staff happy. The division celebrated Santiago with a Retirement Party on October 30th at the Morgan Library. It was the perfect opportunity to pay homage and wish him well on his retirement endeavors.
BBE Holiday Brunch
The BBE community gathered together in Bechtel Mall on December 13th for another successful Holiday celebration! The brunch included a lovely spread of delicious food catered by L.A. Roots followed by an exciting raffle full of amazing prizes! The Holiday celebration is a wonderful opportunity to unwind and enjoy the company of fellow colleagues in a festive setting to set off the season!
Caltech and JPL Disaster Relief Fund
In response to the wildfire crisis, Caltech and JPL have established a special Disaster Relief Fund to support affected staff, faculty, and students. Every gift to this fund will support individuals whose lives have been interrupted by this tragedy, whether they've lost their homes or are experiencing some other dire situation due to this crisis.
- MORE INFORMATION
- APPLY FOR DISASTER RELIEF
- MAKE A CONTRIBUTION
- EMERGENCY UPDATES
- FIRE INFORMATION AND UPDATES AND RESOURCES
Implementation of Electric Vehicle Charging Fee
To promote sustainable transportation, Caltech has operated 147 electric vehicle charging stations within parking structures on campus. Historically, this service has been free, but to adequately maintain and improve this infrastructure, user charges began on January 1st.
OLAR Rate Changes
OLAR has new rates as of January 1, 2025. They are based on a formal study performed in June 2024 where the actual cost of services provided by OLAR were determined. Due in large part to rising costs for labor, OLAR continues to run at a deficit. The Institute has been absorbing a significant amount of this deficit since rates have not been adjusted since 2022. To offset these rates and ensure that the Institute remains competitive with rates at other similar institutions, the OLAR rates will continue to be partially subsidized by the Provost along with the Divisions and Centers who are utilizing the OLAR services.
The new per diem rate schedule is available HERE
Questions? Please contact OLAR at kchase@caltech.edu
Environmental Health and Safety Update for January 2025
The Environmental Health and Safety Office keeps the campus informed about important updates to its programs, manuals, forms, processes, and practices. This update for January 2025 emphasizes a proactive approach to workplace safety and environmental responsibility.
Caltech Store Resources
Not only is the Caltech store a one stop shop for office supplies and swag, but also offers:
- Custom Department Logos
- Computers & Accessories
- Custom Department Apparel & Gifts and more
Stop by or contact Store Manager, Karyn Seixas at Karyn@caltech.edu for more information.
Leica Laser Microdissection Microscope Demos Available on Campus
Through January 30, 2025
Improve Biomarker Discovery Workflow with Laser Microdissection and Aivia! The Proteome Exploration Laboratory (PEL) and the Biological Imaging Facility (BIF) are hosting the Leica Laser Microdissection Microscope on campus in Beckman Institute, room B131.
Learn how Leica’s Laser Microdissection system will enable you to isolate specific single cells or entire areas of tissue. We move the laser, not the sample, and we use gravity for collection. That is why our LMD systems provide you with perfectly cut, contamination-free, analysis-ready dissectates. With our AI-powered image analysis software, Aivia, you can gain better insights about your sample.
Contact Jon Leet to reservation and to help in mounting your sample for laser microdissection.
Library News
Library Waivers for Caltech Community Affected by Wildfires
If you lost books or other library items due to the wildfires, please email library@caltech.edu about removing the lost items on your library account. You will not be charged for lost items.
Third Thursday Drop-In @ TechHub!
Every Thursday from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm, drop in to the TechHub on the first floor of Caltech Hall for free introductory workshops using their crafting machines. From creating your own stickers to button making and hand sewing a mole plushie, these monthly open drop-ins are your chance to try something new or complete your own creative projects using the TechHub tools with help from the friendly staff.
Kindle Readers for Loan
Stop by Sherman Fairchild to borrow a Kindle for seven days and browse the Kindle titles in the Caltech Library catalog. You also get a $25.00 balance on the Kindle during the loan period to add select titles that may not be in our collection. Learn more about our Kindle borrowing policies here.
Caltech Library on Instagram
Follow the Caltech Library on Instagram for resources, workshops, services, and events—as well as late-breaking announcements, timely celebrations, and content from other libraries, Caltech divisions, and Pasadena institutions. If you'd like some Archives-specific posts, you can also follow the Caltech Archives account, currently chock full of PST ART Crossing Over content.
Kristin Briney specializes in helping scientists navigate information resources and in managing research data. You may contact her at briney@caltech.edu.
Join the monthly BBE Library Newsletter to learn more about Library news, events, and resources.
Michael Elowitz, Carlos Lois, and Lior Pachter Receive NIH Award for Transformative Research
An interdisciplinary team of Caltech researchers has received an NIH Director's Transformative Research Award from the National Institutes of Health's High-Risk, High-Reward Research Program. The grant is part of the NIH Common Fund, which supports high-impact programs across NIH institutes and centers. The Transformative Research Award, established in 2009, promotes cross-cutting, interdisciplinary approaches and is open to individuals and teams of investigators who propose research that could potentially create or challenge existing paradigms.
Co-principal investigators on the award are Michael Elowitz, Roscoe Gilkey Dickinson Professor of Biology and Bioengineering and Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator; Lior Pachter (BS '94), Bren Professor of Computational Biology and Computing and Mathematical Sciences; Carlos Lois, research professor of biology; and Rong Lu of USC. Elowitz, Pachter, and Lois are affiliated faculty members with the Tianqiao and Chrissy Chen Institute for Neuroscience at Caltech.
Bil Clemons Investigates New Approaches to Fighting Bacteria
What if we could use viruses to fight drug-resistant bacteria? On October 23, 2024, structural biologist Bil Clemons, the Arthur and Marian Hanisch Memorial Professor of Biochemistry, explored his lab's work during a Watson Lecture to harness viruses known as phages in the battle against bacterial infections.
In a public talk called "Combating Future Pandemics with Viruses," Clemons explained how he and his research team are deepening their understanding of the methods some phages have evolved to kill bacteria. To prevent a return to the era before penicillin, new strategies for eradicating pathogenic bacteria must be developed, and Clemons believes phages could hold the key. He will also outline how this work can be leveraged for new therapies and new biological tools.
"The reality is that there's lots of pandemics on our horizon," Clemons says. "There are now bacterial infections untreatable by drugs that are killing people at a much higher rate", so that's a problem that I would love to solve. I don't know that we'll do it directly ourselves, but we are working on tools and biological solutions. We really need academics at the frontline to solve these problems, and then support from governments to actually get them into therapies." Watch the lecture on YouTube below.
Caltech Professor Emeritus John Hopfield Wins Nobel Prize in Physics
Caltech professor emeritus John Hopfield has been awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics along with Geoffrey Hinton of the University of Toronto "for foundational discoveries and inventions that enable machine learning with artificial neural networks," according to the award citation. Hopfield, who is currently a professor of molecular biology at Princeton University, served as a professor of chemistry and biology at Caltech from 1980 to 1996 and is currently the Roscoe G. Dickinson Professor of Chemistry and Biology, Emeritus, at Caltech. He and Carver Mead co-founded Caltech's Department of Computation and Neural Systems in 1986.
Decoding the Hidden Signals of Aggression and Arousal in the Brain - Anderson, Liu, Mountoufaris, Nair, Vinograd ("Encoding of female mating dynamics by a hypothalamic line attractor", Nature, August 14, 2024)
New Technique Maps Hundreds of Proteins Simultaneously within Cell Nuclei - Guttman, Blanco, Burr, Ettlin, Guo, Yeh ("ChIP–DIP maps binding of hundreds of proteins to DNA simulta-neously and identifies diverse gene regulatory elements", Nature Genetics, November 25)
New Technology Illustrates Bacterial "Hibernation States" - Newman, Ciemniecki, Horak, ("Mechanistic study of a low-power bacterial maintenance state using high throughput electrochemistry" Cell, November 27)
New Study Demonstrates How Autonomic Neurons Control Digestive Functions - Oka, Gao, Teng, Wang, Yao ("Organ-specific Sympathetic Innervation Defines Visceral Functions", Nature, November 27)
Thinking Slowly: The Paradoxical Slowness of Human Behavior - Meister, Zheng ("The Unbearable Slowness of Being: Why do we live at 10 bits/s?", Neuron, January 22)
How Different Learning Modes May Explain Problem Gambling - O'Doherty, Larsen, Ligaya ("Computational and neural evidence for altered fast and slow learning from losses in problem gambling", Journal of Neuroscience, January 1)
KML Update
KML's 2nd Annual Holiday event was a big hit! Over 100 Caltech and community members had the opportunity to tour KML, indulge in delicious fare, engage in fascinating conversation and have a front row seat to the Newport Beach Christmas Boat Parade! KML plans to make this an annual tradition here and hopes to have more BBE folks join in the future!
KML recently completed their seawater system renovation. The previous seawater system was originally installed in the 1960s with modifications over the years but had significant reliability and efficiency issues. The new system includes new seawater intake pumps on the pier, a brand-new state-of-the-at automated drum filtration system, which is a first of its kind for a marine lab, UV sterilization, and a new seawater reservoir in the tower on the roof. The system provides 24/7 access to filtered seawater to the entire building.
Over the fall, KML hosted numerous educational groups K-12 for field trips and workshops. KML is committed to providing opportunities to local students to see first hand marine research.
If you would like to receive the latest news from KML, please join the mailing list by emailing kml-info@caltech.edu to sign up.
Check out KML's latest NEWSLETTER
Please contact Stephen Ranson with questions regarding KML - sranson@caltech.edu, Ph. (949) 675-2159
Center for Evolutionary Science (CES)
CES 2025 Call for Proposals!
Applications must be submitted to evolution@caltech.edu by February 7, 2025
CES Winter Symposium
February 12, 2025, 1-6:30pm
Mark your calendars for upcoming EVOxZANKOU seminars featuring talks by professors, postdocs and students on evolution-related research they are working on. Lunch by the seminar sponsor, Zankou Chicken, will be served. If you would like to give a talk at an upcoming EVOxZANKOU Seminar, please sign up HERE using your Google Caltech credentials to sign in.
Upcoming EZ Seminars:
March 13, 2025 - Betty Hong, “Odor mortis and the neural basis of olfactory function in Calliphoridae”; Jess Kanwal, “To Flex or Flee?: How Multimodal Sensory Integration Shapes Rove Beetle Interspecies Interactions”
April 10, 2025 - Ben Matthews, University of British Columbia, “Thirsting for blood and then hunting for water: evolution of feeding and egg-laying behavior in Aedes Aegypti mosquitos”
May 8, 2025 - Joani Viliunas, “Evolutionary entrenchment of a myrmecophilous lifestyle: the basis of obligate parasitism in rove beetles”; Martin Tran, “Developmental lineage tracing using high-throughput clonal barcoding with imaging readout"
Stay informed on CES events and activities by subscribing to their email newsletter! Subscribe HERE.
You can also visit the CES website, which has up-to-date information on all CES happenings.
Please contact Leah Bieltvedt, Evolution Center Program Administrator, for additional CES information; lbieltve@caltech.edu, ext. 2684
Green Labs Update
Green Labs has several exciting projects for 2025!
In addition to their monthly meetings and ongoing pilot programs, they are also running our annual Spring Clean Event from January through April. Participating labs simply have to clean their labs and provide before and after photos of their cleanup by midnight on April 30 to greenlabsinfo@caltech.edu. Cleanups can include cleaning/defrosting freezers (or participating in the International Freezer Challenge), organizing or cleaning lab spaces, taking inventory of lab supplies, conducting a waste audit, or other cleanup tasks. All labs that submit photos will be invited to a sustainable lunch party! Prizes will be given for the biggest before and after difference, and for the "weirdest thing found". Green Labs is providing A TON of resources, so be sure to check out this event and RSVP your lab.
Also, don’t forget to get Green Labs Certified! Filling out the Green Labs Certification Form takes less than 30 minutes and has huge benefits. Once Certified, your lab will be awarded a brag-worthy plaque to post outside your lab. Your lab will also gain access to special deals and events, along with free energy-wise stickers for lab equipment, recycling bins, and recycling signage for your lab spaces.
Green Labs is so excited to continue working towards a sustainable Caltech in 2025, and look forward to connecting with even more labs this coming year!
Millard and Muriel Jacobs Genetics and Genomics Laboratory Update
MMJGGL is happy to announce that a Roche LightCycler 480 II Real-Time PCR instrument has been added to the MMJGGL shared equipment pool. The LightCycler is located in Kerckhoff 106A and is available to Caltech researchers free of charge. Please use our Clustermarket booking system to reserve the machine. If you don’t have a Clustermarket account, please contact Igor Antoshechkin to request one.
2025 Merkin Institute Symposium - February 6, 9:00am - 5:00pm - Chen 100
CES - Evolution of Organismal Systems Symposium - February 12, 1:00pm - 6:30pm, Chen 100
Watson Lecture, Rob Phillips - February 26, 7:30pm - 8:30pm - Rob Phillips, Beckman Auditorium
Biosafety Comprehensive Training - March 5, 3:00pm - 5:00pm, Online Training
AI in Biology Symposium - March 20, 9:00am-5:00pm, Chen 100
This quarterly newsletter is intended to be a valuable resource for the Division of BBE that is distributed via the division mailing list. Please email your feedback and ideas to bbenewsletter@caltech.edu.
If you are not a member of the BBE division and wish to be added to the Newsletter mailing list, please contact bbenewsletter@caltech.edu.
Additional Photo Credits: Caltech, Green Labs, Katie Fisher, Stephen Ranson, Renee Soriano, Joan Sullivan
Follow BBE on X for the latest news in the division. @CaltechBBE
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