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Denis Titov - Assistant Adjunct Professor, Nutritional Sciences and Toxicology
Status: Current Term Now Closed Weekly Hours: 12 or more hours Location: On Campus
Aging is the greatest risk factor for numerous chronic conditions such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, and neurodegeneration. Once thought to be an uncontrollable stochastic process due to an accumulation of damage over time, genes and regulatory networks have been discovered that modulate the rate of aging. Supported by data in...
Biological & Health SciencesWinston Tseng - Research Scientist, Public Health
Status: Current Term Now Closed Weekly Hours: to be negotiated Location: On Campus
PROJECT 1.1. The Central Valley towns of Allensworth is partnering with Gadgil Lab and Health Research for Action at UC Berkeley on a research project funded by the Environmental Protection Agency and National Alliance for Water Innovation. This project is about assessing community perspectives on water safety, community education, and...
Biological & Health Sciences Social SciencesWinston Tseng - Research Scientist, Public Health
Status: Current Term Now Closed Weekly Hours: to be negotiated Location: On Campus
The goal of the project is to conduct an evaluation of the Zoosiab program, a community-based prevention and early intervention program that aims to prevent and/or reduce further mental health problems and social isolation among Hmong elders by strengthening sense of community and social engagement, improving both psychological...
Biological & Health Sciences Social SciencesWinston Tseng - Research Scientist, Public Health
Status: Current Term Now Closed Weekly Hours: to be negotiated Location: On Campus
The purpose of the project is to monitor and increase the visibility of Pacific Islander (PI) health disparities and align local health department efforts in the counties of San Francisco, Alameda, and San Mateo to be more inclusive and effective in serving PI communities. The project activities include conducting a...
Biological & Health Sciences Social SciencesWinston Tseng - Research Scientist, Public Health
Status: Current Term Now Closed Weekly Hours: to be negotiated Location: On Campus
This project involves numerous interviews. Its overall purpose is planning further projects to advance the mainstreaming within the public health field, both in schools of public health and among frontline public health practitioners, of recognition that spiritual and religious (S/R) factors are important, and that high-quality skilled attention...
Biological & Health Sciences Social SciencesJack Tseng - Professor, Integrative Biology
Status: Current Term Now Closed Weekly Hours: 6-8 hrs Location: On Campus
The order Carnivora is split into two major groups, feliformia (cats) and caniformia (dogs). Feliformia and caniformia diverged from a basal lineage ~42 million years ago. Because both groups have been evolving independently for millions of years, their musculoskeletal anatomies reflect differences arising both from new adaptation to different environments...
Biological & Health SciencesJack Tseng - Professor, Integrative Biology
Status: Current Term Now Closed Weekly Hours: 3-5 hrs Location: On Campus
During birth, neonatal placental mammals undergo a dramatic physiological change within a relatively short transition time. This environmental and physiological shift is recorded as a short, temporary change in enamel and dentin formation in certain teeth, resulting in a dental feature known as the neonatal line (NNL). Under light microscopy...
Biological & Health SciencesJack Tseng - Professor, Integrative Biology
Status: Current Term Now Closed Weekly Hours: 6-8 hrs Location: On Campus
Studying vertebral measurements and trabeculae's shape and orientation can provide a more comprehensive understanding of how rodent groups adapted to their specific environments and lifestyles. Quantifying the gross morphological variation of each rodent group through vertebral measurements can provide information about weight-bearing capacity, stability, strength, mobility, and flexibility. Additionally...
Biological & Health SciencesJose Pablo Vazquez-Medina - Professor, Integrative Biology
Status: Full- no new appr needed Weekly Hours: to be negotiated Location: On Campus
The objective of this study is to further understand the biology of Peroxiredoxin 6 (Prdx6). Prdx6 is a multi-functional enzyme that expresses glutathione peroxidase (GPx), phospholipase A2 (PLA2), and lysophosphatidylcholine acyltransferase (LPCAT) activities in separate catalytic sites. Prdx6 is implicated in several pathophysiological conditions, including acute lung injury, inflammation...
Biological & Health SciencesJose Pablo Vazquez-Medina - Professor, Integrative Biology
Status: Full- no new appr needed Weekly Hours: 9-11 hrs Location: On Campus
This project seeks to characterize cells isolated from the blubber of northern elephant seal pups during the post-weaning fasting period. Elephant seal pups nurse from their mothers for ~1 month, after which they are abruptly weaned and carry out a terrestrial post-weaning fast for several months prior to...
Biological & Health SciencesJose Pablo Vazquez-Medina - Professor, Integrative Biology
Status: Full- no new appr needed Weekly Hours: to be negotiated Location: On Campus
The focus of this project is to develop tissue culture models to answer mechanistic questions that are relevant to physiological responses during diving and under stress conditions in sea turtles. This project will examine sea turtles’ adaptations to hypoxia by characterizing gene expression and reactive oxygen species generation under differential...
Biological & Health SciencesJose Pablo Vazquez-Medina - Professor, Integrative Biology
Status: Full- no new appr needed Weekly Hours: to be negotiated Location: On Campus
The aim of this project is to examine the impact of acute and chronic glucocorticoids (GC) on marine mammal muscle cells. Environmental and ecological stressors increase the concentration of circulating GC potentially affecting an individual’s behavior, physiology, and fitness. However, the consequences of chronic GC exposure remain elusive in many...
Biological & Health SciencesIan Wang - Professor, Environmental Science, Policy and Management
Status: Full- no new appr needed Weekly Hours: 6-8 hrs Location: On Campus
What makes some groups of animals species rich, while other groups are species poor? This project will examine the diversity of spiny lizards (genus Sceloporus), a group of 100+ described species that range across North and Central America. We will quantify the phenotypic, ecological, and genetic diversity of spiny lizards...
Environmental Issues Biological & Health SciencesIan Wang - Professor, Environmental Science, Policy and Management
Status: Full- no new appr needed Weekly Hours: to be negotiated Location: On Campus
Understanding how phenotypic variation is generated and maintained in natural populations is a fundamental goal in biology. We are studying the evolution of color and other phenotypic traits in Aegean wall lizards (Podarcis erhardii), an island-dwelling lizard native to the Greek Cycladic islands. Our goal is to understand how...
Environmental Issues Biological & Health SciencesIan Wang - Professor, Environmental Science, Policy and Management
Status: Full- no new appr needed Weekly Hours: 6-8 hrs Location: On Campus
Genetic diversity is crucial for adaptation and may be a key factor that shapes species responses to climate change, habitat loss, and other stressors. Recently, the California Conservation Genomics Project (CCGP) has gathered genomic data for over two hundred species across California in order to inform conservation efforts. This dataset...
Environmental Issues Biological & Health SciencesIan Wang - Professor, Environmental Science, Policy and Management
Status: Full- no new appr needed Weekly Hours: to be negotiated Location: On Campus
This research investigates the genetic basis of lizard coloration, which is an ideal trait for studying evolution. Animal coloration is divided into pigments and structural colors. Pigments, often red and yellow, are small particles that directly absorb and reflect light of different colors. Structural colors, often blue, are caused by...
Environmental Issues Biological & Health SciencesNoah Whiteman - Professor, Integrative Biology
Status: Full- no new appr needed Weekly Hours: 3-5 hrs Location: On Campus
Approximately fifty percent of all insect species are herbivorous and together with plants, comprise over half of all named species of life. To feed on a plant, an herbivore must evolve strategies to overcome the chemical defenses (toxins) that plants produce to protect themselves from herbivory. These toxins may inhibit...
Biological & Health SciencesNoah Whiteman - Professor, Integrative Biology
Status: Full- no new appr needed Weekly Hours: 3-5 hrs Location: On Campus
During the evolutionary transition from one feeding guild to another, such as microbe- to plant-feeding, it is hypothesized that behavioral adaptations are among the first to evolve. In insects, changes to the chemosensory systems that determine host preference are necessary, not only for finding an appropriate host, but in...
Biological & Health SciencesNoah Whiteman - Professor, Integrative Biology
Status: Full- no new appr needed Weekly Hours: 6-8 hrs Location: On Campus
NOTE TO APPLICANTS: This project is only open to onboard a previous Whiteman Lab undergraduate researcher who had not been enrolled through URAP. We will not be evaluating new applications for this project at this time.] While much of genetic inheritance occurs via vertical transmission (i.e., from parents to offspring...
Biological & Health SciencesChristine Wildsoet - Professor, Optometry
Status: Full- no new appr needed Weekly Hours: to be negotiated Location: On Campus
Myopia or short-sightedness has become the focus of increasing concern as its prevalence steadily climbs. Figures of around 90% have been recorded for some Asian university student populations and a recent US-based study also reported a dramatic increase in the prevalence of myopia, especially among AfroAmericans. Myopia is...
Biological & Health Sciences Engineering, Design & TechnologiesChristine Wildsoet - Professor, Optometry
Status: Full- no new appr needed Weekly Hours: to be negotiated Location: On Campus
This research has a number of different aspects. One aspect involves collection of optical images of the back of the eye, using an advanced high resolution SD-OCT imagining machine. Initial work will involve images already collected. It will involves working with large amounts of data in excel, using smoothing...
Biological & Health Sciences Engineering, Design & TechnologiesChristine Wildsoet - Professor, Optometry
Status: Full- no new appr needed Weekly Hours: to be negotiated Location: On Campus
Myopia or short-sightedness has become the focus of increasing concern as its prevalence steadily climbs. Figures of around 90% have been recorded for some Asian university student populations and a recent US-based study also reported a dramatic increase in the prevalence of myopia, especially among AfroAmericans. Myopia is...
Biological & Health Sciences Engineering, Design & TechnologiesChristine Wildsoet - Professor, Optometry
Status: Full- no new appr needed Weekly Hours: to be negotiated Location: On Campus
There is increasing interest in the role of sunlight and light exposure in the development of myopia. In this project, we are using a wearable light sensor/activity monitor (Actiwatch), for human subjects. The sensor will record the intensity of light subjects are exposed to, and will allow us to...
Biological & Health Sciences Engineering, Design & TechnologiesCarol Wilson - Research Botanist, University and Jepson Herbaria
Status: Full- no new appr needed Weekly Hours: to be negotiated Location: On Campus
Mistletoes are shrubby, aerial-branch parasites belonging to order Santalales. Most are hemiparasites that obtain water and mineral nutrients and a portion of their carbon from the xylem sap of their host plants. Although they can be forest pathogens, particularly to conifer tree species that are under stress from drought...
Biological & Health SciencesCarol Wilson - Research Botanist, University and Jepson Herbaria
Status: Full- no new appr needed Weekly Hours: to be negotiated Location: On Campus
Carol A. Wilson is conducting research that examines phylogeny, biogeography, endemism, and ecology of a lineage of Iris that mostly occur in a biodiversity hotspot (California Floristic Province). Iris comprise a highly diverse genus of perennials that provide significant food resources including nectar, pollen, arils, and underground structures, as well...
Biological & Health SciencesAshley Wolf - Professor, Public Health
Status: Current Term Now Closed Weekly Hours: 6-8 hrs Location: On Campus
Bacteroidetes is one of the main bacterial groups of the human gut microbiome. Although several reference strains related to species such Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron, Bacteroides fragilis and Phocaicola vulgatus have been investigated and even used as model organisms to understand the gut microbiome, strain level diversity is extensive and remains to...
Biological & Health SciencesAshley Wolf - Professor, Public Health
Status: Current Term Now Closed Weekly Hours: 9-11 hrs Location: On Campus
The gut microbiome is a complex community of microbes that have unique enzymatic capabilities. Some gut bacteria metabolize sialic acids that are found in the diet and/or produced by host cells. We have identified putative genes that encode enzymes responsible for sialic acid metabolism. This project will use cloning...
Biological & Health SciencesAshley Wolf - Professor, Public Health
Status: Current Term Now Closed Weekly Hours: 9-11 hrs Location: On Campus
The composition of the gut microbiome is thought to influence host susceptibility or protection against infectious diseases. Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), the causative agent of tuberculosis disease (TB), is the leading cause of death by an infectious agent worldwide. The literature suggests that Mtb can cause perturbations in the gut microbiota...
Biological & Health SciencesAdam Yala - Professor, Computational Precision Health
Status: Full- no new appr needed Weekly Hours: 12 or more hours Location: On Campus
Contrast-Enhanced Breast MRI is the most sensitive imaging modality for understanding who has breast cancer, what is the extent of the disease and what treatments may be most appropriate. The effectiveness of this modality critically relies on the injection gadolinium contrast which “lights up” lesions on imaging; however, this...
Biological & Health Sciences Digital Humanities and Data ScienceMichael Yartsev - Professor, Bioengineering
Status: Full- no new appr needed Weekly Hours: to be negotiated Location: Off Campus
This project aims at describing the vocal behavior of the Egyptian fruit-bat. This social species of bats is known to emit a diversity of vocalizations in the wild, but its repertoire and vocal behavior still remains to be carefully described. At the Yarstev Lab we are particularly interested in...
Biological & Health Sciences Engineering, Design & TechnologiesMichael Yartsev - Professor, Bioengineering
Status: Full- no new appr needed Weekly Hours: to be negotiated Location: Off Campus
This project aims at describing the vocal behavior of the Egyptian fruit-bat. This social species of bats is known to emit a diversity of vocalizations in the wild, but its repertoire and vocal behavior still remains to be carefully described. At the Yarstev Lab we are particularly interested in...
Biological & Health Sciences Engineering, Design & TechnologiesMichael Yartsev - Professor, Bioengineering
Status: Full- no new appr needed Weekly Hours: 6-8 hrs Location: Off Campus
In Full: High-quality video is an immensely powerful way to track and quantify behavior of animals in an environment. However, the curating and processing of this video is time-consuming and subject to individual bias. This project aims to leverage state of the art tools, primarily, DeepLabCut (see website...
Biological & Health Sciences Engineering, Design & TechnologiesQing Zhou - Professor, Psychology
Status: Full- no new appr needed Weekly Hours: 6-8 hrs Location: On Campus
Project LEAD (Language, Emotion, and Development) is a longitudinal study funded by the National Institute of Health (PIs: Qing Zhou at UC-Berkeley; Yuuko Uchikoshi at UC-Davis). This study aims at investigating the links among bilingual development, executive function, parent-child and teacher-child relationships, and socio-emotional development...
Social Sciences Biological & Health SciencesQing Zhou - Professor, Psychology
Status: Full- no new appr needed Weekly Hours: 3-5 hrs Location: On Campus
Since 2007, our team has been conducting a longitudinal study on socio-emotional and academic development of Chinese American children from immigrant families. The goal of the study is to identify the contextual (e.g., family, school, neighborhood, and culture) and individual (e.g., language, executive function, temperament) risk and protective factors...
Social Sciences Biological & Health SciencesQing Zhou - Professor, Psychology
Status: Full- no new appr needed Weekly Hours: 3-5 hrs Location: On Campus
The research study examines the influence of grandparent involvement in childrearing with Chinese-American preschool-aged children. We collect child behavioral task data, questionnaire data, and parent-child interaction data...
Social Sciences Biological & Health Sciences