Stem Cell Biology & Engineering

The mission of the Center for Stem Cell Biology and Engineering at UC Santa Barbara is to foster an interdisciplinary program of stem cell research and teaching to develop new technologies in the field of regenerative medicine. To accomplish these goals the Center is home to research efforts in three areas: Molecular Mechanisms of stem cell pluripotency, proliferation, and differentiation; Biotechnology and Bioengineering of stem cell fate, sorting and delivery; and Regenerative Medicine to translate discoveries to the clinic. The Center supports training programs for students in stem cell biology and ethics and is heavily involved in outreach to the general public. The Laboratory for Stem Cell Biology and Engineering is a core facility for stem cell research that is made available to both non-profit and for-profit groups at UCSB and beyond.

Affiliated Faculty

Kenneth S. Kosik, M.D.

Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology

Basic mechanisms and disorders of neural plasticity; the role of microRNAs in stem cell differentiation.

Denise J. Montell

Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology

Norbert O. Reich

Chemistry & Biochemistry

Enzymology of enzymes that modify nucleic acids, including bacterial and human epigenetic enzymes with biomedical relevance. Protein engineering, inhibitor design. Drug development. Nanoparticle-based delivery of siRNA, proteins, and drugs into cells (cancer/embryonic stem cell) and animals. Laser-dependent spatio-temporal control of drug targeting.

Chris Richardson

Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology

Human cells constantly repair DNA damage caused by everything from biological processes and chemical insults to CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing reagents. Cells repair DNA by spatially and temporally coordinating the activity of hundreds of individual DNA repair factors. Failure or inability to repair damaged DNA can result in innocuous sequence mutation, or severe consequences like genome instability and cell death. This interplay between DNA damage and repair is intricately linked to organismal biology and plays key roles in embryo development, carcinogenesis, and aging.

Ryan Stowers

Mechanical Engineering

Galen A. Stucky

Chemistry & Biochemistry

Design, synthesis, and characterization of new bioinorganic materials with an emphasis on understanding interface assembly & control of bioprocesses.

Thomas Weimbs

Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology

The Weimbs Lab is centered around two related areas of investigation: Autosomal-dominant polycystic kidney disease and SNAREs and epithelial cell polarity.

Max Wilson

Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology

The Wilson Lab comines tools from Biology, Engineering, and Physics to understand the cell's perceptual field.