Funding makes laboratory research possible, which makes discovery possible, which leads to advancing knowledge and treatment options. But the primary job of a top scientist and lab director should not be to write grant proposals at the expense of time spent actually doing research. With that insight in mind, the University of California San Francisco put a system in place 5 years ago called the Resource Allocation Program (RAP). The function of the RAP is to streamline the intramural funding process so that faculty only have to fill out one application for many grants, and then only twice a year on set dates. A recent review of the program shows it to be a success, with a 66% increase in overall applications submitted and approximately a 20% increase in funding awarded in the past year alone.
Tags: CA, University of California San Francisco, biomedical research, 2012 Research Funding, Southwest, California, 2012, San Francisco, Funding, Biotechnology Vendor Showcase, UCSF, Biomedical Research Funding, Mission Bay Campus, UCSF Mission Bay
There is still no magic pill for the two-thirds of Americans who are overweight, but research into the cellular mechanism of fat production is turning up promising avenues for therapeutics that are closer than you might think. We mentioned "good brown fat" in a recent article on hormone research at Harvard. Scientists in the Diabetes Center and the Department of Cell and Tissue Biology at the University of California San Francisco, Parnassus Campus, are also looking at brown fat production as a treatment for obesity.
Tags: University of California San Francisco, cell biology, Diabetes, Southwest, California, San Francisco, Biotechnology Vendor Showcase, BVS
The San Francisco Bay Area is one of the largest, most successful established biotech hubs in the US, thanks in part to the presence of 3 of the world's top universities: UCSF, UC Berkeley, and Stanford. Strong on intellectual capital, the area has been notoriously short of real estate since developers were ordered to stop filling in the Bay back in the 60's. Fortunately, as manufacturing waned, industrial land became available for redevelopment as high-tech R&D lab space, which is how UCSF's Mission Bay campus eventually came to be. Across the Bay to the East, bayfront industrial property is seeing a similar repurposing, with particularly mushroom-like life science growth in the little city of Emeryville, though also in neighboring Berkeley and Richmond.
Tags: CA, University of California San Francisco, University of California Berkeley, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, New research facilities, California, Berkeley, San Francisco, UCSF, new construction, National Lab, UC Berkeley, San Francisco Bay Area, San Francisco East Bay
The San Francisco Biotechnology Vendor Showase™ Event (BVS) at UCSF last Thursday saw sunshine, a wide variety of research products, and a range of exhibiting companies from Airgas Norpac to EMD Millipore Bioscience Division. And then there were the Science Ninjas....
Tags: University of California San Francisco, Southwest, California, San Francisco, Biotechnology Vendor Showcase, UCSF, Mission Bay Campus, science Ninja, BVS
University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) is a standout leader among the world’s health science centers. For over thirty years the institution has taken a holistic approach, combining patient care, health education, and research. Here are four highlights that help distinguish UCSF’s as an outstanding leader for biomedical research.
Tags: University of California San Francisco, biomedical research, California, San Francisco, UCSF, Mission Bay Campus
In 2008, Professor of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology at UCSF, Keith Yamamoto, was asked to participate in a scientific consortium to present a report to Congress. The topic of that report was The New Biology, and it was sponsored by NSF, NIH, and the DOE. The consortium was known formally as the Committee on A New Biology for the 21st Century: Ensuring the United States leads the Coming Biology Revolution. The report was presented to Congress in August, 2009 and is an extraordinarily forward-thinking plan to meet the challenges of supporting the planet in the 21st Century by applying scientific insights. (See press link below.)
Tags: University of California San Francisco, California, San Francisco, Southwest Region, industry news
Radical building for a radical science.
Tags: University of California San Francisco, Stem cell research, California, San Francisco, Southwest Region, Parnassus
The University of California, San Francisco at Mission Bay is currently undergoing over $1 Billion in active facility construction projects. These include the development of the state of the art Neuroscience Laboratory and Clinical Research Building and a new Medical Center building. Construction on the Neuroscience Building began last year and will be completed by 2012. This building's location was strategically planned to facilitate collaboration between physicians, clinical researchers, and scientists.
Tags: University of California San Francisco, California, San Francisco, new construction, Southwest Region, Mission Bay Campus, San Francisco at Mission Bay, San Francisco Bay Area, San Francisco East Bay