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IN THE NEWS

Boosting 'cellular garbage disposal' can delay the aging process
UCLA Newsroom - May 06, 2013

David Walker, associate professor of Integrative Biology and Physiology, and his colleagues have identified a gene previously implicated in Parkinson's disease that can delay the onset of aging and extend the healthy life span of fruit flies. The research, they say, could have important implications for aging and disease in humans.
UCLA Psychology professor, Robert Bjork, among newest fellows elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
UCLA Newsroom - April 24, 2013

UCLA Psychology Professor, Robert Bjork, is among the newest class of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, one of the nation's oldest and most prestigious honorary societies and independent policy research centers.
Blocking a key protein boosts immune system's ability to clear chronic infection
UCLA Newsroom - April 11, 2013

UCLA scientists have shown that temporarily blocking a protein critical to immune response actually helps the body clear itself of chronic infection. Published in the April 12 edition of the journal Science, the finding suggests new approaches to treating persistent viral infections like HIV and hepatitis C.
Scientists decode genome of painted turtle, revealing clues to extraordinary adaptations
UCLA Newsroom - April 10, 2013

Humans could learn a thing or two from turtles, and scientists who have just sequenced the first turtle genome uncovered clues about how people can benefit from the shelled creatures' remarkable longevity and ability to survive for months without breathing.
Public Tickets Now On Sale for UCLA’s Science & Food Lecture Series
L.A. Magazine - April 2, 2013

Public tickets for the extremely popular, second-annual campus "Science and Food" lecture series, taught by food scientist Amy Rowat,are now available.
Predicting hotspots for future flu outbreaks
UCLA Newsroom - March 13, 2013

Thomas Smith, director of the UCLA Center for Tropical Research and professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, and Trevon Fuller, a postdoctoral researcher at the Center for Tropical Research have developed a technique that allows us to predict sites where human and bird viruses could mix and generate a future pandemic.

UCLA’s Gordon Fain wins Pepose Award from Brandeis Gordon Fain, whose pioneering research employs molecular genetics and physiology to better understand rod and cone phototransduction, will receive the fourth annual Jay Pepose ’75 Award in Vision Sciences from Brandeis University.	UCLA Psychologist selected as a William T. Grant Scholar Adriana Galván, UCLA assistant professor of psychology, has been selected a William T. Grant Scholar by the William T. Grant Foundation. The award is given to exceptional researchers early in their careers. Galván’s laboratory studies brain development in children, adolescents and adults using behavioral and neuroimaging techniques.	The New UCLA La Kretz Center Field Station UCLA's La Kretz Center Field Station opened Tuesday, Jan. 22, in the Santa Monica Mountains, providing a new headquarters and center of operations for the university's La Kretz Center for California Conservation Science.
Science and Food Public Lectures Return Integrative Biology and Physiology Professor Amy Rowat returns with a popular course and tasty presentations featuring Alex Atala, Alice Waters and others. The events, intended to introduce the general public to "food science," are presented in conjunction with Rowat's academic course, "Science and Food: The Physical and Molecular Origins of What We Eat." >>more	Dr. V. Reggie Edgerton is awarded the J. Allyn Taylor International Prize in Medicine Integrative Biology and Physiology Distinguished Professor Dr. V. Reggie Edgerton has won the J. Allyn Taylor International Prize in Medicine for advancing spinal cord research that helps patients with spinal cord injuries and other neuromotor disorders.	The Amazing Regulation of the Human Gene Xinshu (Grace) Xiao, assistant professor at UCLA in the Department of Integrative Biology and Physiology, and winner of a 2010 Research Fellowship Award from the Sloan Foundation, works with the most advanced computation modeling and data technology to analyze the role of alternative gene splicing in medical conditions and diseases.
Why are the elderly more susceptibility to fraud? Shelley E. Taylor, UCLA distinguished professor of Psychology, and graduate student Elizabeth Castle, have found that "older adults seem to be particularly vulnerable to interpersonal solicitations, and their reduced sensitivity to cues related to trust may partially underlie this vulnerability." Listen to this NPR interview.	Elaine Fuchs presents UCLA Mautner Lectures about skin stem cells Feb. 20-21 Elaine V. Fuchs, a National Medal of Science winner and a member of the National Academy of Sciences, will present two free public lectures on campus Feb. 20 and 21 as part of UCLA's 2013 Mautner Memorial Lecture Series.	Life Sciences Undergraduates represent ULCA on Capitol Hill UCLA Life Sciences undergraduates: Rey Martin, Rebecca Andersen, Shivani Thaker, and Joseph Hargan Calvopina, were sent to Washington, D.C. for UC Day, to highlight the importance of developing our next generation of scientists.
Sabeeha Merchant elected to National Academy of Sciences UCLA Biochemistry professor Sabeeha Merchant, a valued contributor to UCLA Life Sciences’ plant research program was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in recognition of her "distinguished and continuing achievements in original research."	Kendra Knudsen Receives 2012 Charles E. Young Humanitarian Award Kendra Knudson, a UCLA undergraduate majoring in psychobiology, was awarded the 2012 Charles E. Young Humanitarian Award for developing the Creative Minds Project at Step Up on Second, a nonprofit organization in Santa Monica that serves people with mental illness.	Making Sense of Our Inner Worlds Shelley Taylor, winner of the 2010 Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Psychological Association, is a founder of three fields in psychology that explore the issues that profoundly affect mental and physical health.
UCLA life scientist, Elissa Hallem, awarded Sloan Research Fellowship Elissa Hallem, assistant professor of Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics, is among 118 scientists and scholars from 54 universities and colleges in the U.S. and Canada to receive a 2011 Sloan Research Fellowship from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.	Prof. James Lake awarded prestigious Darwin Wallace Medal James A. Lake, UCLA Distinguished Professor of Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology and Human Genetics, was awarded the Darwin Wallace Medal for major research advances in evolutionary biology. He received the award on May 24 at the anniversary meeting of the Linnean Society of London.	Professor Steven E. Jacobsen elected to the National Academy of Sciences Steven E. Jacobsen, UCLA professor in the Department of Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology and Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator was elected be a member of The National Academy of Sciences. Election to the Academy is considered one of the highest honors that can be accorded a scientist or engineer.
A Unique Evolution Biologist Robert Wayne and his research team mix old-fashioned detective work and sophisticated technology in their studies of genes in wolves and dogs.	Jeffrey H. Miller, Waging war against the superbug UCLA Today profiles Jeffrey H. Miller, Professor of Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics, cutting-edge scientist and educator, who has been working on what has become a major public health crisis in the United States– the steep rise in drug-resistant infections.	How to Tame a Killer Luisa Iruela-Arispe studies the growth of blood vessels to learn how controlling their development can stop humanity’s most pervasive diseases. "We need to understand the body’s machinery to interfere with it when it goes wrong. We go back and forth between basic science and applied research. That cross-talk is fascinating.", she says.
The Search for Winners and Losers in Biodiversity Evolutionary biologist Michael Alfaro studies why some animal lineages have beaten the odds and diversified into thousands of species, while others are represented by only a few.	What Happens When We Put Feelings into Words? New brain imaging studies by psychologist Matthew Lieberman and colleagues are revealing why verbalizing our feelings makes our sadness, anger, and pain less intense.	Creating a New Defence for Biodiversity Using unique planning and analysis of environmental threats, biologist Thomas Smith creates enlightened new conservation programs in key rainforest regions of the globe.
Examining Life in Exquisite Detail Arnold Berk, who held the UCLA Presidential Chair in Molecular Cell Biology, has spent three decades pursuing the fundamentals of life.	Cutting to the Core of Prejudice Psychologist Phillip Atiba Goff takes a 21st-century approach to exploring the broad social issues that can spur racial prejudice and inequality.