The Center for Cellular and Biomolecular Machines (CCBM) was recently highlighted in a video at the Biophysical Society (BPS) Annual Meeting in Baltimore. The conference brings together more than 6,000 attendees from all over the world.
CCBM is a National Science Foundation Center of Research Excellence in Science and Technology (NSF-CREST). The center uses an interdisciplinary approach combining physical, biological and engineering methods, and the new video focuses on the center’s efforts in research, education and broadening participation/outreach.
“Through the new video, our center now has greater capacity to share its mission at the national and international levels, as well as with the UC Merced and local community,” said CCBM Executive Director Carrie Kouadio.
Transformative advances in the center’s research areas requiring integrated contributions from many different fields allow the CCBM to leverage the interdisciplinary academic structure at UC Merced to effectively integrate researchers from bioengineering, physics, materials science and engineering, chemistry and chemical biology, mechanical engineering and molecular cell biology. Twenty-five faculty members and more than 50 graduate and undergraduate students are active in the center.
The CCBM’s approach cuts across scientific and engineering methodologies to pursue a fundamental understanding of the structure, dynamics and functioning of multi-scale biomolecular and cellular assemblies; use these fundamental principles for designing and developing novel bio-inspired functioning machines; and develop an integrated, interdisciplinary training program for graduate students, that includes research and training experiences aimed at enhancing career opportunities for underrepresented groups in STEM fields. The center also leads research programs for undergraduates and STEM-focused broadening participation/outreach activities in the Merced area for teachers and students.
