Life sciences

Manfred Auer
biological imaging expert
Manfred Auer's primary interest lie in multiscale, multimodal imaging of macromolecular machines in their respective cellular context, as well as larger scale, cellular organization in tissues and microbial communities (biofilms). Additional areas of active scientific discovery include the molecular mechanism of hearing, breast cancer pathogenesis and progression mechanisms, organization of bacterial biofilms involved in bioremediation and lignocellulose degradation, as well as organization and degradation of plant cell walls.

Mina Bissell
breast cancer researcher / geneticist
Dr. Bissell is a pioneer in the area of the role of extracellular matrix (ECM) and microenvironment in regulation of tissue-specific function with special emphasis in breast cancer, where she has changed some established paradigms. The concepts she has developed are fundamental to normal tissue morphogenesis and cancer, and the impact of her work is profound.

Judith Campisi
biochemist
Judith Campisi has received international recognition for her contributions to understanding why age is the largest single risk factor for developing a panoply of diseases, ranging from neurodegeneration to cancer. Her highly acclaimed research integrates the genetic, environmental and evolutionary forces that result in aging and age-related diseases, and identifies pathways that can be modified to mitigate basic aging processes.

Priscilla Cooper
biologist
Priscilla Cooper is a leading expert in DNA repair. Her research addresses molecular mechanisms of the DNA damage response processes that are essential for maintaining genomic integrity and stability in human cells. A major focus of her work is on molecular and cellular studies of human genetic disorders involving defects in DNA repair, which also result in cancer predisposition, premature aging and/or severe developmental, neurological and immunological abnormalities.

Sylvain Costes
biophysicist
Sylvain Costes manages the computer modeling effort for the NASA Specialized Center of Research at LBNL, which studies the risks associated with space radiation on human breast tissue. He is also part of the DOE Scientific Focus Area dedicated to understanding the effects on humans from low doses of ionizing radiation. As such, he supervises a bioinformatics lab dedicated to analysis of multi-dimensional microscope images, agent-based modeling and genomic analysis.

Stephen E. Derenzo
physicist
As head of the Department for Radiotracer Research and Imaging Technology, Derenzo has led the search for new heavy scintillators. Currently, he is leading a project focused on the discovery of scintillation detector materials that use automation to increase the rate of synthesis and characterization.

Kenneth Downing
biophysicist
Kenneth has been with LBNL since 1977 and is also a faculty member in the UCB Graduate Group in Comparative Biochemistry. His research is directed toward understanding the processes that drive and regulate various subcellular processes, principally, those that relate to microtubules.

William Jagust
neurologist
William is a clinical neurologist who also serves as the Lab's Deputy Head of the Radiotracer Development & Imaging Technology department. For over three decades he has conducted research using brain imaging (PET and MRI techniques in particular) to investigate brain aging and dementia.

Gary Karpen
biologist
Gary is a senior scientist researching chromosome structure and function, with a special emphasis on how epigenetic mechanisms and genome dynamics impact chromosome inheritance, nuclear architecture, and genome stability. He also serves as the Director of the Life Sciences Division.

Mark LaBarge
biologist
Mark's principle interests are to understand the role of microenvironment in mammary stem cell fate decisions in the contexts of aging and breast cancer.

Bill Moses
physicist
Bill Moses develops instruments for detecting, measuring, and imaging ionizing radiation, primarily for nuclear medical imaging (PET and SPECT). He has expertise both in the individual components (scintillators, photodetectors, and electronics) and systems.

Eva Nogales
structural biologist and biophysicist
Eva's lab is dedicated to gaining mechanistic insight into crucial molecular processes in the life of the eukaryotic cell.