UCSF Cell Design Institute

Junior or Assistant Specialist University of California, San Francisco is hiring. Apply now!

WE ARE HIRING! CDI and Lim Lab at UCSF are looking for technicians (pre-PhD level) for a variety of cell engineering and synthetic biology projects. Past trainees have gone on to PhD/MD/careers at great places including UCSF, Harvard, Genentech, UCSD, etc!
Apply here: aprecruit.ucsf.edu/JPF05588

Stevens Lab

I am excited to announce that in March, I will start my lab in the Department of Cancer Biology at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine @pennmedicine.bsky.social @penncancer.bsky.social
stevens.bio

Congratulations to all collaborators and thank you to our funders!

YouTube video by UCSF Cell Design Institute Synthetic organizer cells guide development via spatial and biochemical instructions

Toshi and Coralie engineered synthetic organizer cells that programmably send signals to developing embryos in vitro. They observe highly ordered beating heart like structures, and show how organizer cells can direct sophisticated developmental assemblies!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jp0K...

Synthetic organizer cells guide development via spatial and biochemical instructions Synthetic organizer cells, engineered to spatially self-assemble around stem cells, can be used to create specific morphogen gradients and systematically guide in vitro development.

The latest from Lim Lab at CDI out today in Cell! "Synthetic organizer cells guide development via spatial and biochemical instructions" led by star postdocs Toshi Yamada and Coralie Trentesaux

www.cell.com/cell/abstrac...

bsky.app/profile/cdi-...

Graphic showing photos of the Science study's co-senior authors Scott Zamvil, MD, PhD, Hideho Okada, MD, PhD, and Wendell Lim, PhD in front of a background illustration depicting a genetically engineered T cell. Text below their photos has the publication's citation: Programming tissue-sensing T cells that deliver therapies to the brain. Simic MS, Watchmaker PB et al (2024) Science 386(6726):eadl4237. Illustration reprinted with permission from AAAS.

UCSF scientists have developed a “molecular GPS” system that makes it so that T cells can target and attack brain tumor cells without harming healthy tissue: https://buff.ly/41gMxu0
https://buff.ly/4fSD40p
@cdi-ucsf.bsky.social @ucsfcancer.bsky.social @science.org
#CART #immunotherapy #glioblastoma

Engineered Immune Cells May Be Able to Tame Inflammation A new technology uses engineered T cells that act as immune “referees” to soothe overreacting immune responses. They also can mop up inflammatory molecules without lowering the entire body’s immune sh...

Press about recent paper on UCSF main page, in which @aparentlab.bsky.social chimes in

Engineering synthetic suppressor T cells that execute locally targeted immunoprotective programs Immune homeostasis requires a balance of inflammatory and suppressive activities. To design cells potentially useful for local immune suppression, we engineered conventional CD4+ T cells with syntheti...

In @science.org this week, Reddy, Lim, & colleagues engineer engineer custom #synthetic #suppressor #TCells that produce locally targeted immune suppression. Such cells could be used to protect specific tissues from #CARTCell cross-reactivity without compromising on-target, antitumor activity!

Programming tissue-sensing T cells that deliver therapies to the brain To engineer cells that can specifically target the central nervous system (CNS), we identified extracellular CNS-specific antigens, including components of the CNS extracellular matrix and surface mol...

In @science.org this week, Simic, Watchmaker, Zamvil, Okada, and Lim engineer #TCells specific for #CNS #ECM antigens to deliver payloads selectively to the #brain!

Finally here: #CellSignaling by Wendell A. Lim and Bruce J. Mayer - an excellent and comprehensive resource for researchers, lecturers, and students interested in #SignalTransduction. A perfect Christmas present for self?

Huge congratulations to all authors and thank you to our funders and institutions, including @ucsfcancer.bsky.social @ucsfdc.bsky.social, NIH/NCI, NIH/NINDS, NIH/NIDDK, ARPA-H, Valhalla Foundation, and many others.

YouTube video by UCSF Cell Design Institute Programming tissue-sensing T cells that deliver therapies to the brain

Paper 2 led by Lim Lab postdoc Dr. Milos Simic @drmilossimic.bsky.social and Okada Lab postdoc Payal Watchmaker describes T cells engineered to deliver therapeutic payloads to the brain 🧠 - both for treating cancer and neuroinflammation such as in multiple sclerosis.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0c5...

YouTube video by UCSF Cell Design Institute Engineering synthetic suppressor T cells that execute locally targeted immunoprotective programs

Paper 1 led by recent Lim Lab graduate Dr. Nish Reddy (@nishreddy.bsky.social, now a postdoc in Feng Zhang's lab @broadinstitute.org) involves T cells engineered to home into and suppress inflammation, including in organ transplant models.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3gA...

For our inaugural @bsky.app post – 2 papers and the cover of Science @science.org!!

Dr. Nish Reddy et al. built T cells that suppress inflammation in specific tissues bit.ly/4fX8JxN

Dr. Milos Simic, Dr. Payal Watchmaker et al. built T cells that deliver therapies to the brain bit.ly/4g0I5Ej