Fatty liver disease (or steatohepatis) is often associated with excessive alcohol intake or obesity, but also has other causes such as metabolic deficiencies including insulin resistance and diabetes. The causation of a fatty liver results from triglyceride fat accumulation in vacuoles of the liver cells resulting in decreased liver function, and possibly leading to cirrhosis or hepatic cancer. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) represents a spectrum of disease occurring in the absence of alcohol abuse. There is a clinical need for a simple test to identify individuals with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in the population. While circulating lipids have been used for this purpose, the large number of analytes within the human lipidome makes it cumbersome to utilize this approach for high throughput screening.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder with prenatal and early postnatal biological onset. Genetic factors contribute to the predisposition and development of ASD with estimated heritability rates of 50-83%. Large-scale genetic studies have implicated several hundred risk (rASD) genes that appear to be associated with many different pathways, cell processes, and neurodevelopmental stages. This highly heterogeneous genetic landscape has raised challenges in elucidating the biological mechanisms involved in the disorder. While rigorous proof remains lacking, current evidence suggests that rASD genes fall into networks and biological processes that modulate one or more critical stages of prenatal and early postnatal brain development, including neuronal proliferation, migration, neurite growth, synapse formation and function. However, these insights are mostly gained from focused studies on single rASD genes or based on transcriptome data of non-ASD brains, leaving an incomplete picture of rASD-induced molecular changes at the individual level and relationships with early-age clinical heterogeneity.

Researchers led by Tzung Hsiai from the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA have developed a way to visualize moving objects using virtual reality.

UCLA researchers in the Department of Radiological Sciences have invented a novel interactive tool that can rapidly focus and zoom on a large number of images using eye tracking technology.

UCLA researchers in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry have developed a novel method for high protein expression levels, in situ, involving RNA-based therapeutics.

UCLA researchers in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery have developed an implant system for bone fracture in the mouse femur as a model of intramembranous bone healing.

Researchers at the UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior have developed magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) functionalized with deoxyglucose that can be used as tissue-specific contrast agents for MRI. These novel MNPs can help physicians and researchers to differentiate neoplastic, epileptic, parkinsonian, or Alzheimer tissues from normal tissue based on the metabolic activity of the tissue.

Researchers at the University of California have developed a protocol to enable the reuse of MEA probes.  Using this protocol, the MEA probes can be carefully peeled off undamaged from a protective layer, cleaned with ethanol and stored for re-use.  In addition, at each reuse the measured electrode impedances remain within the normal range set by the manufacturer for every channel and the probes may be reused up to six times.  This protocol is an improvement over the existing published protocols in that (1) these particular MEA electrodes are available commercially in a variety of configurations; (2) the MEA can be reused a number of times in order to record EEG in freely moving mice. Fig. 2 Setup of MEA EEG that allowed for enhanced reusability.

UCLA researchers from the Department of Medicine have developed a novel technique for performing mitochondrial respirometry in frozen specimens to accurately assess the cellular energy production capacity.

UCLA researchers in the Department of Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology have discovered two Arabidopsis proteins, BIC1 and BIC2, that are capable of inhibiting light-dependent dimerization of cryptochrome (CRY) molecules. These BICs can be used as an improved drug screening platform through controlled, titratable, label-free and reversible protein – protein interactions.

Tumorigenesis is a multistep process involving genetic alteration and gene expression deregulation in cells. Over the past few decades, targeted therapies hold hope for the treatment of many types of cancer. A common complication is that cancer drugs eventually stop working owing to the tumor heterogeneity and the genetic complexity of the tumor. Previous studies using pharmacological, RNA interference or CRISPR-mediated screens have enabled target identification, however, many targets genes cannot be further validated in vivo due to the lack of understanding of their corresponding signaling and gene network or there is biased selection due to over emphasis on particular phenotypes such as growth or depletion of cancer cells.    UC Berkeley researchers have developed a platform using molecular feature recognition and CRISPR-based target interrogation, in order to explore gene regulatory networks for new drug target identification and validation.  One aspect of the technology relates to a method for identifying treatment targets relating to tumors. 

Researchers at the University of California Davis have developed a thaw gelation process for the formation of cell spheroids within a hydrogel shell.

UCLA researchers in the Department of Medicine have developed a method of screening for the functional properties of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) in the blood that may serve as a more accurate risk indicator of cardiovascular disease.

Researchers led by Professor Jingyi Li from the Statistics Department at UCLA have developed a simulator that allows researchers to optimally design single-cell RNA sequencing experiments in a cost-effective manner.

The Xing group at UCLA has discovered a method for modulating and assaying m6A in stem cell populations.

UCLA researchers from the Department of Bioengineering have developed a novel efficient, low-cost, low-power technique for measuring the bio-impedance at the electrode-tissue interface, which can be incorporated into implantable stimulators.

UCLA researchers in the Department of Bioengineering have developed a method to form a biologically functional lipid bilayer in a high-throughput and automated fashion.

UCLA researchers have developed a method and model to predict the placebo effect and placebo responsiveness using the 30-item baseline positive and negative syndrome scales (PANSS) scores, within both the medicated and unmedicated Schizophrenia patients.

UCLA researchers in the Department of Radiation Oncology have developed a novel direct aperture optimization method for volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) to solve the current arc optimization problem.

UCLA researchers in the Department of Radiological Sciences have developed a novel computation system that uses large imaging datasets to aid in clinical diagnosis and prognosis.

The invention is a portable imaging system for assessing the condition of hair loss. Optical coherence technology is adopted to provide an accurate, wide view and fast imaging solution. The system provides precise insight on the health of the hair follicle and its potential to regrow new hair, which is crucial for assessing the efficacy of hair regrowth treatments.

Bed-bound patients often develop pressure ulcers, which are localized injuries to or underlying skin as a result of pressure. These injuries are typically undetected until they breach the skin and become a very expensive medical problem. Scientists at UCI have created a new handheld technology to detect and identify the stage of development of pressure ulcers.

Inventors at UC Irvine have developed a new technique for inserting materials, such as genes, into cells that uses a lateral cavity acoustic transducer (LCAT).  This technology is efficient, does not result in lasting damage to cells, and the device is portable.

Researchers in the UCLA Department of Electrical Engineering have developed an analog-to-digital converter (ADC), to be implemented as part of an implantable and closed-loop neural recording and stimulation system with a linear input range approximately ten times higher than that of existing devices.

UCLA researchers in the Department of Electrical Engineering have developed a fast, cost-effective histology tissue staining technique.