Mitochondria discovery; stem cell cancer treatment

Nov. 29, 2023

Zot Bots take over Ring Road. (Photo: Steve Zylius/UCI)

UCI ANNOUNCEMENTS AND NEWS

UCI research uncovers battery-like roles of mitochondria

Peter Burke, UCI professor of electrical engineering and computer science

Using new super-resolution microscopes, UCI and University of Pennsylvania researchers have for the first time observed electrical charge and discharge functions inside mitochondria isolated from cells. While many past research projects have studied the physical characteristics of mitochondria within living cells, the UCI-led project is the first to use super-resolution microscopes to study live, extracellular mitochondria. By observing changes in the mitochondrial membranes under different metabolic states this way, researchers were able to witness the electrophysiological functioning of these living organelles. The team’s results, co-authored by Peter Burke (above), a professor of electrical engineering and computer science, were published in the journal ACS Nano.

OC chef finds hope in UCI stem cell treatment

After being diagnosed with a rare and aggressive blood cancer and relapsing following chemotherapy, a well-known Orange County chef who ran Café Jardin Restaurant & Pascal’s Tea Garden Creperie at Sherman Gardens & Library in Corona del Mar found hope thanks to a donation from his daughter in France and the help of his medical team at UCI Health. Saving Pascal Olhats from T-cell lymphoma were stem cells from his daughter, which were flown overnight to UCI’s Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, the only Orange County location where Olhats could find the bone marrow transplant program he needed. The center is expanding treatment options for cancers of the blood or lymph systems with the launch of Orange County's first adult bone marrow transplant program.

EVENTS

Colin Mochrie & Brad Sherwood: Scared Scriptless
Friday, 8 p.m. (sponsored by Irvine Barclay Theatre)

Visit today.uci.edu to see and submit event listings. Events of general interest will be shared in UCI Digest two days before they occur.

#UCICONNECTED

Korematsu Center to join UCI Law

The Fred T. Korematsu Center for Law and Equality and its executive director, Robert S. Chang, professor of law (above), will be joining the UCI School of Law, starting July 1. Chang founded the center – named for pioneering civil rights hero Fred T. Korematsu – in 2009 at the Seattle University School of Law with the mission to use legal research, litigation advocacy and clinical education to achieve durable social change related to racial equity and social justice. The center’s slate of projects and initiatives challenge discrimination, help communities advocate for themselves and provide law students with real-world experiences to help them become agents for social change.

#UCIconnected spotlights student, alumni, faculty and staff photos, essays, shoutouts, hobbies, artwork, unusual office decorations, activities and more. Send submissions via email or post on social media with the #UCIconnected hashtag.

UCI IN THE NEWS

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