Ever wonder how smart a cell is? UC San Diego may soon find out
The mitochondria may be the powerhouse, but what plays a role in how smart cells are? Well, a new center at University of California, San Diego is looking to answer that question — and more — with … The University of California, San Diego has unveiled the Agilent Center of Excellence for Cellular Intelligence, a new center dedicated to measuring the intelligence of cells. The center, led by UCSD professor Dr. Pradipta Ghosh, aims to support research on dynamics within a cell that guide how it adapts to its environment. The researchers will have access to $3.5 million in state-of-the-art AgilENT equipment in their 650-square-foot laboratory, including an analyzer to detect changes in a cell’s energy production, use and storage. The equipment also includes live cell imaging modalities to monitor a cell's life cycle, health and processes. Understanding these dynamics could help in other forms of research, including cancer treatments and food safety.
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SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — The mitochondria may be the powerhouse, but what plays a role in how smart cells are? Well, a new center at University of California, San Diego is looking to answer that question — and more — with a new center dedicated to measuring the intelligence of cells.
The Agilent Center of Excellence for Cellular Intelligence, which was unveiled by university leaders on Tuesday, aims to support research on dynamics at play within a cell that guide how it adapts to its environment, also called “cellular intelligence.”
Led by UCSD professor Dr. Pradipta Ghosh, UCSD officials say the center hopes to uncover the fundamental organizing principles of living systems through quantitative biology, or a computational form of study on living organisms.
Ghosh, who is the founding director of the School of Medicine’s Institute for Network Medicine, and a team of researchers will have access to $3.5 million in state-of-the-art Agilent equipment in their 650-square-foot laboratory, including:
• An analyzer to detect discrete changes in a cell’s energy production, use and storage.
• Live cell imaging modalities that allow measuring in real time the change in a cell’s life cycle, health and processes.
All of the equipment provides capabilities that other laboratories on campus do not currently have, according to UCSD. Scholarships will also be available through the partnership with the technology company.
The technology will help researchers explore the inner-workings of what Ghosh describes as a “circuit” in the cell that allows it to sense its environment and “mount a fitting response.” Understanding this can benefit other forms of research, ranging from how to better cancer treatments to issues tied to food safety.
Use the Agilent equipment, UCSD says, will be overseen by a newly appointed operations director, a postdoctoral fellow chosen by Gosh from the Institute of Network Medicine. The fellow will be trained by Agilent to use the state-of-the-art machines.
“Sometimes, centers of excellence can be solely showcases for a company’s equipment with little engagement beyond the materials,” UCSD wrote in a release on Thursday. “The Agilent CoE for Cellular Intelligence is an entirely different animal, with a focus on growing research partnerships and producing highly qualified talent.”