While rankings alone do not validate our greatness, the pride they prompt aren’t unlike winning the Big Game or a prestigious award. On Monday we learned that U.S. News & World Report ranked UC Berkeley No. 7 among the best global universities and No. 1 among U.S. public universities, continuing our run in the top spot across all five major university rankings. As managing editor LaMont Jones said, “A strong position … recognizes a school’s profound commitment to world-class research and cross-border academic excellence.”
I see that commitment played out in labs and classrooms every day. For example, in order to advance medicine and health, pharmaceutical companies often focus on what will make the most money, whereas medical schools and research centers rely on nearby patients. But what happens if a disease is new, uncommon, or concentrated in developing countries?
Immunology and molecular medicine professor Andrew Dillin faced this very conundrum. He and his lab found a promising new way to treat Leigh's disease, a rare, fatal condition that mostly affects children and causes seizures, developmental delays, and heart and breathing problems. The science worked — but the pharmaceutical industry said no. There simply weren’t enough sick children to justify the cost.
Determined to find a different route, Andrew formed the Center for Unmet, Rare, and Emerging Diseases (CURED) to bridge the gap between the foundational knowledge our researchers generate and the clinical applications that save lives. CURED will pursue critical basic science behind diseases that have been deemed a low priority, primarily through an immunology lens. Then it will route discoveries around the broken commercial path to our campus partners, biotech companies, donors, and other communities that can move them toward clinical trials. CURED is organized around four pillars, including cancer and infectious diseases that are born where human and animal life collide. Since the immune system is central to all four areas, a discovery in one can unlock treatments in others.
CURED is so quintessentially Berkeley. It asks the hardest questions others turn away from while opening up new lines of inquiry. It brings together the brightest minds and biggest discoveries across campus to work toward a shared vision. It translates fundamental research into novel solutions. And it is directed toward the common good. Just because a disease affects so few people, people who are typically left out of healthcare, or people who cannot afford costly treatments does not mean that the disease should be deprioritized.
“We want to do something that's never been done before,” said Andrew. “That's why we're so invigorated.” As some of our closest community members, your belief in Berkeley is part of what invigorates us and, in the case of this initiative, helps us redefine what is curable.
Fiat Lux, and Go Bears!
Chancellor Rich Lyons
Chancellor’s Choice
Film series: Frameline50— See five great movies as part of the San Francisco International LGBTQ+ Film Festival, including: “Gugu’s World,” which follows a queer youngster being raised by his grandmother; “Virgina,” a newly restored period drama about a girl raised as a boy in 19th-century Serbia; and a celebration of the life and legacy of the beloved poet Mary Oliver. Running June 19–26. Visit BAMPFA for details and tickets.
Podcast: When better sleep becomes crisis work—Mental health practitioners across California are using a tool co-developed by psychology professor Allison Harvey that includes a range of do-it-yourself treatments to get better sleep. They are seeing remarkable results, including a decrease in symptoms of psychoses and less drinking. Listen to this episode of “Berkeley Voices” on the life-saving potential of sleep treatment.