News

Big Give is a university-wide day of giving when we come together as an entire community — alumni, parents, students, faculty, staff, and friends — to celebrate the moments of Berkeley and show support for the campus community.

Claudio Alberto Rivera, M.D. | English Literature and Molecular & Cell Biology Major Class of 2002

Gastroenterologist & Author, Los Angeles, California

We are excited to share the Biology Scholars Program has been awarded a 2020 Diverse Future of STEM Fund grant from the Genentech Foundation for “Virtually Supporting the Success of our BIPOC Pre-Health Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic.” The BSP was among 40 grant recipients nationwide selected from a pool of nearly 380 applicants.

Cleavon Gilman, M.D., an emergency-medicine physician working in Arizona and BSP alum, has said he was asked not to return to work after tweeting about COVID. After his trouble with the hospital went public, he received a slew of supportive messages from his peers.

Raul Diaz, PhD | Integrative Biology Major Class of 2004

Assistant Professor, Department of Biological Sciences, California State University Los Angeles
Research Associate, Department of Herpetology, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County

Catch up with BSP and Molecular & Cell Biology (MCB) alum Shanna Tucker, MD, and learn about her post-Cal medical school and career journey. Next, find out how the BSP fosters an inclusive community at UC Berkeley in the Fall 2020 edition of the Molecular & Cell Biology Transcript newsletter.

Cleavon Gilman, M.D., is a BSP alum, Iraq-war veteran, and an emergency medicine physician in New York City, where he worked through the shocking rise and deadly peak of the COVID-19 coronavirus in March 2020. His warfare and pandemic experiences share striking similarities. Read his survival guide, told, in part, through his own words here:

BSP member Ratu Orisi Lalabalavu shares his journey to UC Berkeley and how he found both his voice and a community on campus. He speaks about the importance of his mentors to his success.

The Biology Scholars Clinical Exposure Program (BICEP), is our five-day shadowing program that pairs students with doctors in the Pulmonary Clinic at the Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center.

Learn how BSP and Integrative Biology alum Holvis Delgadillo uses his life experiences to improve others' lives through his work as the Assistant Health Services Administrator at Wellpath, where he oversees health care in Alameda County jails. Read the story in the Spring 2019 edition of the Integrative Biology (IB) Insight newsletter.

What is the Biology Scholars Program? Learn this and more about what the BSP is doing to recognize the potential in all students and help them develop their STEM talents. Read the story in the Spring 2018 edition of the Integrative Biology (IB) Insight newsletter here:

BSP alum and current medical student Juan Vasquez is one of about 100 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients, or "Dreamers," who are enrolled in U.S. medical schools.

BSP scholars Brenda Cruz, Nazineen Kandahari, and Ifechuku Okeke are undergraduate researchers and members of labs in the Department of Molecular and Cell Biology. Learn about their research and experiences in their spotlights here:

BSP Co-founder and Director Dr. John Matsui was honored on March 27, 2015, as one of 14 recipients of the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring (PAESMEM). The award recognizes the crucial role that mentoring plays in the academic and personal development of students studying science and engineering—particularly those who belong to groups that are underrepresented in these fields. Read the entire press release here:

The BSP is excited to announce it is among 37 recipients to receive an HHMI Sustaining Excellence science and education grant. The grant supports the BSP in the area of Student Learning and Faculty Development Communiti

In this San Jose Mercury News article, learn how BSP is helping to keep UC Berkeley undergraduates from diverse backgrounds in STEM majors and prepare them for STEM careers. 

Congratulations to BSP Director John Matsui on being named a "Champion of Health Professions Diversity" by The California Wellness Foundation. The award recognizes Matsui's decades-long effort to successfully mentor UC Berkeley undergraduates majoring in STEM degrees via the Biology Scholars Program. 

Learn about the beginnings of the Biology Scholars Program and what's next for the program in this story by Josh Shiode, a graduate student in the Astronomy department. 

Berkeley Science Review | The Chairman: John Matsui and the Biology Scholars Program