Spotlight on Innovators

David Cheresh
David Cheresh is a Professor and Vice-Chair of Pathology, Associate Director for Translational Research at the UCSD Moores Cancer Center and Associate Director of the Institute of Engineering in Medicine. He is a prolific researcher and scientist in the fields of cancer, vascular biology and angiogenesis. He works with a number of firms developing angiogenesis-related drug therapies. More…

Robert Engle
Robert Engle is a Professor Emeritus in Economics at UC San Diego and former Chair of the Department of Economics from 1990-1994.  He is the recipient of the 2003 Nobel Laureate in Economics.  He is also the Michael Armellino Professor of Finance at NYU Stern School of Business.  An expert in time series analysis with a long interest in the analysis. More…

Harry Markowitz
Harry Markowitz is an Adjunct Professor of Finance at the Rady School of Management and the recipient of the 1990 Nobel Laureate in Economics for his pioneering work in the theory of financial economics.  Markowitz sought to show that a diversified portfolio, where assets are allocated broadly to maximize return and minimize risk, could be optimal for investors. More…

Mario Molina
Mario Molina is a Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry/Scripps Institution of Oceanography and he is the recipient of the 1995 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry.  He shared the Prize with Sherwood Rowland of U.C. Irvine and Paul Crutzen, also now on the UC San Diego faculty, for elucidating the threat of chlorofluorocarbon gases to the Earth's ozone layer. More recently, he has focused much of his work on the chemistry of air pollution in the lower atmosphere. More…

Maurizio Seracini
Maurizio Seracini is the Director for the Center of Interdisciplinary Science for Art, Architecture and Archaeology (CISA3).  An alumnus of UC San Diego, he is an internationally renowned art detective and National Geographic fellow who is a pioneer in the use of multispectral imaging and other diagnostics, as well as analytical technologies as applied to works of art and structures, including works by leading Renaissance artists like Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. More…

Mark Talamini
Mark Talamini is the MJ Orloff Family Professor and Chair of Department of Surgery, and the Co-Director of the Institute of Engineering in Medicine Center for Medical Device and Instrumentation. He is a pioneer in minimally invasive abdominal surgery. A highly respected surgeon, researcher and teacher, he is recognized as one of the leading authorities on laparoscopic and robotic-assisted surgery in the United States. More…

Roger Tsien
Roger Tsien is a Professor of Chemistry, Biochemistry and Pharmacology.  He is the recipient of the 2008 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry which recognized his work that helped to elucidate how the Green Fluorescent Protein works. He also extended the protein's palette beyond green to a rainbow of colors, allowing scientists to assign different colors to various proteins and cells and follow several different biological processes at the same time. More…

Mark Tuszynski
Mark Tuszynski is a Professor of Neurosciences, Director of the Translational Neuroscience Institute and Director of the Center for Neural Repair, which studies anatomical, electrophysiological and functional plasticity in the intact and injured adult central nervous system.  Current projects include spinal cord injury research, brain plasticity and Alzheimer's disease research. More…