Looking Forward to 2010
The celebration of UC San Diego's 50th anniversary as well as the development of six major construction projects will highlight the 2010 year on campus. The university also will begin energy-saving retrofits of 25 older buildings that will take four years to complete. This new year promises to be one of both exciting developments and financial challenges. This Week@UCSD asked each of the campus divisions about what they have in store for the next 12 months. More

2010 Construction Projects
at UC San Diego Total $568 Million
More than 300 construction workers gathered Wednesday with faculty, staff and students to celebrate the “topping off” of the $67 million Health Services Graduate Student Housing complex.The uniquely designed nine-story apartment development is one of six major projects under construction at UC San Diego this year, all of which are changing the skyline of the campus at a combined total cost of $568 million. More

Preuss Teacher Named One of
Four National Teacher of Year Finalists
Kelly Kovacic, social studies department chair at the Preuss School and a UCSD alumna, has been named one of four finalists for the prestigious National Teacher of the Year competition. More

UC San Diego Again Named ‘Best Value’ College
The University of California, San Diego is ranked among the nation’s top 50 “Best Value” public colleges for 2010 by The Princeton Review, one of America’s most widely known education service companies. The publication listed its annual ranking of the 50 private and 50 public “best value colleges” today. More

Rady School of Management Launches San Diego’s First Student-Assisted Venture Capital Fund
The Rady School of Management has launched the Rady Venture Fund, a student-assisted venture capital investment fund. The Rady Venture Fund will provide a unique, hands-on learning experience for Rady MBAs and other UC San Diego graduate students and support entrepreneurship, innovation and transfer of discovery into the marketplace. It is the first fund of its kind in San Diego. More

Biologists Develop Efficient Genetic
Modification of Human Embryonic Stem Cells
Biologists have developed an efficient way to genetically modify human embryonic stem cells. Their approach, which uses bacterial artificial chromosomes to swap in defective copies of genes, will make possible the rapid development of stem cell lines that can both serve as models for human genetic diseases and as testbeds on which to screen potential treatments. More

Researchers Trace HIV Mutations
that Lead to Drug Resistance
Chemists at UC San Diego and statisticians at Harvard University have developed a novel way to trace mutations in HIV that lead to drug resistance. Their findings, once expanded to the full range of drugs available to treat the infection, would allow doctors to tailor drug cocktails to the particular strains of the virus found in individual patients. More

Researchers Identify Protein
Needed to Develop Auditory Neurons
Loss of spiral ganglion neurons or hair cells in the inner ear is the leading cause of congenital and acquired hearing impairment. Researchers at the University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health found that Sox2, a protein that regulates stem cell formation, is involved in spiral ganglion neuron development. The study was published in the January 13 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience. More

Campus Renames Donor Group
to Honor Founding Chancellor Herb York
The Office of Gift Planning is changing the name of its donor recognition group from “Legacy Society” to “York Society” in honor of the late Herb York, founding chancellor of the university. The York Society acknowledges individuals who provide essential philanthropic support to the university through annuities, bequests, trusts and other planned gifts. More

Santosh Kesari Named Chief of Neuro-Oncology
Dr. Santosh Kesari has been named chief of neuro-oncology at the School of Medicine. Kesari specializes in the treatment of brain tumors and has special interests in drug development, biomarkers for cancer detection, and the behavior and potential therapeutic use of both normal and cancer stem cells. One of his major goals is to establish an interdisciplinary, translational neuro-oncology program at the Moores UCSD Cancer Center focused both on improving the understanding of the biology of brain tumors and on developing more personalized treatments for patients. More