Success & Service: UC Merced professor named Pew scholar
Clarissa J. Nobile, a professor at the University of California, Merced, is among the 22 researchers named as Pew Biomedical Scholars. She became the first UC Merced researcher to win. The program funds for four years the kind of high-risk, high-reward research aimed at leading to major breakthroughs in biology. The Pew program has funded more than 600 scientists since its inception 30 years ago.
Nobile earned her Ph.D. at Columbia University in 2007 and did postdoctoral research at the University of California, San Francisco, before coming to UC Merced in 2014.
Using an array of genetic, biochemical, microbiological and sequencing techniques, Nobile’s lab is beginning to map the interactions between several interacting microbial species prevalent in humans.
By identifying how microbes influence the gene activity of partner species and the molecules they use to communicate, Nobile hopes to change the way scientists look at microbial interactions and create better ways to combat infectious disease. She is also the co-founder of a startup company, BioSynesis Inc., whose mission is to develop diagnostics and therapeutics to treat biofilm infections.
Olsen honors Turlock company
Lock-N-Stitch of Turlock is the 12th Assembly District’s small business of the year, selected by Assembly Republican Leader Kristin Olsen of Riverbank, who represents the district.
Gary Reed founded the company in 1990, developing and patenting metal stitching technology used to repair cracks and other damage to industrial machinery primarily made of cast iron and other cast metals.
The company’s 42 employees in Turlock produce 35,000 to 45,000 specialized patented parts each month, and the company currently is restoring the cast-iron dome of the Capitol building in Washington, D.C.
Gray picks 21st District business of year
Casey Moving Systems, which has offices in Merced, Stanislaus and San Joaquin counties, was chosen as the 21st Assembly District’s business of the year by Assembly member Adam Gray, D-Merced.
The company employs 50 people and specializes in global relocation services and document storage.
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This story was originally published June 13, 2015 at 2:40 PM with the headline "Success & Service: UC Merced professor named Pew scholar."