Marlan and Rosemary Bourns College of Engineering

Chen’s research program focuses on developing bioengineering and biosensing approaches for food safety, environmental monitoring, and clinical diagnostics, with a particular interest in CRISPR-Cas protein engineering. The new USDA-funded project builds on that work by applying molecular detection tools to a major food-safety challenge.

This month, thousands of Highlanders will cross the stage at UC Riverside’s 72nd Commencement. While they will celebrate as one class, each arrived at this milestone through a distinct journey. Here, nine graduating seniors share stories that defined their UCR experience.

Researchers at the University of California, Riverside, are advancing what researchers describe as the first continuously ventilated, structurally representative three-dimensional human lung model informed by both organ- and tissue-level experimental data. Led by Professor Mona Eskandari and trainees in UCR’s bioMechanics Experimental and Computational Health (bMECH) Laboratory, the research was highlighted at the 2025 SIMULIA Americas Users Conference, where postdoctoral researcher Dr. Arif Badrou presented new findings from the international Living Lung Project.