Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences

Lauren Albrecht Staff and In the Media Headshot
UCI News, February 20, 2025

UC Irvine assistant professor Lauren Albrecht named 2025 Sloan Foundation Research Fellow

"My research explores how cells regulate protein function and degradation through methylation – a process previously overlooked in lysosomal proteolysis. This discovery has the potential to reshape our understanding of cell signaling and protein homeostasis, with implications from genetic heart disease to new therapeutic strategies." (Lauren Albrecht)
UCI News, January 9, 2025

UC Irvine scientists design bioluminescent RNA

"Until now, little was known about how and when RNA does what it does inside cells. It turns out it’s been really quite difficult to know in living cells, and especially in living organisms, when RNA is turned on and where it goes. If you wanted to study the first 30 seconds or the first minute – nobody knows. But we provide a tool. You can now visualize it." (Andrej Luptak)
Rob Spitale Headshot
UCI News, January 8, 2025

UC Irvine-led team discovers potential new therapeutic targets for Huntington’s disease

"By targeting key processes like RNA splicing and modification, we not only advance our understanding of the molecular disruptions behind HD but also open the door to potential new treatments for neurodegenerative diseases more broadly. It was a really important collaboration to bring chemical and genomic tools from my lab and merge them with Leslie’s powerful and robust model systems to nail down this novel mechanism." (Rob Spitale)
Mahtab Jafari In the Media Headshot
New York Times, November 19, 2024

Do You Need to Take Magnesium Supplements?

"Magnesium supplements may interfere with some medications, including certain antibiotics or osteoporosis drugs, and higher doses can be unsafe if your kidneys aren’t functioning properly. It’s good practice to check with your doctor before taking magnesium (or any) supplements." (Mahtab Jafari)
Young Jik Kwon Headshot
Elsevier Connect, November 4, 2024

New editor perspectives: Young Jik Kwon

"I would have remained a researcher immersed in my own research area if I did not have this prestigious opportunity to work for Methods. The interdisciplinary topics that the journal covers also drive me to continue broadening my own personal horizons. The biggest advantage of my role as Editor-in-Chief of the journal is the privilege of working with great people: the former Editor-in-Chief, the Publisher, the Content Development Manager, the Editorial Board members, guest editors, and peer reviewers whom I would have never had a chance to get to know and learn from otherwise." (Young Jik Kwon)