FEATURE
The ISB Opens its Doors
By Cassie Myers
ISB Levels
The Interdisciplinary Science Building (ISB) is now open, with more fume hoods, lab space and classrooms to foster interdisciplinary collaboration, research and learning.
The Interdisciplinary Science Building (ISB) is a glimpse of the future of San José State: gleaming facilities, up-to-the-minute technology and an air of collaboration. Three floors contain chemistry labs, with fume hoods for making chemical catalysts, and four floors contain biology labs, with specialized rooms for microscopy and molecular work. The seventh floor hosts the Wildfire Interdisciplinary Research Center and the eighth floor even has a virtual reality room. Classrooms and student workstations are interspersed among teaching and research labs, data science information labs and spaces for students to work and reflect.
As the newest academic building on campus, the ISB hopes to set a precedent. It is both a literal and a metaphorical representation of the the university’s goals for the future: an integrated, interdisciplinary space that encourages diversity of all kinds: in thought, in research, in students and in ideas.
"The ISB represents the culmination of many years of work by an army of participants, and it is incredibly exciting to see our vision for the building coming to life,” College of Science Dean Michael Kaufman says. “From the very start, we designed the ISB to seamlessly support transformative student experiences in state-of-the-art teaching labs and classrooms, industry-standard research labs and flexible collaboration spaces."
And it houses astonishing varieties of scientific research: a quick tour of the building will expose you to beautiful floor-to-ceiling window views of the SJSU campus, as well as scientists studying everything from synthetic chemistry and biochemistry to cell biology and microbiology to wildfire research and machine learning to aid medical treatments. Classrooms stand across the hall from labs, where professors and students work tirelessly on inventions, treatments, experiments and programs that could end up changing the world.
When undergraduate teaching labs and student workstations are next door to research labs, the possibility of becoming a researcher, scientist or even professor may feel less remote to an aspiring scientist. Who knows what that first tantalizing glimpse of a lab can bring?
“The new ISB will make a huge difference in terms of organization, safety and productivity for my group,” Madalyn Radlauer, assistant professor of chemistry, says. “It will impact the students (and me, to be honest) to be working in a modern and beautiful facility. There is something really exciting about a new space that helps build energy and enthusiasm.”
The discoveries that will shape the future may very well happen under the ISB roof.
Second floor
Faculty member: Madalyn Radlauer
Madalyn Radlauer (left) helps her research students get to work in their new ISB lab. Photo by Robert C. Bain.
Madalyn Radlauer, assistant professor of chemistry, says the ISB will “make a huge difference in terms of organization, safety and productivity” for her research group. Her team is “fascinated by” catalytic chemical reactions. As she explains, “We do not have catalysts for every reaction where they would be useful, so we are working to design new ones.” Her group aims to make catalysts that are connected to polymers, which they hope can “increase efficiency and selectivity beyond what has been seen with catalysts before [with] applications in energy, health and environmental sectors.”
The ISB lab will help them in numerous practical ways: for one thing, a lab formerly spread out among multiple buildings will now exist all in one place. For another, they will have more space: fume hood space, dedicated student workstations, and space for all her subgroups of student researchers.
“Being part of a research group can be a wonderful community and network building experience and the workstation space will help support that,” Radlauer says.
“This will be the first space that is empty when we get into it, so we will really be able to make it our own. There is something really exciting about a new space that helps build energy and enthusiasm.”
Student: Kathleen Huynh
The ISB is also an energizing space for undergraduate researcher Kathleen Huynh, ’25 Chemistry, who’s been working with Radlauer (who she calls “Dr. Rad”) for over a year. Her focus in the lab is on making star polymers, which the lab hopes to then use as supports to achieve tandem catalysis, a process “in which two metal catalysts are able to work together within the same reaction vessel to optimize energy efficiency.” If they achieve this goal, it could have wide implications for fuel efficiency and sustainability, since people would be able to salvage materials in fuel that are usually wasted.
Before the ISB move the lab was split into two, and Huynh is especially excited to combine spaces with her fellow researchers. “Now that all our stuff is together, it's a lot easier for us to collaborate among the different subgroups in our lab,” she says. She adds that the updated, brand-new equipment and space also add to the safety of experiments — with six fume hoods instead of three, “we can all do our science a lot more safely,” she explains.
“The ISB is a really exciting space for us because it's allowing students to get involved in research as well,” she concludes. “I never thought I’d get the chance to work in a lab space like this. And I'm really excited to take the science forward and do so in a very nice, pretty lab.”
Third floor
Faculty member: Laura Miller Conrad
Laura Miller Conrad (right) and her research student Natalie Hendrix (left) hard at work in their new lab space. Photo by Robert C. Bain.
The third floor will feature the lab of Laura Miller Conrad, associate professor of chemistry, which aims to use “organic chemistry, biochemistry and microbiology to develop and understand new antibacterial treatment strategies.”
She and her student researchers are attacking the problem of antibiotic resistant strains of bacteria using a two-pronged approach.
“In the first,” she explains, “we inhibit resistance pathways, so that when used with the antibiotic, the combination therapy is effective against the bacterium. In the second project, we target cell signaling pathways that control virulence, making the bacterium more benign and more easily cleared by the host's immune system.”
Conrad is delighted by the new space. The “huge advance,” she explains, “is having over twice the amount of fume hood space for organic synthesis.” She’s also happy to have separate spaces for microbiology and chemistry experiments, which allow more students to work safely (and simultaneously) on various projects.
She also loves the building’s design. “I'm excited that the open floor plan in the research labs will spur new scientific conversations with other faculty and their students, potentially leading to new collaborations.”
Student: Julien Elliott
As a pre-med student, Julien Elliott, ’23 Psychology, didn’t necessarily think he’d end up working in a chemistry lab, but he’s been there for a year and a half now and is still going strong. He describes Conrad’s research as “looking for strategies to combat Pseudomonas aeruginosa,” a bacteria known to infect post-op patients in hospitals, among others.
Elliott works on the organic chemistry synthesis side of Conrad’s lab, creating chemical compounds and molecules that essentially attempt to kill the bacteria. The microbiology team, which works directly with the bacteria and uses these created compounds to treat the bacteria (and ideally, stop this type of infection).
He’s looking forward to the new space and ideas that the ISB will bring to the team. “It seems a lot more convenient,” he says. “It allows for more experiments to be carried out and research to be done faster.” And it may mean more lab members, too, with more space for more students.
“I’m excited to start research there,” he explains. “I just enjoy it. It's nice to be connected to this generation of researchers who want to innovate the field of science and make things better. We just want to do our best to treat people and help people and care for people, to create great treatments and new treatments and treatment strategies. That's something I really enjoy being a part of.”
Fourth floor
Faculty member: Walter Adams
Infectious disease experiments will find their new home on the fourth floor, shepherded by Walter Adams, assistant professor of biological sciences. He and his students are very excited to move into the ISB, which will provide them with double the space of their previous lab as well as “dramatically enhancing their ability to mentor new students in research and perform a wide variety of infectious disease experiments.”
Their research, which focuses on “the microbial battle between the bacterial pathogen Streptococcus pneumoniae, a leading cause of pneumonia worldwide, and white blood cells that try to clear the infection,” will now be conducted even more safely with two brand new Labculture Reliant Biosafety Cabinets.
As Adams explains, “Understanding how these different factors promote or prevent severe disease in patients will help us design novel therapies to combat pneumonia and other lung infections.” He calls his work “Game of Thrones underneath the microscope,” the battle between white blood cells and bacteria.
The fourth floor is the only one in the ISB dedicated entirely to student-centered research, with a 50-50 split between chemistry and biology research labs. Its “strategic design” hopes to foster collaboration, and Adams believes this will “lead to unique interdisciplinary research projects in biology, chemistry and beyond.”
Walter Adams (center) oversees Janessa Caroza and Ryan Yee as they record the transepithelial electrical resistance (TEER) readings of lab samples. Photo by Robert C. Bain.
The ISB’s mission is also tied to his broader interest in “empowering the next generation of diverse scientists.”
“These hands-on research opportunities will continue to provide great synergy with our more formal classroom teaching because they give students the ability to take what they learn in class and directly apply it in a research lab as part of their development into independent scientists,” he says. “By putting students in the driver's seat, we empower them to learn, grow, and yes, even have fun, as we work to combat the pressing health challenges of the 21st century.”
Student: Janessa Caroza
Janessa Caroza, ‘24 Biological Sciences, has worked in the Adams lab for nearly three years. She helps pipette toxins onto model lung cells in the lab and then helps test the resistance of the lung epithelial monolayer to the toxins present in the bacteria.
“That's probably one of my favorite experiments to do,” she says. “Using a confocal microscope, you can see the aftermath of the battle that Dr. Adams was talking about. The whole goal is to make a new treatment that will help out a lot of patients suffering from pneumonia.”
She’s excited about the ISB move, which means a brand new bio-safety cabinet for experiments as well as other resources. “It’ll definitely help us back up what we're doing here,” she concludes.
Bonus Student: Kelley Martinez
Elizabeth Skovran and her research students in the lab. Photo by Robert C. Bain.
The fourth floor is also home to the lab of Elizabeth Skovran, professor of biology, who researches ways to recycle electronic waste using bacteria.
Kelley Martinez, ’23 Biology, works on the transport team for the Skovran lab, helping to figure out how to transport the lanthanides (rare earth elements found in everything from cell phones to computers) into the bacteria, which will then recycle the lanthanides for further use.
“We want the cells or the bacteria to bring in the rare earth elements from the electronic waste,” she explains, so that they can then recycle it, avoiding the environmentally damaging practice of mining for rare earth metals.
Martinez has been in the lab since 2021, and is glad to move to the ISB. She loves the natural light and the windows, which make for a brighter lab than their previous one, as well as the dedicated rooms for various experiments. “Now we have a collective space with all the materials we need,” she explains.
She hopes to discover significant findings before she graduates, and is grateful overall for the research opportunities at SJSU. “As an undergrad it's very helpful to get the actual experience,” she says. “My lab classes are easier now. I'm like, ‘Oh, I know how to do this,’ because I have the practice in a real research lab.”
Fifth floor
Faculty member: Bree Grillo-Hill
Bree Grillo-Hill (right) helps her student researchers in her new lab on the fifth floor. Photo by Robert C. Bain.
Bree Grillo-Hill, associate professor of biology, will be using her fifth floor lab for her work in cancer biology, specifically “studying at the molecular level how changes in acid levels change cell behaviors.” As she explains, “Changes in acid levels contribute to cancer cell behaviors by helping tumor cells grow and metastasize, which is when cancer cells migrate from the primary tumor and make additional tumors elsewhere in the body. Understanding how this behavior is regulated holds promise for new cancer treatments.”
The move to the ISB is all upside for Grillo-Hill and her students — her lab space will more than double into a large space with three smaller connected rooms, each with an exciting new purpose.
“One of these small rooms will be a ‘Fly Room’ dedicated to culturing, sorting and examining our fruit flies under dissecting microscopes, and we also have a dedicated cell culture room for growing our clonal mammalian cells,” she says. She also appreciates that research labs are near one another, “which will promote community building between students with similar interests.”
This sense of community is important to Grillo-Hill, for her students as well as herself: “I strive to create an inclusive environment in the lab where students feel safe and welcome,” she says. “I was a first-generation college student, and joining a research lab changed my life and set me on my current career path.”
She’s hopeful that her work in the ISB can help her “enable my students to identify and pursue their own dreams.”
“I was a first-generation college student, and joining a research lab changed my life and set me on my current career path.”
— Bree Grillo-Hill
Student: Rachel Soriano
Rachel Soriano, ’23 Biology, is a proud member of Team Dead Flies in Grillo-Hill’s lab. She’s been working there since 2020, focusing on the project that uses fly cells to investigate “how increasing the intracellular pH in cells, also known as pHi, promotes cell death in the fly eye.”
Her team focuses specifically on understanding how this cell death is occurring. They are also looking at the gene Myc, which is involved in several cellular processes such as metabolism and proliferation. “We're trying to investigate how it interacts with this increased pHi,” Soriano explains.
Soriano plays several roles: she helps maintain the stocks of the lab (including equipment and, yes, flies) and also works on her own experiments (which include fly dissections and preparing antibodies). As one of the more senior undergraduate members of the lab, she also helps train newer researchers on lab protocols, procedures and safety.
She’s been at the lab since the beginning of many of these experiments and says it’s been “really astounding” to follow the projects all the way through. “It's just been a really great experience and it’s helped me realize that, yes, I definitely want to pursue research in the future,” she says.
Their move into the ISB was recent, and Soriano was instantly struck by the amount of space. “There's more room for more lab members. Just yesterday I was trying to do my experiment and I actually had two of my lab members with me,” she remembers. “I like that there's a lot of space for more collaboration.”
She sees the location as key, too: “When I'm walking between Duncan Hall and the ISB, I see so many students and professors walking back and forth,” she says. “I think it will make it easier for both students and professors to see each other and help them collaborate. And I think it’ll help students be more confident in approaching professors because they get to see them more often. A lot of students are afraid to ask questions or approach professors, but I think the ISB can improve that relationship.”
“I think the ISB will make it easier for both students and professors to see each other and help them collaborate. A lot of students are afraid to ask questions or approach professors, but I think the ISB can improve that relationship.”
— Rachel Soriano
Sixth floor
Faculty member: Miri VanHoven
Miri VanHoven and student researcher Malcolm Harris hard at work in her ISB office. Photo by Robert C. Bain.
As associate dean for research as well as professor of biology, Miri VanHoven has been involved in just about every aspect of the move to the ISB. This includes her very own lab space on the sixth floor, which boasts a main lab area with three central benches for lab work and equipment, as well as three smaller rooms that are specialized for microscopy, behavior experiments and pouring media.
Her research is in neuroscience, specifically focused on “understanding the formation and modulation of neuronal connections called synapses.” As VanHoven explains, “These tiny structures allow communication between neurons, and discovering how they form and are modulated by experience will help us to understand fundamental biological processes like learning and memory, as well as neurological disorders in which these processes are impeded, such as schizophrenia and dementia.”
She calls the ISB move “a game-changer for our research,” much of which is now in collaboration with UCSF and funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). She cites the dedicated spaces mentioned above which she believes will “greatly facilitate our experiments and greatly enhance the experiential learning that our students do in these spaces.”
And for VanHoven, it all comes back to her students. “I came to SJSU because of our mission to promote equity by serving and educating diverse students,” she says. “My proudest moments at SJSU have been seeing first-generation students and students in minoritized groups in science develop a passion for science, and the experience they need to go on to top PhD programs, medical and pharmacy schools and careers in biotechnology.”
Student: Malcolm Harris
Malcolm Harris (they/them), ’24 Psychology, describes their path to the ISB (and to VanHoven’s lab in general) as “unconventional.” For one thing, they are a psychology major working in a biology lab specializing in neurogenetics. But their passion led them to this research: “I love knowing how the brain works on a biological level,” they say. “And when I heard about Dr. V’s lab, I was immediately blown away.”
They work on the sleep project in VanHoven’s lab, taking microscopic images of fluorescence in the brains of their experimental subjects, C. elegans worms. Essentially, the researchers are testing how sleep can affect memory in their model subjects, the C. elegans. The worms are subjected to training, and "sleep" subsequently after. The worms are then observed after they've been allowed to "sleep," at designated time points post training. If specific behaviors are “remembered,” the correct synapses are formed, making the fluorescent proteins visible. And this is what Harris records.
While their team has yet to officially move into the ISB, they are eagerly anticipating the change. They’re looking forward to the extra space (which includes a room for him to image their proteins in) and the central AC, which is especially important for their temperature sensitive experiments and subjects.
“It's one thing to read about students or undergraduate research, and then it's another thing to be an undergraduate researcher,” they say. “Being in a brand-new building with brand-new equipment is something not very many students get, and we're very fortunate to get that experience.”
They’re also grateful for the journey, and urge other “unconventional path” students to give research a try. As an openly queer Black person, they say, “I didn’t really think about what it meant for someone like me to be in a lab like this. I have two part-time jobs. I take all 19 units. So as someone who is academically rigorous, works part time, and is involved in undergraduate research, I think my journey is really unconventional. And I want students who are also on unconventional paths to know: There is a space for you in undergraduate STEM research if you just ask.”
“I want students who are also on unconventional paths to know: There is a space for you in undergraduate STEM research if you just ask.”
— Malcolm Harris
Seventh floor
Faculty member: Ali Tohidi
Ali Tohidi is an assistant professor of mechanical engineering and a member of the Wildfire Interdisciplinary Research Center. He and his team will be using the ISB for his work developing novel models that can improve understanding of wildfire spread mechanisms. They’ll use computational mechanics, data-driven methods, and machine learning to accomplish that goal.
He’s grateful for the materials and the space that the ISB will provide: “There is a modern and spacious office area for faculty, postdocs, and students,” he says. “I will be working with students directly and collaborating with other faculty members at the Wildfire Interdisciplinary Research Center (WIRC) as well. Being close to the rest of the team increases the proficiency of our efforts.”
Ali Tohidi, assistant professor of mechanical engineering and member of the Wildfire Interdisciplinary Research Center (WIRC). Photo by Robert C. Bain.
Eighth floor
Faculty member: Shayan Shams
Shayan Shams, assistant professor of applied data science, is focused on using machine learning and AI to improve medicine. Currently, he studies “utilization of artificial intelligence for finding pancreatic cancer chemotherapy efficacy.” For his team, the ISB is something of a godsend.
“One of the biggest problems we’ve had was that most of the students weren’t able to do their research because they didn't have access to the infrastructure needed for artificial intelligence and deep learning algorithms,” he explains.
“Artificial intelligence and deep learning are very data hungry and data intensive applications. The new facilities can provide the computer servers and facilities the students need to learn and also do cutting-edge research in artificial intelligence and deep learning.”
“Artificial intelligence and deep learning are very data hungry and data intensive applications. The new facilities can provide the computer servers and facilities the students need to learn and also do cutting-edge research in artificial intelligence and deep learning.”
— Shayan Shams
Did you know?
Even the landscaping for the ISB is both practical and beautiful. Lars Rosengreen, greenhouse manager and curator of the Carl W. Sharsmith Herbarium for biological sciences, worked with ISB architects and Biology faculty to design a space with native landscaping using all California plants.
Rosengreen, along with others, helped choose the plants and continues to source them. Faculty in Botany, especially Dr. Susan Lambrecht, helped select the plants and have also been involved with the design and throughout the development of the garden.
As Rosengreen explains, “The goal was to not only have nice landscaping, but also an outdoor teaching space and a collection of plants useful for instruction and research.” The plants are grouped together by plant community — oak woodland, mixed evergreen forest, and coastal sage scrub — and designed with space around them so a class can gather to hear an instructor discuss the plants.
As native species, many of these plants are also drought-tolerant. One of the plants, the shrub Western Leatherwood (Dirca occidentalis) is very rare, and only grows naturally in the San Francisco Bay Area. There’s also more to come – as Rosengreen explains, a significant donation from Monika Björkman will “make it possible to enhance and expand the garden, making it a super resource for supporting classes in Biology, the rest of the College, and for the enjoyment of the larger campus community.”
“So much work has gone into making the inside of the building open, with spaces set aside for students and faculty to meet and collaborate. That same design goal extends outside,” Rosengreen says. “We’re doing something really special here: having landscaping with meaning.”
Want to contribute to the future of science at SJSU?
Visit the ISB website to learn more about naming opportunities and other ways to give to the ISB.
Top video: Javier Duarte ISB graphics: Jonathan Wang Landscaping photo: Lars Rosengreen
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