Inventions by five members of the UCLA Chemistry & Biochemistry community are featured in the Fall 2025, UCLA Magazine article “The Top 25 Bruinventions of the 21st Century (So Far).”
- Professor Michael Jung — Pelage hair-loss treatment (2025) and the prostate cancer drugs Xtandi and Erleada (2012, 2018).
- Professor Emeritus James Bowie and former lab members Dr. Tyler Korman and Dr. Paul Opgenorth (Ph.D. ’15 biochemistry, Bowie Group) — sustainable, cell-free enzyme technology (2019).
- Dr. Chuanzhen Zhao (M.S. ’17 chemistry; Ph.D. ’20 materials chemistry, P. Weiss and A. Andrews Groups) — cortisol-sensing smartwatch (2022).
Excerpted from UCLA Magazine (by Delan Bruce | Illustrations by Vidhya Nagarajan)
The Top 25 Bruinventions of the 21st Century (So Far)
Bruingenuity is on vivid display in myriad inventions that save and improve lives every day. Bonus: gourmet slime!
Everyone knows UCLA is the birthplace of the internet. It’s where doctors treated the first AIDS patients before the disease even had a name. Where the world’s first reverse osmosis membrane was developed. You may know that Professor Paul Terasaki invented the tissue-typing test that became an international standard for matching potential organ donors with recipients. Even the inventor of the automatic bagel machine was a Bruin. UCLA students, faculty and alumni have a long history of creativity and innovation. And that hasn’t stopped in the 21st century, with Bruins continuing to make their mark via scientific discovery, technological wizardry, medical marvels and ingenious gadgets.
Here, we present a list of 25 of the most fascinating and novel advancements given life by UCLA since 2000. As you peruse this index of ingenuity, keep track of the number of Bruinventions you were already aware of before reading — there’s a scorecard at the end.
9. Cortisol-sensing smartwatch (2022)
Inventor: Chuanzhen Zhao M.S. ’17, Ph.D. ’20
UCLA Connection: Zhao, a double Bruin, partnered with a team of esteemed faculty members and graduate student researchers at UCLA and Columbia University.
Why It Matters: A key biomarker for mental health monitoring is cortisol, a known stress hormone; traditionally, cortisol levels have been evaluated through blood samples in professional labs. The watch is a far less invasive technology that achieves the same result.
11. Pelage hair loss treatment (2025)
Inventor: Heather Christofk ’01, Michael Jung and William Lowry
UCLA Connection: Christofk is an alum and a professor of biological chemistry; Jung is a distinguished professor of chemistry; Lowry is a professor of molecular, cell and developmental biology.
Why It Matters: The Pelage co-founders’ research breakthrough activates hair growth through a first-in-class mechanism that targets the metabolism of hair follicle stem cells. Funded by investment from Google Ventures, Phase 2a clinical trials are showing positive results for Pelage’s PP405 topical hair loss therapy.
18. Sustainable, cell-free enzyme technology (2019)
Inventor: Jim Bowie, Tyler Korman and Paul Opgenorth
UCLA Connection: Bowie, Korman and Opgenorth conducted synthetic biochemical research at UCLA before co-founding eXoZymes.
Why It Matters: eXoZymes engineers cell-free biosynthesis to create sustainable chemicals and fuels. The goal is to produce molecules and chemicals for a range of applications: flavors and fragrances, sustainable aviation fuel, nutraceuticals and pharmaceuticals.
25. Prostate cancer drugs Xtandi and Erleada (2012, 2018)
Inventor: Michael Jung
UCLA Connection: Jung is the Walter and Shirley Wang Endowed Professor in Medicinal Drug Discovery in the UCLA Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry.
Why It Matters: Seventy percent of men older than 70 have some cancerous cells in their prostate. More than 1 million men with advanced prostate cancer have been treated with Xtandi since its approval in 2012. Erleada is a once-daily, single-tablet treatment taken by more than 200,000 patients worldwide to date. Both medicines have proven, life-extending benefits.
Read the entire UCLA Magazine article here.
