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Irvine, Calif., July 12, 2022 – A new self-powered, wristwatch-style health monitor invented by researchers at the University of California, Irvine can keep track of a wearer’s pulse and wirelessly communicate with a nearby smartphone or tablet – without needing an external power source or a battery. In a paper published recently in the journal Nano Energy, team members in UCI’s Henry Samueli School of Engineering describe their invention, built via 3D printing of nanomaterials on flexible substrates for real-time and wireless monitoring of vital signs.

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Irvine, Calif., July 8, 2022 — Seven assistant professors at UCI will receive Hellman Fellowships, which are bestowed annually to support research by junior faculty. They join an elite group of 70 UCI Hellman Fellows since 2013, when the Hellman Fellows Fund established the program here. The program began in 1995 at UC Berkeley and UC San Diego and has since expanded organically to all UC institutions.

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A discovery about how algorithms can learn and retain information more efficiently offers potential insight into the brain’s ability to absorb new knowledge. The findings by researchers at the University of California, Irvine School of Biological Sciences could aid in combatting cognitive impairments and improving technology.

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Along with the central nervous system, the immune system may play a fundamental role in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), suggesting that bone marrow transplants may be an effective novel treatment for the neurodegenerative disease, according to findings from a research team that included Albert LaSpada, MD, PhD, distinguished professor of pathology, neurology and biological chemistry at the University of California, Irvine School of Medicine.

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Irvine, Calif., July 5, 2022 — The state of California, through an agreement between Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Legislature, has allocated $1.8 million to expand the University of California, Irvine’s Leveraging Inspiring Futures Through Educational Degrees effort, the first in-prison B.A. program in the UC system. LIFTED enables incarcerated individuals at the Richard J.

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PhD in Public Health student examined disease trends and potential impacts of COVID-19 in northern Syria, underscores the need for enhanced infectious disease surveillance in areas facing humanitarian crisis to reduce the global spread of disease. Parts of the world facing conflict and humanitarian disaster tend to experience a high burden of disease, but their disease monitoring systems remain largely understudied.

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University of California, Irvine-led researchers have discovered that a signaling molecule called SCUBE3 potently stimulates hair growth and may offer a therapeutic treatment for androgenetic alopecia, a common form of hair loss in both women and men.

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Irvine, Calif., June 27, 2022 — Supported by a $20 million gift from Joe C. Wen and his family, the UCI Health outpatient clinical facility at the new UCI Health–Irvine complex will bring specialty clinical expertise closer to coastal and south Orange County residents on the UCI campus. “The Joe C. Wen & Family Center for Advanced Care at UCI Health–Irvine will play a special role in the life of south Orange County because of our unique ability to marshal all the resources of a comprehensive research university in support of delivering the best and most up-to-date care,” said UCI Chancellor Howard Gillman.

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Irvine, Calif., June 21, 2022 — If you are skilled at playing puzzles on your smartphone or tablet, what does it say about how fast you learn new puzzles, or more broadly, how well can you focus in school or at work? In the language of psychologists, does “near transfer” predict “far transfer”? A team of psychologists from the University of California, Irvine and the University of California, Riverside reports in Nature Human Behavior that people who show near transfer are more likely to show far transfer.

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Repeated exposure to hurricanes, whether direct, indirect or media-based, is linked to adverse psychological symptoms and may be associated with increased mental health problems, according to a first-of-its kind study led by University of California, Irvine researchers.

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A study led by the University of California, Irvine  shows a strong relationship between prolonged exposure to low levels of radon and lung cancer, indicating a need for enhanced protection measures.  Radon gas in the air decays into tiny radioactive particles which can damage lung cells and lead to cancer.

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Irvine, Calif., June 13, 2022 — A $3 million gift from longtime University of California, Irvine supporter Stacey Nicholas will advance the School of Education’s ambitious projects for improving environmental and climate change literacy in California’s classrooms. The funding will create a new $2 million endowment fund for the Stacey Nicholas Endowed Chair in Environmental Education to support the teaching, research and service activities of the chair holder.

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Irvine, Calif., June 9, 2022 — Cancer starts when cells start dividing uncontrollably. Scientists have known that taking aspirin can help protect against the development of colorectal cancer – cancer afflicting the colon or rectum – but the exact reason aspirin has this effect has been mostly a mystery. In a new study published in the journal eLife, researchers at the University of California, Irvine reveal for the first time that aspirin changes the way colorectal cancer cell populations evolve over time, making them less able to survive and proliferate.

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Irvine, Calif., June 9, 2022 — The University of California, Irvine is a founding member of the Alliance of Hispanic Serving Research Universities, a foundation of 20 of the nation’s top research universities which are partnering to increase opportunity for those historically underserved by higher education. The HSRU Alliance aims to achieve two key goals by 2030: Double the number of enrolled Hispanic doctoral students and increase by 20 percent the Hispanic professoriate in alliance universities.

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As electronic, thermoelectric and computer technologies have been miniaturized to nanometer scale, engineers have faced a challenge studying fundamental properties of the materials involved; in many cases, targets are too small to be observed with optical instruments. Using cutting-edge electron microscopes and novel techniques, a team of researchers at the University of California, Irvine, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and other institutions has found a way to map phonons – vibrations in crystal lattices – in atomic resolution, enabling deeper understanding of the way heat travels through quantum dots, engineered nanostructures in electronic components.

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Irvine, Calif., June 7, 2022 — The University of California, Irvine has been awarded a five-year, $14 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to study brain circuits that are susceptible to aging and Alzheimer’s disease. The research findings will advance the development of early diagnostic tools and the discovery of new treatment strategies.

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Dr. Anand Ganesan probably won’t be hanging from a ceiling `a la Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible, but the UCI Health dermatologist and School of Medicine professor of dermatology and biological sciences does compare part of what he does to a plot device in the 1996 action thriller. “You know where the guy opens the switch box, there are all these wires coming down, and he’s trying to figure out which wire to cut to stop something bad from happening? That’s kind of what we’re trying to do: Cut the right wire to short- circuit cancer,” says the co-director of the Biotechnology, Imaging & Drug Discovery program at the Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center.

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A new study, led by researchers from the University of California, Irvine, reveals the unique cell-to-cell communication networks that can perpetuate inflammation and prevent repigmentation in patients with vitiligo disease.

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Irvine, Calif., June 6, 2022 – Human-caused wildfires in California are more ferocious than blazes sparked by lightning, a team led by scientists from the University of California, Irvine reported recently in the journal Nature Communications. The research could help scientists better understand fire severity and how likely a blaze is to kill trees and inflict long-term damage on an ecosystem in its path.

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Researchers at the University of California, Irvine are conducting pioneering research into the concept that unpredictable parental behaviors, together with unpredictable environment, such as lack of routines and frequent disasters, disrupt optimal emotional brain circuit development in children, increasing their vulnerability to mental illness and substance abuse.

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Irvine, Calif., June 2, 2022 — When do students begin to think that one has to be either a “math person” or a “language person?” That’s the primary question posed by University of California, Irvine School of Education doctoral candidate Sirui Wan in a recent publication with the same title in the journal Psychological Bulletin.

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The University of California, Irvine has appointed Kristine Collins to be its dean of the Division of Continuing Education, following a North American-wide search. She will assume the post on Aug. 22.

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A thorough understanding of galaxy evolution depends in part on an accurate measurement of the abundance of metals in the intergalactic medium – the space between stars – but dust can impede observations in optical wavelengths.

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A new University of California, Irvine-led study identifies sex-specific circuits of muscle signaling to other tissues and that the organs and processes muscle impacts are markedly different between males and females. This new discovery provides insight into how muscle functions, such as exercise, promote healthy longevity, metabolism and improve cognition.

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Irvine, Calif., May 26, 2022 – When a driverless car is in motion, one faulty decision by its collision-avoidance system can lead to disaster, but researchers at the University of California, Irvine have identified another possible risk: Autonomous vehicles can be tricked into an abrupt halt or other undesired driving behavior by the placement of an ordinary object on the side of the road.

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Irvine, Calif., May 26, 2022 — Sherry L.K. Main, an accomplished higher education communications leader with a proven commitment to diversity and inclusion, has been named vice chancellor for strategic communications & public affairs at the University of California, Irvine, following a nationwide search. She will assume the post on June 1.

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The new collaborative report details the impact of baby formula shortages on infant-feeding practices.

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Irvine, Calif., May 16, 2022 – Prescribed burning of ground-level shrubs, branches and leaves is a time-tested tool to help prevent wildland fires from getting out of control, but a team led by researchers at the University of California, Irvine suggests that the practice isn’t used frequently enough. For a paper published recently in the journal Science of The Total Environment, the scientists conducted an in-depth assessment of meteorological and vegetation data spanning 35 years, finding several additional periods during winter and spring in which wind, temperature and humidity levels would allow safe and effective human-set blazes.

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Money magazine has ranked the University of California, Irvine ninth in its 2022 list of the U.S.’s “Best Colleges” – making it the highest-rated California university.

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Irvine, Calif., May 12, 2022 — Mary Lou Ortiz has been named chief financial officer and vice chancellor for the Division of Finance and Administration at the University of California, Irvine, following a nationwide search. She will assume the post on July 18. Ortiz comes to UCI from The Pennsylvania State University, where she serves as associate vice president for budget as well as university budget officer.

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Irvine, Calif., May 6, 2022 – Earth system scientists at the University of California, Irvine and other institutions have drawn the clearest line yet connecting consumers of agricultural produce in wealthier countries in Asia, Europe and North America with a growth in greenhouse gas emissions in less-developed nations, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere.

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A University of California, Irvine-led team of researchers, along with members of the Pritzker Research Consortium, have developed an approach to identify blood biomarkers that could predict the suicide risk of major depressive disorder (MDD) patients.

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Irvine, Calif., May 4, 2022 – Two University of California, Irvine researchers have been elected to the National Academy of Sciences, one of the world’s most respected scientific organizations. Svetlana Jitomirskaya, Distinguished Professor of mathematics, and Krzysztof Palczewski, Distinguished Professor of ophthalmology, are among 120 U.

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New research from the University of California, Irvine, finds that drug withdrawal-induced anxiety and reinstatement of drug seeking behaviors are controlled by a single pathway in the brain and centered around dopamine cells.

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Irvine, Calif., May 2, 2022 — The National Science Foundation has awarded a Rapid Response Research grant of nearly $175,000 to University of California, Irvine researchers seeking to gauge the effect that the reporting of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in traditional and social media outlets has on the mental health of U.S. citizens.

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Aspirin can significantly reduce the incidence of colorectal cancer, and this protection can be the result of changed evolutionary processes of cells within patients, according to mathematical models produced by UCI researchers and partners. Results from the study were published in eLife Sciences. Colorectal cancer affects about 5% of the U.

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Irvine, Calif., April 28, 2022 — A quartet of professors at the University of California, Irvine, has been elected as members by the American Academy of Arts & Sciences. The 242nd class of AAAS inductees includes 261 extraordinary people from around the world, recognized for their accomplishments and leadership in academia, the arts, industry, public policy and research.

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Catherine Lhamon, Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Education, will deliver the keynote address for UCI Law’s 2022 commencement ceremony Saturday, May 7.

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Irvine, Calif., April 27, 2022 – Philip Felgner, Ph.D., professor in residence of physiology & biophysics at the University of California, Irvine, is one of two scholars to win the prestigious 2022 Robert Koch Prize for fundamental contributions to the transfer of nucleic acids into cells. This pioneering technology for treating infectious diseases played a crucial role in developing the messenger RNA COVID-19 vaccines.

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Irvine, Calif., April 26, 2022 — The University of California, Irvine’s Michael Méndez has been named to the 2022 class of Andrew Carnegie Fellows. The assistant professor of urban planning and public policy joins an exclusive cohort of 28 distinguished individuals nationwide selected from nearly 300 nominees. Each will receive $200,000 for a research sabbatical focused on their study in the social sciences or humanities – the most generous stipend of its type.

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Irvine, Calif., April 22, 2022 — Physicists at the University of California, Irvine have demonstrated the use of a hydrogen molecule as a quantum sensor in a terahertz laser-equipped scanning tunneling microscope, a technique that can measure the chemical properties of materials at unprecedented time and spatial resolutions.

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Irvine, Calif., April 21, 2022 — Tiffany Lopez, visionary artist and administrator and proven champion for diversity and inclusion, has been named dean of the Claire Trevor School of the Arts at the University of California, Irvine, following a nationwide search. She will assume the post on July 1. Lopez comes to UCI from Arizona State University, where she serves as vice provost for inclusive excellence and as a Foundation Professor in the Sidney Poitier New American Film School in ASU’s Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts.

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EVENT:  UCI’s Center for Educational Partnerships and the UCI Teacher Academy in partnership with the UCI Humanities Center and UCI Libraries Southeast Asian Archive will host a two-day conference intended for K-12 educators and all community members interested in integrating the principles of Asian American studies into their professional work.

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Irvine, Calif., April 14, 2022 — The University of California, Irvine Alumni Association will honor 23 accomplished individuals at the 2022 Lauds & Laurels ceremony on May 26, bestowing its highest honor, the Extraordinarius award, on Thomas Parham ’77, Ph.D., for his exemplary service, leadership and professional excellence.

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Irvine, Calif., April 12, 2022 – In a paper published today in Nature Communications, a team led by scientists from the University of California, Irvine, using climate models and satellite data, reveal for the first time how protecting tropical forests can yield climate benefits that enhance carbon storage in nearby areas. Many climate scientists use computer simulations to mimic the planet’s climate as it exists today and how it may exist in the future as humanity keeps emitting greenhouse gases.

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Researchers from the University of California, Irvine, participated with the international SCHEMA (SCHizophrenia Exome Meta-Analysis) Consortium in a landmark genetic study of more than 121,000 people which has identified extremely rare protein-disrupting mutations in 10 genes that strongly increase an individual's risk of developing schizophrenia — in one instance, by more than 20-fold.

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Irvine, Calif., April 12, 2022 — Bruce Yonemoto, a video and digital media installation artist, educator, writer, curator, and professor of art at the University of California, Irvine, has been awarded a 2022 Guggenheim Fellowship. He joins 179 other American and Canadian scientists and scholars in the social sciences and humanities, as well as writers and artists of all kinds, in 51 fields receiving the prestigious grants.

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A new study, led by researchers from the University of California, Irvine, identifies a reason for why older adults are significantly more susceptible to infectious diseases than younger people, a critical societal issue most recently exemplified by the COVID-19 pandemic.