Funding Opportunities
Internal Funding
Funding is available for BioSci faculty and researchers through various on-campus entities and from the School of Biological Sciences.
- UCI’s Funding Opps website collates CFPs announced via email.
- Bridge Funding is available through Office of Research.
BioSci releases the following calls for proposals annually.
External Funding
To get grants, you need to know what opportunities are available. Information about funding opportunity announcements (FOAs) are available at several locations.
- Office of Research provides links to various resources.
- Grants.gov has a Search Grants tab that lists the federal government’s open funding opportunities.
- PIVOT is a funding database that lists open calls for proposals.
2018–2019 Awards (updated quarterly)
Below is a list of new and renewal awards with start dates during FY 2018-2019. It will be updated periodically.
| PI | Co-Investigators or Fellowship Recipient | Title | Department | Sponsor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blurton-Jones, Mathew | A Kinase-directed phenotypic screen of human microglial cells | NBB | Array Biopharma Inc. | |
| Boiko, Alexander | N/A | Tracing Tumor Heterogeneity in Squamous Cell Carcinoma | MB&B | UC Cancer Research Coordinating Committee |
| Bowler, Peter A. | N/A | Digitization TCN: Collaborative Research: Capturing California’s Flowers: using digital images to investigate phenological change in a biodiversity hotspot | EBB | NSF BIO DBI |
| Campbell, Diane | Norman Wickett (Chicago Botanic Garden), Warren Wagner (National Tropical Botanical Garden), Michael Moore (Oberlin College) | Collaborative Research: Unlocking the evolutionary history of Schiedea (carnation family, Caryophyllaceae): rapid radiation of an endemic plant genus in the Hawaiian Islands | EEB | NSF BIO DEB |
| Cho, Ken | Interplay of maternal transcription factors in endoderm specification | DevCell | NSF | |
| Cinquin, Olivier | N/A | Cell-free DNA damage to detect tumors and DNA repair defects | DevCell | UC Cancer Research Coordinating Committee |
| Cotman, Carl | Marcelo Wood | Epigenetic suppression of histone methylation reverses age and AD-related cognitive decline | NBB | NIH NIA (RF1) |
| Cotman, Carl | California Alzheimer’s Disease Center of UC Irvine | NBB | State of CA – H&W Public Health, Dept of (CDPH) | |
| Gandhi, Sunil P. | N/A | Investigating Circuit Mechanisms and Brain-wide Connectivity Deficits in a Mouse Model of Amblyopia | NBB | Knights Templar Eye Fdn Inc |
| Gandhi, Sunil P. | Ricardo Azevedo (Fellowship) | Contributions of interhemispheric signaling to visual system processing and development | NBB | NIH NEI (F30) |
| Glabe, Charles | N/A | Conformational polymorphisms of amyloid in AD and immunological biomarkers and therapeutics | MB&B | NIH NIA (R01) |
| Green, Kim | Elizabeth Spangenberg | Role of microglia in plaque homeostasis in AD | NBB | NIH NIA (F31) |
| Green, Kim | N/A | Microglia are necessary for cortical plaque formation in Alzheimer’s disease | NBB | NIH NIA (RF1) |
| Green, Michael T. | N/A | Thermodynamic, Electronic, Structural, and Kinetic Characterizations of Cytochrome P450 Compounds I & II | MB&B | NIH NIGMS (R01) |
| Lur, Gyorgy | N/A | Feed-forward – feed-back integration in cognitive circuits | NBB | Whitehall Foundation |
| Martiny, Adam | Natalia Komarova, Francois Primeau, Simon Levin | Convergence: RAISE: Linking the Adaptive Dynamics of Plankton with Emergent Global Ocean Biochemistry | EEB | NSF GEO OCE |
| Martiny, Jennifer B. H. | Ana Elena Escalante Hernández (Instituto de Ecolígia, UNAM) | Functional significance of microbial diversity in arid soils: biological soil crusts and Nitrogen fixation as study model | EEB | UC MEXUS |
| Metherate, Raju | N/A | Nicotinic enhancement of auditory-cognitive processing | NBB | NIH NIDCD (R01) |
| Nie, Qing | Xing Dai, Maksim V. Plikus | Multiscale Models of Wound Cell Plasticity for Regeneration | DevCell | NIH NIAMS (U01) |
| Nie, Qing | Arthur Lander, John Lowengrub, Xing Dai, Jun Allard | NSF-Simons Center for Multiscale Cell Fate Research | DevCell | NSF MPS DMS and Simons Foundation |
| Parsons, Michael | N/A | Characterizing the Role of Pancreatic Progenitors in Regeneration | DevCell | NIH NIDDK (R01) |
| Pedersen, Irene | N/A | miR regulation of the neurovasculature function in health and disease | MB&B | NIH NINDS (R01) |
| Sato, Brian | Kimberly Tanner, Stanley Lo, Di Xu, Kameryn Denaro | Examining the Roles of STEM Teaching Faculty in Advancing the Use of Evidence-based Teaching Practices at Research Universities | MB&B | NSF EHR DUE |
| Tenner, Andrea | Seyed Ali Mortazavi | Defining the Mechanistic Link between C5aR1 signaling and cognitive loss in Alzheimer’s diseases | MB&B | NIH NIA (R01) |
| Thompson, Leslie M. | Peter J. Donovan | Training Program in Stem Cell Translational Medicine for Neurological Disorders | NBB; Psychiatry and Human Behavior | NIH NINDS (T32) |
| Tinoco, Roberto | N/A | Targeting PSGL-1 inhibitory pathways to promote anti-tumor T cell immunity | MB&B | Melanoma Research Alliance |
| Wang, Wenqi | N/A | Novel regulations of the Hippo tumor suppressor pathway | DevCell | American Cancer Society |
| Wang, Wenqi | N/A | Investigate the Hippo pathway in stress response and cancer | DevCell | UC Cancer Research Coordinating Committee |
| Wodarz, Dominik | Natalia Komarova | Hybrid deterministic-stochastic methodology for simulating spatial evolution in large populatioons | EEB | NSF MPS DMS |
| Wunderlich, Zeba B | N/A | Mechanisms of shadow enhancer robustness during development | DevCell | NIH NICHD (R01) |
| Yassa, Michael | Weiwei Zhang (PI) | A Neurocognitive Mechanism for Precision of Visual Working Memory Representations | NBB | NIH NIMH (R01; subcontract from UC Riverside) |
2017–2018 Awards
The School of Biological Sciences received the following new and renewal awards with start dates during FY 2017-2018.
| PI | Co-Investigators or Fellowship Recipient | Title | Department | Sponsor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Allison, Steven D. | Michael Goulden; Diane Campbell; Efi Foufoula-Georgiou; Kristen Davis | NRT: A training incubator for addressing urban environmental change from Ridge to Reef (R2R) | EEB | NSF EHR DGE |
| Allison, Steven D. | N/A | Collaborative Research: NSFDEB-NERC: Tropical deadwood carbon fluxes: Improving carbon models by incorporating termites and microbes | EEB | NSF BIO DEB |
| Allison, Steven D. | PI Emma Jane Sayer | ForestPrime – Predicting carbon release from forest soils through priming effects: a new approach to reconcile results across multiple scales | EEB | European Research Council (subcontract from Lancaster University) |
| Atwood, Scott | N/A | Recurrent GLI mutations in drug-resistant skin cancer | DevCell | UC Cancer Research Coordinating Committee |
| Blumberg, Bruce | Riann Egusquiza (Fellowship) | Exposure to PCB-153 induces oxidative stress during SXR loss-of-function resulting in anemia and tumor development | DevCell | Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Assn of America Fdn |
| Blumberg, Bruce | PI Nicole Isolde Zur Nieden | microRNA tuning of neural crest fate | DevCell | NIH NIDCR (subcontract from UC Riverside) |
| Blurton-Jones, Mathew Mark | N/A | Examining the role of adaptive immunity in Alzheimer’s Disease pathogenesis | NBB | NIH NIA (RF1) |
| Blurton-Jones, Mathew Mark | N/A | Manipulating DNA repair enzymes to examine the interactions between aging and Alzheimers disease with iPSC-derived microglia | NBB | NIH NIA (R01) |
| Bracken, Matthew E | Adam Martiny | Collaborative Research: Context-dependency of top-down vs. bottom-up effects of herbivores on marine primary producers | EEB | NSF GEO OCE |
| Busciglio, Jorge A | A. Claudio Cuello; Juan Fortea; Thomas M. Wisniewski | The Role of Inflammation and NGF Dysfunction in the Evolution of Alzheimer Disease Pathology in Down syndrome | NBB | NIH NIA (R01) |
| Cho, Ken W.Y. | N/A | Mechanisms of Foxh1 pioneer factor action during mesendoderm development | DevCell | NIH NIGMS (R01) |
| Cho, Ken W.Y. | Michelle Digman | Assessment of the phasor Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging Microscopy (FLIM) Approach in an animal model | DevCell | NIH NICHD (R21) |
| Emerson, J.J. | N/A | Structural variation, population size, and the evolution of genome complexity | EEB | NIH NIGMS (R01) |
| Fowler, Christie D. | N/A | Adolescent Nicotine and Cannabinoid Exposure on Nicotine Dependence | NBB | UC Tobacco Related Disease Research Program |
| Fruman, David A. | N/A | The Public Policy Prep Program at University of California, Irvine | MB&B | Burroughs Wellcome Fund |
| Fruman, David A. | Testing constrained rapamycin analogs in lymphocytes | MB&B | Pfizer Inc | |
| Gandhi, Sunil P. | Xiaoting Zhen (Fellowship) | The cell-type specific role of NRG1/ErbB4 signaling in transplant-reactivated cortical plasticity | NBB | NIH NEI (F31) |
| Gandhi, Sunil P. | Figueroa Velez (Fellowship) | Dissecting the circuits that support high acuity spatial vision | NBB | NIH NEI (F31) |
| Gandhi, Sunil P. | N/A | Exploring Neural Mechanisms of Visual Acuity Loss in a Mouse Model of Amblyopia | NBB | Knights Templar Eye Fdn Inc |
| Gaut, Brandon | N/A | Evolutionary interactions between plant genomes and transposable elements | EEB | NSF BIO DEB |
| Gaut, Brandon | Dario Cantu; M. Andrew Walker | RESEARCH-PGR: Phenotypic and Genomic Diversity of North American Vitis | EEB | NSF BIO IOS |
| German, Donovan P | N/A | Diet specialization and population genetic structure in the Senorita wrasse (Oxyjulis californica) as a source for understanding trophic adaptation in marine communities | EEB | UC Mexus |
| Glabe, Charles | N/A | Conformational polymorphisms of amyloid in AD and immunological biomarkers and therapeutics | MB&B | NIH NIA (R56) |
| Glabe, Charles | Validation of endogenous human antibodies that are correlated with avoiding Alzheimer’s disease and their corresponding antigens, for immunotherapeutic development | MB&B | Alzheimer’s Disease Research Fdn. (Incl. Cure Alzheimer’s Fund) | |
| Goulding, Celia | N/A | Repurposing a toxin-immunity pair to selectively kill cancer | MB&B | UC Cancer Research Coordinating Committee |
| Hu, Yilin | N/A | CAREER: CO2 activation by nitrogenase Fe proteins | MB&B | NSF MPS CHE |
| Hughes, Christopher C. | N/A | Microphysiological systems to model vascular malformations | MB&B | NIH NHLBI (UG3) |
| Roper, Michael Gabriel | Christopher C. Hughes; Ryan J. White | Modular monitoring of hormone release from human islets | MB&B | NIH NIDDK (UC4; subcontract from Florida State Univ) |
| Hughes, Christopher C. | N/A | Training Program in Cardiovascular Applied Research and Entrepreneurship | MB&B | NIH NHLBI (T32) |
| Inlay, Matthew | N/A | Distinguishing the roles of microglia and infiltrating monocytes in beta-amyloid plaque formation and neuroinflammation in Alzheimer’s Disease in mouse models and human patient samples | MB&B | NIH NINDS (R03) |
| James, Anthony A | Safely engineering various classes of gene drives to control a major invasive disease vector Ae. Aegypti | MB&B; Microbiology and Molecular Genetics | DoD DAPRA (subcontract from UC Riverside) | |
| James, Anthony A | Multidimensional Chemogenic Control of CRISPR-based Gene Drives | MB&B; Microbiology and Molecular Genetics | DoD DARPA (subcontract from Broad Institute) | |
| Kawas, Claudia Helen | A Clinico-Pathological Study of the Correspondence Between 18F-AV-1451 PET Imaging and Post-Mortem Assessment of Tau Pathology. | NBB | Avid Radiopharmaceuticals, Inc. | |
| Kawas, Claudia Helen | Apolipoprotein E2 and brain aging | NBB | Pacific Health Research and Education Institution | |
| LaFerla, Frank M | Andrea J. Tenner | UC Irvine AD Translational Center for Disease Model Resources | NBB | NIH NIA (U54) |
| McNaughton, Bruce Leslie | Hippocampal indexing and cortical hierarchies: the drivers of quasi-continuous learning | NBB | DoD DARPA | |
| Messaoudi Powers, Ilhem | N/A | Comprehensive Profiling of Extracellular RNA Biomarkers of Alcohol Consumption | MB&B | NIH NIAAA (R21) |
| Mooney, Kailen A | Applying next generation sequencing techniques to create drought-adapted native plant communities | EEB | Kay Family Foundation (subcontract from Chapman University) | |
| Ranz Navalpotro, Jose Mari | N/A | Generation of a de novo genome assembly and gene annotation for the monarch butterfly | EEB | UC Mexus |
| Razorenova, Olga | N/A | Targeting Rho/ROCK pathway for treatment of VHL-deficient CC-RCC tumors | MB&B | American Cancer Society |
| Ribbe, Markus | Yilin Hu | Tuning hydrocarbon formation by vanadium nitrogenase via a hybrid approach | MB&B | DOE |
| Schilling, Thomas F. | Daniel Dranow (Fellowship) | Roles of Cell Polarity and Cilia in Cartilage Patterning in the Craniofacial Skeleton | DevCell | NIH NIDCR (F32) |
| Schilling, Thomas F. | N/A | Role and Regulation of Cellular Polarity in Craniofacial Skeletogenesisn | DevCell | NIH NIDCR (R01) |
| Sorte, Cascade J | Mathew Bracken | Collaborative Research: Effects of multiple aspects of climate change on marine biodiversity and ecosystem functioning | EEB | NSF GEO OCE |
| Stark, Craig E. L. | N/A | Videogame-based environmental enrichment training for altercations in hippocampal function and memory in middle-aged adults | NBB | NIH NIA (R21) |
| Sumikawa, Katumi | N/A | Maternal nicotine exposure and memory impairments in offspring | NBB | NIH NIDA (R01) |
| Thompson, Leslie M | N/A | Stem Cells for Huntington’s Disease International Conference | NBB; Psychiatry and Human Behavior | California Institute for Regenerative Medicine |
| Thompson, Leslie M | Sarah Hernandez (Fellowship) | Investigation of extracellular matrix expression and function in Huntington’s disease induced pluripotent stem cell-derived striatal neurons | NBB; Psychiatry and Human Behavior | Huntingtons Disease Society of America |
| Thompson, Leslie M | Charlene Geater (Fellowship) | PIAS1 network in HD induced pluripotent stem cells | NBB; Psychiatry and Human Behavior | Hereditary Disease Fdn |
| Thompson, Leslie M | Preclinical development enabling activities for CNS10-NPCs in HD mice | NBB; Psychiatry and Human Behavior | Huntington Study Group, LTD | |
| Thompson, Leslie M | Assessment of WGS-derived genetic modifiers in differentiated HD-derived iPSCs | NBB; Psychiatry and Human Behavior | Hereditary Disease Fdn | |
| Tsai, Shiou-Chuan | Christopher D. Vanderwal | Probing and Engineering of Iterative Polyketide Synthase | MB&B | NIH NIGMS (R01) |
| Wang, Wenqi | N/A | Lipid signaling in Hippo pathway regulation | DevCell | NIH NIGMS (R01) |
| Wood, Marcelo A | Alberto Lopez (Fellowship) | Role of a medial habenula circuit and Nr4a2 in regulating cocaine action during reinstatement | NBB | NIH NINDS (F99) |
| Wood, Marcelo A | Yasaman Alaghband (Fellowship) | CREST: the calcium-responsive transcriptional activator that links key epigenetic mechanisms underlying cocaine-associated memories | NBB | NIH NIDA (F32) |
| Yassa, Michael A. | N/A | International Conference on Learning and Memory | NBB | NIH NINDS (R13) |
| Yassa, Michael A. | Daniel L. Gillen | Neuroimaging biomarkers for cognitive decline in elderly with amyloid pathology | NBB | NIH NIA (R01) |
