February 2022  17th Edition
A Message from the Dean

After a month of virtual instruction, we are now back to in-person classes on campus. Additionally, with more and more of the public receiving the vaccine, we are starting to see the numbers of seriously ill COVID-19 patients drop in Orange County.
 
Discover Row 1
UCI receives monumental gift towards depression research
Chancellor Howard Gillman announced a transformative gift of $57.75 million, given to UCI on behalf of the estate of Audrey Steele Burnand.  More than $55 million of the gift, believed to be the largest philanthropic gift to a U.S. university for depression research, will be used to create the Noel Drury, MD, Depression Research Center.
 
UCI study confirms linkage between altered DNA repair and DNA damage in neurodegenerative conditions causing movement disorders
New research suggests potential therapies to treat spinocerebellar ataxia and its resulting coordination impairments.
 
Discover Row 2
Research team discovers a molecular feature in prostate cancer with prognostic value, distinguishes ancestral differences
Expression signatures may be useful for assessing greatest risk of progression in prostate and other cancers.
 
UCI researchers discover cause, develop pharmacological treatment for reducing retinitis pigmentosa vision loss
Inhibiting ceramide accumulation in retina protects photoreceptors, improves vision.
 
Discover 1 Article Rows
Using cryo-electron tomography, UCI researchers reveal molecular mechanisms underlying mutations within the eye that lead to blindness
Understanding the key structural determinants of a highly specialized membrane in the eye could lead to new treatments, even a cure.
 
UCI-led team first to discover new neural circuits that regulate spatial learning and memory in the brain’s hippocampal formation
Understanding of novel functional roles can advance research in Alzheimer’s disease, other learning and memory disorders.
 
Teach Row 1
Yama Akbari, MD, PhD, is 2021 recipient of Elizabeth Hurlock Beckman Award
The annual award is given to professors who inspired their former students to achieve greatness.
 
Krzysztof Palczewski, PhD, winner of 2022 Goodman and Gilman Award in Receptor Pharmacology
Given by The American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (ASPET) for significant contributions to the field of pharmacology and the future of pharmacology research and education.
 
Teach Row 2
Kwang Mook Jung, PhD, receives investigator award from Department of Defense
Jung recently received the New Investigator Award from the Department of Defense, Gulf War Illness Research Program for his study of "Cannabidiol as a Novel Therapeutic for Gulf War Illness."
 
UCI and community partners expand efforts to build local resilience and address COVID-19 inequities
The community-academic partnership will advocate for a health equity approach to COVID-19 recovery in Orange County and will inform policymakers on structural improvements.
 
Teach 1 Article Rows
Academic Senate 2021-22 Distinguished Faculty Awardees named
Claudia H. Kawas, MD, professor in the Department of Neurology, will be awarded the Academic Senate Better World Award on March 9, 2022.
 
Two School of Medicine graduate students selected as 2021-2022 Public Impact Distinguished Fellows
Public Impact Fellowships highlight and support PhD or MFA students whose current research has the potential for substantial impact in the public sphere.
 
Heal Row 1
Saving Lives with Stem Cells
The Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant and Cellular Therapy Program is thriving during its inaugural year.
 
UCI Health intensive care units honored with Beacon Award for Excellence
Critical care recognition reflects longstanding commitment to highest nursing standards.
 
Heal Row 2
UCI Health and UC Investments team up to advance solutions for healthcare challenges
UCI Health, Orange County’s academic health system, and UC Investments, the Office of the Chief Investment Officer of the Regents of the University of California, jointly announced the launch of a $50 million fund to invest in healthcare innovation and digital health aimed at revolutionizing patient care and public health.
 
Type O blood shortage
Critical need for blood donations to ease nation-wide shortage.
 
Heal 1 Article Rows
Unmatched for excellence
UCI Health is home to 187 doctors who have been named 2022 Physicians of Excellence by the Orange County Medical Association, more than any other hospital in the region.

UCI Health is home to 187 doctors who have been named 2022 Physicians of Excellence by the Orange County Medical Association, more than any other hospital in the region.

This prestigious honor, announced in the January 2022 issue of Orange Coast magazine, is bestowed by the volunteer physician organization as part of its mission to promote the art and science of medicine, the protection of public health and the betterment of the medical profession.

The complete list includes more than 740 Orange County physicians in more than 65 specialties. The magazine is on newsstands now.
 
SOM in the News

In Depth: How a Scientist laid the groundwork for the mRNA Covid vaccines in San Diego

Engineered particles efficiently deliver gene editing proteins to cells in mice

UCI researchers create way to pay for things with high-five

A future doctor’s illustration of a Black fetus went viral Experts explain the importantce of Black bodies in medical diagrams

UCI team's preemptive COVID vaccine candidate has promising results
 
Calendar

Feb. 8 – Annual EpiCenter Symposium

Feb. 18-19 –  48 hours of Otolaryngology Updates

Feb. 23-25 – 2022 Healthcare Forecast Conference

Feb. 23-26 – UCI Gastroenterology & Hepatology Symposium

March 1 – Center for the Neurbiology of Learning and Memory (CNLM) Virtual Colloquium Series

March 24-25 – Engaging Learners Through Innovation and Technology (ELITe) course
 
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