Faculty & Research

Research at UCI utilizes state-of-the-art approaches to recombinant DNA technology, gene transfer methodologies, chromosome analysis, microscopy, electrophysiology, biochemical isolation and analysis of proteins and nucleic acids, crystallography, and animal models of human disease. Facilities are available for analysis of biological samples, including electron microscopy, confocal microscopy, atomic force microscopy, optical biology, flow cytometry, and histology. In addition, facilities for cell-oriented studies include the Sue and Bill Gross Stem Cell Research Center, monoclonal antibody production, construction of viral vectors, and transgenic mouse generation. Manipulation of cells is central to many research programs and includes such techniques as microinjection and patch clamping for neurophysiology and laser manipulation for cytogenetics. Structural biology research on campus employs x-ray crystallography, NMR, mass spectrometry, and other spectroscopic techniques. The campus offers facilities for synthesis of organic compounds, oligomers, and peptides, and a Genomics facility for high-throughput sequencing and gene arrays. Numerous vivaria are located around campus with housing for many animal species.

UCI is one of the few universities in California with an NIH-funded Institute for Clinical and Translational Sciences. Based in Hewitt Hall, this institute provides access to human tissue and support for clinical translational studies, as well as grants for investigators and trainees conducting translational research.

The Beckman Laser Institute is one of the world’s premier centers of biomedical laser research and therapy. Other cutting edge imaging facilities include the Functional Onco-Imaging Center, MicroPET/CT, and the NIH-funded Laboratory for Fluorescence Dynamics Research.

The School of Biological Sciences library, which opened its doors in 1995, is an important educational resource for students and faculty. Strategically located between the School of Biological Sciences and the School of Medicine, the UCI Science Library is one of the largest consolidated science and medicine libraries in the nation and the largest in California. The $32 million facility, with capacity for more than 500,000 volumes, has allowed the campus to centralize all of its science and technology collections previously housed in four separate campus libraries. In addition, hundreds of scientific journals are available online to UCI graduate students and faculty.