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The University of California, Davis, once again exceeded $1 billion in new external research awards in the fiscal year 2023-24, surpassing the amount received in the previous year by $33 million. The funding, which totaled $1.039 billion, will enable scientific discoveries and innovations addressing a wide range of global needs.    

“For the third consecutive year, �������� has set the bar high for research funding,” said Chancellor Gary S. May. “This investment will empower our university to continue transformative research confronting the world’s most persistent challenges from climate change to child welfare, generating unprecedented opportunities for individuals both here in California and across the globe."

Vice Chancellor for Research Simon Atkinson added, “��������’ success in attaining this level of funding and delivering global impact is a testament to the broad ingenuity and passion of our faculty, researchers and staff throughout the university.”

The federal government continued to be the largest provider of funding at $441 million. The second leading source was the state of California at $237 million, up by $76 million. Funding from industry made up the third highest source, totaling $95 million. 

Among the colleges and schools, the top three recipients were the School of Medicine ($400 million), the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences ($169 million) and the College of Engineering ($118 million). 

The largest single award, $52.39 million went to , executive director of at �������� Continuing and Professional Education, for a program to fortify the future of the child welfare workforce throughout California (described further below).  The award came from the California Department of Social Services, with funding from U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families.

Research at �������� also produces innovations that become the foundation for tomorrow’s products, services and businesses. Last fiscal year, researchers generated 140 records of invention, submitted 208 patent applications and secured 109 patents and plant certificates.

To learn more about the impact of �������� research and innovation, view our .

Notable awards by college and school

College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences

Building resilient and equitable urban stream corridors 

Natural hazards, socio-economic wellbeing and ecological functions all intertwine in California’s urban stream corridors, as these pathways are heavily relied on for flood and pollution control, recreation, ecosystem services, education and residency. Led by Professor , a multi-institutional and interdisciplinary team will use a combination of data collection in local communities and their streams, model-predicted future climate condition maps, remote sensing and spatial analysis to understand landscape patterns that amplify risks and identify locations where nature-based solutions can be most effective. The project is funded by the University of California Office of the President.  

College of Biological Sciences 

Ecology shaping cognition: An exploration with wild bees 

, an assistant professor in the Department of Neurobiology, Physiology, and Behavior, is leading a research project focused on understanding how environments shape cognition in bumblebees and other bee species. Funded by The National Geographic Society as part of their , the will investigate cognitive differences between queen and forager bumblebees, as well as the impact of dietary generalism on bees' cognitive abilities. Muth’s team will study bees in natural environments to determine how they learn and solve problems while foraging, on public land in Nevada and California, contributing to a broader understanding of animal behavior and cognition in the wild.

College of Engineering

Developing high-resolution imaging capabilities for advancing bio-informed flight research 

, an assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at �������� and , a professor in the School of Veterinary Medicine and director of the , are with funding from the Department of Defense. The new center will utilize motion capture and photogrammetry — which uses photography to determine the distance between objects — technologies to image birds in flight and create 3D models of the wing shapes to inform the design and capabilities of the next generation of uncrewed aerial systems. The center will be the first of its kind in the country. Harvey has been studying how bird flight can be used to improve aircraft design, and was the Packard Fellowship in Science and Engineering from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation last year. 

College of Letters and Science

Understanding gender-based differences in responses to social stress 

Stress-related mental illnesses are more common in women than men, and these differences arise after puberty when hormones shape brain development. Surprisingly little is known about how adolescent brain development affects behavior. Led by , a professor in the Department of Psychology, the team will examine how sexual differentiation during puberty shapes stress-sensitive neural circuits that control social behavior. A team of scientists has found that testosterone is the key hormone that drives differences in responses to social stress in male and female mice. Funded by the National Institutes of Mental Health, the team will test the hypothesis that activation of the androgen receptor during puberty alters gene expression in the brain to permanently program neural circuits of social behavior to be less sensitive to social stress. 

Continuing and Professional Education

Improving quality of child welfare services 

The California Title IV-E education program provides professional education and monetary support to undergraduate and graduate social work students who intend to pursue or continue a career in the field of public child welfare. Through funding awarded by the California Department of Social Services, a team led by , principal investigator and executive director of , will partner with UCLA to administer the Title IV-E program and its sub-awards at California’s 20 universities with social work programs. The new partnership will provide more opportunities to fortify the professional preparedness that participating students receive, ultimately strengthening the quality of child welfare services provided to families throughout the state.

Graduate School of Management

Enhancing open-source software use for optimization 

Professor and Associate Dean is working with researchers at to enhance open-source software used for optimization when the input data are uncertain. Although the enhancements are general, one target is to be able to optimize large economic models of electricity generation and delivery infrastructure. Another target is to be able to optimize electric grid planning, management and operation. This work also involves collaboration with the U.S. Department of Energy . 

School of Education

Creating professional learning opportunities for bilingual teachers and caregivers to teach English language learners 

Dual language education is an extremely effective way to teach students identified as English language learners, but there are not enough qualified, credentialed bilingual teachers to meet the rising need for bilingual education across the country. A team led by Associate Professor of Teaching in Education is developing and implementing workshops in Spanish for bilingual teachers and caregivers of English language learners in California and New Mexico, states which have among the highest number of K-8 students in the country who are identified as English language learners. The workshops will provide a professional learning environment in Spanish so that participating teachers and caregivers can gain and refine the skills they need to teach in K-8 dual language classrooms. The project is funded by a grant from the

School of Law

Providing sustainable groundwater management for underrepresented communities 

The , an extension of the law school’s will provide legal assistance to family farmers regulated by California’s The clinic was created through a Water Foundation grant that �������� Law Senior Assistant Dean for Administration , Aoki Water Justice Clinic Director and Professor and Director of Clinical Legal Education were instrumental in securing. David Sandino is the new director of the clinic.

School of Medicine

Preparing Californians for public health emergencies 

The �������� School of Medicine Department of Public Health Sciences assists with providing qualified personnel to aid the Emergency Preparedness Office and other California Department of Public Health programs with planning and activities to prepare Californians for public health emergencies. This includes drills and exercise scenarios, planning for the strategic national stockpile, crisis response, statewide disaster planning, and developing publications and communications to support the California Department of Public Health programs. The project is led by , chair and distinguished professor of the Department of Public Health Sciences and funded by the California Department of Public Health. 

School of Nursing

Funding to help counter national downward trend of graduate student enrollment in nursing

Enrollment in Doctor of Philosophy nursing programs across the nation is down more than 3% in the last year, posing a threat to meeting the nation’s health care needs, according to a survey from the . New investment from the aims to reverse that downward trend. It offers to lower the cost for students in the at the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing at ��������. Led by , the will provide substantial tuition packages for up to five years of full-time study, and also cover travel for conference presentations, start-up awards, research-related expenses and dissertation assistance. 

School of Veterinary Medicine

Combating Rift Valley fever  

This One Health project will continue the development of DDVax, a vaccine candidate for Rift Valley fever relevant for people and livestock. This high-consequence pathogen is found throughout Africa and parts of the Middle East and the risk of introduction into Europe, Asia, and the Americas is very high. The project, led by , director of the One Health Institute Laboratory and professor of emerging and zoonotic diseases, will enable a novel human vaccine trial against Rift Valley fever virus in Africa. Funded by the and the the project aims to work with partners in African countries affected by the virus to assess the safety and immune response of the vaccine in people most at risk. 

Office of Research, interdisciplinary research awards

within the Office of Research continue to attract significant funding by bringing experts together from different fields of study. These joint efforts aim to address complex, large-scale challenges that require expertise from many perspectives. Notable examples include:

Growing GRASS and climate-smart value-added US commodity markets

Led by , director of the Center for Conservation Informatics in the  and funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the American Sustainable Business Institute, Inc., the project aims to define successful regenerative practices and to quantify greenhouse gas sequestration while bringing beef and bison byproducts into sustainable supply chains.

Remote monitoring for equity in advancing control of hypertension (REACH) 

Nearly  have hypertension, the most common cause of avoidable death and disability in the U.S. It is of particular importance to conduct studies of home blood pressure monitoring among communities most impacted by hypertension, given that Black and Latino communities, those with low income, and those with limited proficiency in English are more likely to be diagnosed with hypertension or have uncontrolled hypertension. Led by , director of the Center for Healthcare Policy and Research and professor in the �������� School of Medicine’s Department of Public Health Sciences, the  will test patient support for home blood pressure monitoring, with the goal of varying clinical pharmacist outreach and support. REACH is funded by the National Institutes of Health and the National Institute of Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, and 540 patients will be enrolled. The project is in partnership with UC San Francisco.  

Measuring charging infrastructure reliability in California 

The reliability of the public charging infrastructure in California is critical to facilitating the adoption and utilization of electric vehicles in order to meet the state’s zero-emission vehicle sales and emissions reductions goals. Led by director of the STEPS+ and EV Research Center at the, this project aims to investigate and understand the difference in reliability between two sources: the EV service provider and the customer, the cause of any reliability or charging failures, and provide potential solutions for providers to maximize the reliability of chargers. This project will be focused on Direct Current Fast Chargers in California and will separately explore the charging reliability experience in different communities including urban, rural, low-income and disadvantaged communities. The project is funded by the California Energy Commission. 

Reports are based on the principal investigator’s home school or college. Where funds are awarded up-front to cover several years, the money is counted in the first year the award was received. Incrementally funded awards are counted as authorized in each year. Funding amounts reflect a correction in the attribution of a $3 million award to the School of Nursing that was previously assigned to the School of Medicine.