Help Us Write the History of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics
$500,000 endowment from Estée Lauder to establish an epigenetics fellowship in honor of the late Paolo Sassone-Corsi, PhD.
Opportunities to Partner with Microbiology & Molecular Genetics Researchers
Have you considered supporting microbiology and molecular genetics research through your donation? Would you like to meet the scientists who are on the cutting edge of finding cures for infectious diseases such as Lyme disease, Dengue Fever, malaria, spotted fever, typhus, immune disorders, viral latency and reactivation, kidney tumor syndrome, colon cancer, HIV, bacterial foodborne illnesses, Chlamydial infections causing blindness or cervical cancer, and more?
Why Donate to Microbiology & Molecular Research?
We have seen remarkable progress in treatments for individuals who have been diagnosed with heart disease, cancers, and neurological diseases. How the immune system responds to novel types of infection presents the next frontier. We still have much to learn about the cause, progression, and treatment of infectious diseases.
The control of gene expression provides us with our total experience of the world: what we sense, who we are, and how we respond to infections. Learning about the defense system teaches us about how we manage life. When a person’s defense system is not functioning well, the effects on patients and their families can be devastating.
What Do the Scientists in Microbiology & Molecular Genetics Work On?
Finding out how the human body fights infectious disease is the task of the faculty and staff of the Department of Microbiology & Molecular Genetics. The Department of Microbiology & Molecular Genetics comprises a world-class team of dedicated scientists in both the basic sciences (understanding how nerve cells function) and clinical sciences (how to apply basic understanding towards the development of drugs and procedures to use in clinical trials).
Research projects currently underway in our department are designed to discover treatments and cures for a wide range of conditions, including epilepsy, drug addiction, Spinal Muscular Atrophy, Lyme disease, Dengue Fever, malaria, spotted fever, typhus, immune disorders, viral latency and reactivation, kidney tumor syndrome, colon cancer, HIV, bacterial foodborne illnesses, Chlamydial infections causing blindness or cervical cancer, and more.
Why Does the Department Need Money?
Doesn’t Funding Come from the Federal & State Governments?
The cost of carrying out research into these disorders is steadily increasing. Unfortunately, the financial support provided by the federal government and by the California state governments to individual researchers is not keeping pace. Private foundations are also trying to do more, with less of their own funding.
For example, an antibody to identify the cause of an infection costs about $300. A modern fluorescence microscope or imaging system costs over $50,000. A single panel of gene expression can cost over $1000. These costs add up quickly.
Annual operating costs of microbiology and molecular genetics labs at UCI run several hundreds of thousands of dollars in direct costs for materials, overhead, and people.
We should also consider the cost of training the next generation of microbiologists. The annual cost of training one student is over $40,000; students are needed for the tremendous amount of work they do in labs today… and we and our families will need their discoveries, insights, and cures, tomorrow.
How Would My Donation Help?
The discrepancy between the costs of doing cutting-edge science, and the support provided by the usual funding agencies, presents an important opportunity for individual donors.
You can make an important and tangible contribution to microbiology and molecular genetics research. Each experiment a scientist designs, executes, interprets, and publishes, becomes a part of history. Join us in writing new chapters in history; consider making a donation to the Department of Microbiology & Molecular Genetics. Donors will have the opportunity to meet with researchers and keep abreast of the progress of their funded projects. Help us, help you; become a partner in writing the history of microbial research.
How Can I Donate?
There are several ways to donate and all donations are welcome. Instructions for online donation are listed below as well as a phone number to ask any further questions:
1- Visit the
2- A page will load titled “Give to UCI”.
3- The drop-down menus are already pre-selected to direct your donation to the Department of Microbiology & Molecular Genetics.
4- Click the “Next Page” button at the bottom of the page and follow the rest of the prompts to complete your donation.
If you have any questions, please contact 949-824-7930.