What your donation can support

Our faculty and students are involved in many aspects of cutting-edge research, from stem cells and cancer research to computational interpretation of genomic data and the developmental biology of the heart. Our research goal is to address the most conceptually important issues related to gene regulation and morphogenesis, bring the most innovative approaches to these investigations, and translate the discoveries to address the most pressing of human problems: disease and hunger.

Donations to the department are vital to ensure a strong future for its graduate and undergraduate education programs. Your donation, regardless of amount, has a powerful impact and is greatly appreciated. You may focus your gift on a specific area, or make a gift to be used in the area of greatest need. Please make a donation to one of these programs.

If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact: lifesciences@support.ucla.edu or 310-825-5805.

Chair’s Discretionary Fund:

Gifts to this fund allow the department to allocate additional resources as needed to the fellowships and academic programs described above, helping both graduates and undergraduates to achieve their goals.

Annual gifts to the Molecular, Cell, & Developmental Biology Chair’s Discretionary Fund, in addition to providing vital funds to our department, also qualify the donor for membership into the Chancellor’s Society.

Student Support:

Graduate Support

The MCDB Graduate Fellowship: Our extraordinary graduate students need support to devote their full efforts to their dissertation research. A donation of $27,000 would support one student for one year, but any gift will help us to continue building the fund to provide as many fellowship quarters as possible, which would allow graduate students to focus on their research and dissertation. Funds can also be used to provide much-needed funding of research materials for their thesis research, as these are not necessarily funded by grant funding available in the mentor’s lab.

Undergraduate Support

The MCDB Undergraduate Research Fellowships: Our talented undergraduate researchers must often interrupt their research during summer, because of a lack of funding support. Any amount is welcomed to help them continue their research, and to provide funding of research materials.