Christina Kim, a faculty member in the Center for Neuroscience and an assistant professor in the UC Davis Department of Neurology, has been selected as a 2023 NIH Director’s New Innovator Award recipient. The award, announced last month, is part of the NIH Common Fund’s High-Risk, High-Reward Research program.

The University of California, Davis, exceeded $1 billion in new external research awards in the fiscal year 2022-23 following the record set the previous year. The funding, which totaled $1.006 billion, will enable scientific discoveries and new technologies through research addressing a wide range of needs in human and animal health, digital systems, the environment and more.  

Faculty and staff in the college’s eight graduate groups were well-represented among this year’s recipients of mentorship and service awards by Graduate Studies, which presents awards annually to members of the graduate community who have made impactful and far-reaching differences in their programs, and in the experiences of their students.

Alyssa Parsons
Biochemistry, Molecular, Cellular and Development Biology graduate group coordinator

Peter Wainwright, a Distinguished Professor and Chair of the Department of Evolution and Ecology, has been honored with the 2023 Joseph S. Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award in Ichthyology. Conferred by the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists (ASIH), the award recognizes exceptional contributions to the realm of fish biology and aquatic ecosystems.

Wainwright received the award in honor of a distinguished career marked by groundbreaking research, transformative education and dedicated service to his field.

Abiel Malepeai is guided by an old Samoan proverb that translates to English as “The pathway to leadership is service.” The recent UC Davis graduate has advocated for Pacific Islander students, served as a student EMT with the UC Davis Fire Department and helped meet the basic needs of students.

Chancellor Gary S. May and the Academic Senate’s Committee on Affirmative Action and Diversity recently announced their selections for the 2023 Chancellor’s Fellowships for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

Four are members of the Academic Senate:

Mentorship in the life sciences plays a crucial role. One generation helps the next, and together new discoveries are made, techniques are developed and skills are honed, by both mentor and mentee.

The CBS Dean’s Mentorship Awards, which are made possible through donations to the college’s Annual Fund, recognize exceptional graduate students who have mentored undergraduate students in the lab and classroom. This year’s recipients were honored at a college award ceremony on Saturday, June 3.

Each year, the College of Biological Sciences recognizes outstanding members of its faculty for significant efforts in the classroom and laboratory.

This year, Bruce Draper, a professor in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology who studies how germline stem cells are regulated and function in vertebrates, and Laci Gerhart, an assistant professor of teaching in the Department of Evolution and Ecology who teaches the ever-popular “Wild Davis” course, were recognized by their peers for their contributions to the college.

The college’s top graduating seniors were honored for their achievements at an award ceremony on Saturday, June 3. The event included both college and campus awards.

With promising futures ahead for each, the students took to the mic upon receiving their awards to share their post-graduation plans, including remaining at UC Davis for graduate school, attending medical school and continued volunteer and community service efforts.

Earlier this month, the UC Davis Library announced the 2023 winners of the library’s Lang Prize! Now in its seventh year, the Norma J. Lang Prize for Undergraduate Information Research recognizes students who make exceptional use of library resources and services — such as primary source materials and special collections, online databases and journal articles, interlibrary loan services, or consulting with a librarian.

Three professors from the University of California, Davis, have been elected as members of the National Academy of Sciences. They are among 120 new members and 23 international members announced by the academy May 2. Members are elected in recognition of their contributions to original research. Membership in the academy is considered one of the highest honors a scientist can achieve.

The final round of the UC Davis Grad Slam had a flurry of PowerPoint slides, a giant deck of cards and a stuffed monkey, but in the end the top prize went to someone talking about genetic “ghosts.”

The University of California, Davis, continues to be recognized for its leadership in the fields of veterinary science, and agriculture and forestry, among other fields, in the 2023 QS World University Rankings by Subject released March 22.

The Academic Senate and Academic Federation have made their selections for the campus’s most prestigious academic awards for 2023, honoring 17 members for exceptional research, teaching and mentoring, and public service. Brian Gaylord, a professor in the Department of Evolution and Ecology, was recognized for supporting collaborative learning among his students.

Three UC Davis faculty members are among 125 recipients of this year’s Sloan Research Fellowships, prestigious awards given by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation to early-career scientific researchers seen as emerging leaders in their fields.

The 2023 fellows, including UC Davis’ Kate L. Laskowski, Jesús M. Velázquez and Alexander S. Wein, “represent the most promising scientific researchers working today,” the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation said in announcing its selections Feb. 15.