As one of the nation’s leading research universities, UC Riverside drives discoveries that save lives and shape the world. Backed by critical federal funding, our dedicated, ambitious, and entrepreneurial faculty are finding creative and meaningful solutions to the world’s most pressing problems through their interdisciplinary and groundbreaking research.
Below are some of the ways UC Riverside researchers are putting federal dollars to work.
Why University Research Matters
Ever wonder where the biggest solutions to global problems actually come from? They often start right in a university lab. Hear in this video what federal support means to the research teams behind this life-changing research.
Faces of UCR Research
The Power Within
“Katie” Dehesh once had to make an impossible choice: leave her Persian homeland to pursue her love of science or stay near family and give up her career aspirations. Since joining UC Riverside in 2016, Dehesh has driven pioneering research in botany and plant sciences. Her passion for learning is contagious, and she is deeply committed to empowering women in science.
Breaking it Down
When Neftali Watkinson was deciding between majors, he chose computer science because he didn’t want to deal with people — or so he thought. Since joining UCR as an assistant teaching professor in the Bourns College of engineering, the most satisfying part of his job is breaking down computer science concepts for students, helping them gain confidence in a discipline that’s earned a reputation as being tough.
The Heart of Conservation
Ellie Armstrong is a scientist by training, a dog photographer by hobby, and a rescuer by nature. By day, she is an evolutionary biologist at UC Riverside building genomic tools to trace the ancestry of species facing extinction. In her free time, she takes glamour shots of foster dogs to help them get adopted. Both activities are motivated by a similar impulse – to help creatures that other people might overlook or write off.
A Safe Place
Since joining UCR in 2006, Tuppett Yates has studied how adverse childhood experiences affect development to inform policymakers, clinicians, and family court judges. In addition to her research, Yates is passionate about helping one of UCR’s most academically at-risk populations: students transitioning to college from the foster care system.
A Curious Buzz
There’s a buzz in Mark Hoddle’s office. It is a figurative buzz, because of Hoddle’s enthusiasm for controlling damaging pests with their natural insect enemies. But the buzz is also literal – from palm weevils being studied in this lab because they are attacking iconic palm trees throughout Southern California. In his role as director of UCR’s Center for Invasive Species Research, Hoddle is one of the people best qualified to keep the weevil threat at bay.
The Building Blocks of Life
Morris Maduro, a professor of biology and divisional dean of life sciences, joined UCR in 2003. He has studied microscopic worms called nematodes for more than two decades, focusing on C. elegans, used frequently as a model to study how genes orchestrate development because of its small size and ease of cultivation in the lab. His lab has long studied how transcription factors — proteins that activate the expression of genes — work in early animal embryos.
News & Commentary
Join UC in speaking up for science
As the University of California faces funding threats at the federal level, the University’s scientific community is coming together to amplify the life-saving research happening at UC through the Speak Up for Science campaign.
Slashing NIH funding means slashing innovative research
In an opinion article, UC Riverside Chancellor-Emeritus Kim Wilcox speaks to the model of federal research funding that has for 70 years made the United States the worldwide standard for innovation.
Frequently Asked Questions
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How does the federal government fund research?
- Through “direct costs,” which covers the scientists, lab supplies, equipment, and travel needed to conduct a government-funded project.
- Via “facilities and administrative (F&A) costs,” which are essential costs that are not tied to a single project. That can include lab space and support personnel, such as those who manage the paperwork to maintain facilities, to keep the lights on, and to pay for personnel to support the project and ensure compliance to many federal requirements.
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What research costs have been targeted by the federal government?
Facilities and Administrative (F&A) costs have been targeted. These are the essential costs required to conduct research.
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With the NIH funding that has been targeted by the federal government, how much does UCR stand to lose?
UCR could lose up to $12 million this year from its loss of NIH funding. That figure could climb to more than $20 million if other federal agencies such as NSF begin cuts.
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What percentage of UCR’s research costs is F&A?
F&A stands for Facilities and Administrative costs. The percentage for F&A is 57% of which the A part is capped at 26%. Above 26%, the university pays for any additional administrative costs, even though much of those costs are tied to federal rules and regulations to which the university is required to comply.
Speak Up for Science!
Science makes our lives better. Now it’s at risk. Join us in asking Congress to reject drastic cuts to research.
By the Numbers: Total UCR Research Expenditures
$214M
total UCR research expenditures
$41M
Dept. of Health and Human Services, which includes the National Institutes of Health
$33.1M
National Science Foundation
$19.6M
Dept. Of Agriculture
$11.6M
Dept. Of Defense
$9.8M
Dept. Of Energy