We believe that locating these programs together will promote cross-fertilization of ideas and technologies that are essential for outstanding science. Designed and created in every aspect for collaborative “bench to bedside” research, the building will amplify the impact of elite teams of UCI investigators and facilitate groundbreaking multidisciplinary discovery. In January 2024, we announced the research programs that will soon find a home in the new building.
The building will feature state-of-the-art laboratories, meeting and conference spaces, officing, and the most advanced equipment in shared cores and individual laboratories to support basic and translational studies. It will be a destination that empowers UCI’s distinguished researchers today and educates the leaders of tomorrow. Follow construction news.
Interdisciplinary Research Programs
The 12 high-impact, interdisciplinary research programs that have been selected for the new building and adjacent space were reviewed by internal senate faculty and external subject-matter experts, and judged to demonstrate significant potential to transform the face of biomedical research, patient care and public health.
Each program is comprised of faculty members from multiple units within the Susan & Henry Samueli College of Health Sciences, pursuant with our One Health strategic approach of leveraging the synergies of basic, translational and clinical investigators across health disciplines, as we already do in the UCI centers and institutes of health, and the UCI Health delivery system. This approach directs our Discover. Teach. Heal. mission and is empowered by the entirety of the knowledge and collaborative ethos of UC Irvine.
Seeking Philanthropic Partners
With the resources, multidisciplinary collaboration and leading-edge facilities that will be provided in the Falling Leaves Foundation Medical Innovation Building, the potential for discovery is unlimited. We have a generous lead gift toward constructing the building itself and are now seeking philanthropic partners to fund the centers and programs that will fill the space and bring it to life. We are offering exclusive naming opportunities for transformative research initiatives and for associated spaces within the building that will bring innovators together in their relentless quest to discover, teach and heal.
Please join us as we turn our vision of a medical innovation building into reality. Learn more by contacting Caroline Pereira, MBA, associate vice chancellor, Health Advancement: caroline.pereira@uci.edu or 949-824-5577.
Our Visionary Patrons
During their careers, Adeline Mah, MD, practiced internal medicine and anesthesiology, and Robert Mah, PhD, a professor emeritus at UCLA, taught environmental biology. The Mahs established the Falling Leaves Foundation and in 2021 made a transformational gift of $30 million to the new Falling Leaves Foundation Medical Innovation Building. In April 2023, the College of Health Sciences held a groundbreaking ceremony for the new building.
“This exceptional gift recognizes UCI’s preeminence in conducting basic, translational and clinical research dedicated to the discovery of new medical and scientific knowledge,” said Chancellor Howard Gillman. “The Falling Leaves Foundation Medical Innovation Building will be a vital resource for exploring new frontiers and improving the lives of people in our community and beyond.”
This generous lead gift is the realization of a dream to create a destination that empowers our distinguished researchers today and educates the leaders of tomorrow. The potential of the new building is rapidly attracting astute donors; thus far, they have given over $14 million in additional capital and research support.
“The future of medicine is being advanced at an unbelievable rate. Twenty-first century medical innovation is a collaborative process derived from brilliant minds working together rather than flashes of insight from solitary scientists working alone in his or her lab,” said Adeline Mah, MD.
“Successful collaboration is helped greatly by physical proximity,” she added. “We were impressed by the many sprawling, open workspaces in UCI’s Innovation Building, where scientists will interact with one another and exchange ideas. It gives us enormous satisfaction to imagine the possibility of brilliant young minds working together and bringing concepts to fruition, some as a result of serendipitous encounters in the building’s atrium, coffee shops and numerous scattered seating areas.”
Moving forward, we will continue to raise more funds for the project. Novel ideas often require donors to help them launch and get the preliminary data that then allows external funders to invest resources. There are impactful opportunities to contribute to this legacy of innovation and we are now identifying philanthropic partners for each of the 12 research programs.
Please join the entire UCI community in our pursuit of a brilliant future. Collaboration drives our constant progress toward a greater tomorrow for all.
