Founding Director: Andrej Luptak, PhD
Our Vision: Drug Discovery
Imagine a place where brilliant minds unite across health disciplines to pioneer drug design and discovery, transforming the landscape of healthcare. In the Robert A. Mah Molecular Innovation Center, this vision becomes a reality.
UC Irvine’s molecular engineers are poised to develop next-generation therapeutics and complementary therapies through collaborations that span cancer biology, integrative health, neuroscience and infectious diseases, fortifying a continuous cycle of medical advancement.
Embedding the center within the dedicated research hub of the Falling Leaves Foundation Medical Innovation Building will foster dynamic collaboration between molecular engineers and investigators in discovery biology. Our teams will harness the value creation of newly identified targets in disease-specific centers to generate first-in-class conventional and complementary therapeutics for a variety of conditions including cancer, neurodegenerative diseases and infectious diseases. It has been selected as one of 12 high-impact research programs that will be located in the Falling Leaves Foundation Medical Innovation Building.
In This New Facility
World-renowned scientists along with new recruits will partner with pharmaceutical industry leaders to develop an essential pipeline for innovative therapeutics.
Interdisciplinary teams will expedite advanced drug discovery, creating a direct path from laboratory bench to patient bedside.
Future leaders will be trained in molecular design and synthesis to address unmet medical needs.
Indoor and outdoor gathering spaces will host events, speakers and presentations to foster engagement and accelerate the sharing of discoveries.
Our Competitive Advantage
Empowered by the distinctive One Health approach of UC Irvine Health Affairs that transcends disciplinary boundaries, the Robert A. Mah Molecular Innovation Center comprises faculty and staff from the Susan & Henry Samueli College of Health Sciences (encompassing schools of medicine, nursing, pharmacy & pharmaceutical sciences, and population & public health, research centers and institutes including the pioneering Susan Samueli Integrative Health Institute) and UCI Health, our regional healthcare system. With brilliant minds working together instead of in silos, our teams will push the boundaries of innovation and facilitate fundamental discoveries in molecular therapeutics.
Leveraging UC Irvine’s international reputation in organic synthesis, medicinal chemistry and molecular design, the Robert A. Mah Molecular Innovation Center will expand the horizons of molecular innovations. From creating small molecule drugs to developing complex supramolecular assemblies, this center will cultivate top-tier academic drug discovery in California, promising a transformative future in medicine.
Interdisciplinary Team
The Robert A. Mah Molecular Innovation Center will include these internationally renowned faculty, along with future recruits:
Andrej Luptak, PhD
Professor and Chair, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences; Professor, Chemistry, School of Physical Sciences; Professor, Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, School of Biological Sciences
Shaista Malik, MD, PhD, MPH
Professor, School of Medicine; Associate Vice Chancellor, Integrative Health; Executive Director, Susan Samueli Integrative Health Institute; Susan Samueli Endowed Chair, Integrative Medicine; Medical Director, Preventive Cardiology and Cardiac Rehab
Brian Paegel, PhD
Professor, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences; Professor, Chemistry, School of Physical Sciences; Professor, Biomedical Engineering, The Henry Samueli School of Engineering
Darci Trader, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences
Join Us in Making an Impact
We are seeking philanthropic partners for the Robert A. Mah Molecular Innovation Center in the Falling Leaves Foundation Medical Innovation Building to provide funding that will drive faculty recruitments and transformational change.
Named Spaces Within the Falling Leaves Foundation Medical Innovation Building
The overall design of the Falling Leaves Foundation Medical Innovation Building allows UC Irvine to foster dynamic alliances that move discovery from inspiration to practice. There is the opportunity to name custom-designed laboratories and gathering spaces for the Robert A. Mah Molecular Innovation Center. As a philanthropic partner, you will ensure our scientists have the space, resources and facilities needed to perform their life-changing work.
Endowed Research Grants
Research endowments provide continuous support for our investigators who are reshaping the future of science and healthcare because external grants cover only a portion of costs. Moreover, endowed funding is particularly important to underwrite the most innovative discoveries and novel strategies because it provides the flexibility to follow the science that leads to breakthroughs. All this important work will be done under the name of our philanthropic partner. Named endowed scholarships underwrite the training of future generations of lead investigators and care providers in perpetuity.
Endowed Chairs
When you join us as a philanthropic partner naming an endowed chair, you will forever link your legacy to UC Irvine’s distinguished experts. Ultimately, advances in biomedical research will lead to innovative therapies. Philanthropic funds for endowed chairs, research and scholarships live in perpetuity. These funds create the ability to recruit and retain top-tier faculty who will be critical for UC Irvine to remain a world-class center of excellence for emerging therapies. Endowed chairs are so powerful because they establish a perpetual annual support stream for the chairholder to focus their efforts on aspirational research.
Partner With Us
Please join us as our vision for the Robert A. Mah Molecular Innovation Center becomes a reality. To learn more about exclusive naming opportunities for this transformative initiative, and for associated spaces within the medical innovation building, please contact Health Advancement at
healthadvancement@uci.edu.
