The University of California, Davis, once again exceeded $1 billion in new external research awards in the fiscal year 2023-24, surpassing the amount received in the previous year by $33 million. The funding, which totaled $1.039 billion, will enable scientific discoveries and innovations addressing a wide range of global needs.    

“For the third consecutive year, UC Davis has set the bar high for research funding,” said Chancellor Gary S. May. “This investment will empower our university to continue transformative research confronting the world’s most persistent challenges from climate change to child welfare, generating unprecedented opportunities for individuals both here in California and across the globe."

Vice Chancellor for Research Simon Atkinson added, “UC Davis’ success in attaining this level of funding and delivering global impact is a testament to the broad ingenuity and passion of our faculty, researchers and staff throughout the university.”

The federal government continued to be the largest provider of funding at $441 million. The second leading source was the state of California at $237 million, up by $76 million. Funding from industry made up the third highest source, totaling $95 million.

Among the colleges and schools, the top three recipients were the School of Medicine ($400 million), the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences ($169 million) and the College of Engineering ($118 million).

The largest single award, $52.39 million went to Alison Book, executive director of UC Davis Human Services at UC Davis Continuing and Professional Education, for a program to fortify the future of the child welfare workforce throughout California (described further below).  The award came from the California Department of Social Services, with funding from U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families.

Research at UC Davis also produces innovations that become the foundation for tomorrow’s products, services and businesses. Last fiscal year, researchers generated 140 records of invention, submitted 208 patent applications and secured 109 patents and plant certificates.

To learn more about the impact of UC Davis research and innovation, view our Annual Research Impact Report, and check out the highlighted research from the College of Letters and Science below. 

Highlighted College of Letters and Science Research

Understanding gender-based differences in responses to social stress

Stress-related mental illnesses are more common in women than men, and these differences arise after puberty when hormones shape brain development. Surprisingly little is known about how adolescent brain development affects behavior. Led by Brian Trainor, a professor in the Department of Psychology, the team will examine how sexual differentiation during puberty shapes stress-sensitive neural circuits that control social behavior. A team of scientists has found that testosterone is the key hormone that drives differences in responses to social stress in male and female mice. Funded by the National Institutes of Mental Health, the team will test the hypothesis that activation of the androgen receptor during puberty alters gene expression in the brain to permanently program neural circuits of social behavior to be less sensitive to social stress.

Read the full version of this article on the UC Davis News website.