Awards and Distinctions

In rankings released earlier this month, the University of California, Davis, was recognized as a global leader across many fields and disciplines.

Quacquarelli Symonds, or QS, considered one of the most influential international authorities on university rankings, placed UC Davis 41st in the world in the broad category of the life sciences and medicine, and 38th in the category of biological sciences.

The Chen Lab studies the neural mechanisms behind cognitive functions, with a specific focus on visual attention. Dr. Chen's research team is also dedicated to pioneering innovative approaches that understand and enhance those essential cognitive functions.

Ron Mangun, Distinguished Professor of psychology and neurology and co-director of the Center for Mind and Brain at UC Davis, has just been awarded the 2024 Award for Education in Neuroscience by the Society for Neuroscience. This prize recognizes individuals who have made outstanding contributions to undergraduate- and graduate-level neuroscience education and training.

(DAVIS) Christina Kim, faculty member of the Center for Neuroscience and assistant professor in the UC Davis Department of Neurology was selected as a 2023 NIH Director’s New Innovator Award recipient as part of the NIH Common Fund’s High-Risk, High-Reward Research program.

(SACRAMENTO) Born with the intent of fostering interdisciplinary research, the Large Interdisciplinary Applications in Neuroscience (LIAN) Planning Grants program will support two teams led by Drs.

UC Davis last week presented its annual Faculty and Staff Stewardship Awards, honoring three individuals considered exceptionally dedicated to building the strong relationships that are critical to the university’s fundraising efforts.

This year’s recipients are recognized as leaders in a variety of fields on the Davis and Sacramento campuses:

Charan Ranganath, a professor of psychology, core faculty member at the Center for Neuroscience and director of the UC Davis Memory and Plasticity Program, has been selected for a Psychonomic Society 2022 Mid-Career Award for his research on the science of human memory.

Christina Kim, assistant professor in the UC Davis Department of Neurology and faculty member of the Center for Neuroscience, has been selected as a 2022 Searle Scholar in recognition of her research on the molecular code that determines synaptic wiring and functional activity in neural circuits that regulate motivation.

Nine faculty from UC Davis are among 564 newly elected fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, announced today (Jan. 26). AAAS fellows are scientists, engineers and innovators who have been recognized for their achievements across disciplines ranging from research, teaching and technology, to administration in academia, industry and government, to excellence in communicating and interpreting science to the public.

The University of California, Davis, today named the recipients of the 2021 Chancellor’s Innovation Awards. The awards recognize faculty, project teams and community partners for their work, dedication and success in improving the lives of others and addressing the needs of our global society through innovative solutions. David E.

The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) has awarded a $15.7 million grant to the UC Davis Silvio O. Conte Center, one of only 15 Conte Centers nationwide.

Psychiatric illnesses and neurodevelopmental disorders, including schizophrenia, affect 15-20 percent of the population worldwide, yet current treatments are at best only partially effective. The UC Davis Conte Center was first established in 2016 through the Center for Neuroscience to determine how maternal infection increases risk for these disorders and to identify new targets for novel treatments.

(DAVIS) Mental health research at the University of California, Davis, has received dedicated endowed support thanks to Bryan Cameron ’80, director of research and senior vice president at Dodge & Cox Investment Managers.

Cameron, a member of the UC Davis Chancellor’s Board of Advisors, gave a $1.5 million gift, to which the UC Office of the President added $500,000, to establish the C. Bryan Cameron Presidential Chair.

David Amaral, distinguished professor and Beneto Foundation Chair in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and the MIND Institute, has been elected to the prestigious National Academy of Medicine.

An autism expert, Amaral joins an elite group of physicians and scientists in the National Academy of Medicine. Only 100 new members are elected each year from the U.S. He is one of 13 UC Davis faculty members who have been elected to the Academy since its founding in 1970 and the only one from UC Davis elected this year.

Consciousness, perception, memory, behavior. Questions about how exactly our brains carry out these functions, and much more, have long tantalized neuroscientists. Definitive answers aren’t easy to come by in science, but one thing is clear to Professor W. Martin Usrey, of the Department of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior.