Three College of Biological Sciences research core facilities are among 20 across UC Davis selected to receive funding through the university's new Research Cores Central Investment (RCCI) Program. The one-time awards will help sustain essential shared research infrastructure, supporting advanced imaging, plant growth facilities, and other specialized resources that enable discoveries across the biological sciences.

The UC Davis Office of Research announced the initial round of RCCI Program awards, committing $1.25 million in fiscal year 2025–26 and an additional $1 million in fiscal year 2026–27. The first round provides one-time funding aimed at retaining and enhancing critical capabilities at 20 campus research cores.

The program emerged from a recommendation developed through the Sustaining Teaching and Research Task Force (START), an initiative launched by UC Davis Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Mary Croughan in 2023. START's focus is to strengthen the university's education, research and service mission through strategic, actionable initiatives. Research-related recommendations included stabilizing funding for research cores and shared resource facilities, along with investments in research administration, grant reporting tools, network infrastructure, staffing priorities, and high-performance computing.

"The goal of the RCCI Program is to ensure continuity, optimize productivity and widen access to state-of-the-art shared instrumentation and expertise through a coordinated approach," said Simon Atkinson, vice chancellor for research at UC Davis. "This strategic investment, supported by Provost Croughan, underscores the university's commitment to advancing a world-class infrastructure in support of our research and teaching missions."

The program is managed by Isabelle Girard, director of the Research Core Facilities Program in the Office of Research, who works in collaboration with the Research Core Advisory Council, campus leadership, and additional stakeholders to select awards with the highest potential impact across the campus.

College of Biological Sciences recipients

Biological Electron Microscopy Core

Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology

The Biological Electron Microscopy Core enables research programs spanning structural biology, biochemistry, biophysics, cell biology, and medicine and is indispensable to drug discovery and understanding disease mechanisms. Funding will allow the facility to continue operation of its cryo-electron microscope (cryo-EM), a unique instrument that provides atomic-resolution structural determination of biological materials. The funding request was submitted by Jennifer Cash on behalf of the core.

Controlled Environment Facility

Department of Plant Biology

The Controlled Environment Facility houses more than 165 chambers with precise control of temperature, humidity, light, and air quality. It supports a wide range of research projects, including agriculture, environmental science, and sustainability. The award will help replace obsolete fluorescent lighting with LED systems in four large growth chambers shared by 14 laboratories. The funding request was submitted by Bo Liu on behalf of the core.

MCB Light Microscopy Core

Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology

The MCB Light Microscopy Core provides researchers with access to advanced imaging technologies capable of capturing high-resolution fluorescent images of living and fixed organisms while supporting high-throughput image collection. The funding will support the core's technical director, helping sustain advanced microscopy capabilities for the research community. The funding request was submitted by Ken Kaplan on behalf of the core.