Aug. 25 - Major funding for UCI; racial role in respiratory illness
Section 1
Anteater Time Machine: In 1970, a student plays a drum in Campus Park (now Aldrich Park).
UCI ANNOUNCEMENTS AND NEWS
UCI will benefit from added funding for important projects such as measuring the impact of sea level rise on beaches and dunes, including at Crystal Cove State Park’s Pelican Point (pictured here), in Newport Beach. Photo by Brett Sanders / UCI
UCI wins $580 million in increased research funding
UCI has received the second-most research funding in campus history: $580 million in grants and contracts. The extra cash will help pay for such vital projects as monitoring sandy beaches to gauge the effects of sea-level rise to holding clinical trials for potentially lifesaving cancer treatments. Awards from federal and state agencies, leading foundations and forward-thinking companies have already increased by more than $213 million since 2018, reflecting continued strong support for UCI’s top-ranked faculty, first-rate facilities, diverse and talented student body, and community-based programs.
UCI doctoral student and candidate Cameron Wiley and Kennedy Blevins (left and center, respectively) studied the link between mental health and risk of respiratory infection under the guidance of faculty advisor Sarah Pressman (right), professor of psychological science. Christine Parales Porciuncula (student photos) / Patricia DeVoe (Pressman)
Role of race in mental health and respiratory illness explored
A new UCI study examines the role that race plays in the connection between mental health and risk of upper respiratory infection. By comparing the results of African American and European American participants in a series of landmark experimental studies from the Common Cold Project, conducted between 1993 and 2011, the study, published recently in Psychological Science, suggests that the supposedly universal benefits of positive psychological factors may not generalize across races.
UC NEWS AND GENERAL NEWS
Protection for reproductive rights popular in California
According to a UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies and Los Angeles Times poll, 7 in 10 California voters support a measure to amend the state Constitution to add protections for reproductive rights. Eight in 10 voters called abortion an important issue as they decide how to vote in congressional, state and local races this November. Among Democrats, 77% said abortion is “very important” compared to just 43% of Republicans.
EVENTS
Third Annual Anteaters in Service Day–UCI Blood Drive
Saturday, 9 a.m. (Sponsored by UCI Alumni Association)
Visit today.uci.edu to see and submit event listings. Events of general interest will be shared in UCI Digest two days before they occur.
UCI IN THE NEWS
Note: Some news sites require subscriptions to read articles. The UCI Libraries offer free subscriptions to The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Orange County Register and The Washington Post for students, faculty and staff.
Student loan forgiveness: Here’s who’s eligible and for how much in California
Los Angeles Times, Aug. 24
Cited: associate professor of gender and equality studies
DealBook Newsletter - Investors face billions in hidden costs
The New York Times, Aug. 25
Cited: Christopher Schwarz, associate professor of finance
President Biden Announces Long-Awaited Student Loan Forgiveness Plan. How Will It Impact You?
KPCC - AirTalk (audio), Aug. 24
Cited: Dalié Jiménez, professor of law
#UCICONNECTED
UCI alum JoVia Armstrong has released her debut album The Antidote Suite on Black Earth Music. Photo by Michael Jackson
The future of Afrofuturism has arrived
In late May, JoVia Armstrong was preparing for the oral defense of her doctoral dissertation, “Black Space: Composing Meditative Music Through the Black Lens to Combat Unconscious Bias,” at UCI, where she was a doctoral degree candidate in the Integrated Composition Improvisation and Technology program. Armstrong’s debut album, The Antidote Suite (Black Earth Music), offers “an engrossing, Afrofuturist voyage centered on healing” according to a rave review from the jazz industry’s celebrated magazine Downbeat. The album, which features Armstrong playing a hybrid cajon drum kit alongside electric bassist Damon Warmack and violinist/viola player Leslie DeShazor, as well as several guest musicians, is available on Amazon.
#UCIconnected spotlights student, alumni, faculty and staff photos, essays, shoutouts, hobbies, artwork, unusual office decorations, activities and more. Send submissions via email or post on social media with the #UCIconnected hashtag.