When Morton La Kretz was gathering swampy water at the UCLA Mildred E. Mathias Botanical Garden about 50 years ago for a biology class experiment, he never thought he would end up sponsoring renovations at the garden. La Kretz, a UCLA alumnus who is now a philanthropist and real estate developer, gave a $5 million […]
Category Archives: Science & Health
Science Policy Group at UCLA offers avenue for research-based advocacy
Current and former UCLA doctoral students founded a group to advocate for more scientific input in public policy. The Science Policy Group at UCLA, created in May, held a kickoff event last month that saw around 25 attendees, said Jennifer Tribble, co-founder of the group and a doctoral student in neuroscience. “We want to make […]
UCLA scientists identify genetic mutations linked to Tourette syndrome
UCLA researchers led a study to identify the first two genetic mutations related to Tourette syndrome, which scientists say is significant progress in understanding the disease. In the study published June 21, the researchers compared genetic data from those with and without Tourette syndrome. They found that people with the disease were more likely to […]
Professor and his wife donate $1 million for UCLA professorship fund
UCLA received a $1 million donation to endow a professorship in medical and drug research. Michael Jung, a distinguished chemistry and biochemistry professor, and his wife Alice Jung made the donation to establish the Michael and Alice Jung Endowed Chair in Medicinal Chemistry and Drug Discovery, according to a UCLA press release on June 14. […]
Advocates express need for increased research in transgender health care
Transgender student advocates call for more transgender research and healthcare provisions on campus. Although UCLA is ranked fifth on College Choice’s Best LGBT Friendly Colleges and Universities this year and is home to the Williams Institute, an LGBTQ research institute, several students said they think UCLA needs more research on transgender health care. Eli Lawliet, […]
UCLA study reveals biological sex affects motivations for overeating
New research suggests that people with obesity have different eating habits due to their sex. This new finding indicates medical professionals should take sex differences into account when designing future obesity treatments, said Arpana Gupta, principal investigator of the study and assistant professor at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. Gupta said the […]
Elegant Mind Club members win Dean’s Prizes for research presentation
Members of one of UCLA’s largest science research clubs received two Dean’s Prizes this year. Elegant Mind Club, a research group that studies the neural networks of roundworms to better understand the human nervous system, had two of its members, Suying Jin, a fourth-year physics student, and Myki Lee, a fourth-year neuroscience student, received the […]