UC Irvine gets $2 million from W.M. Keck Foundation to further research in chemistry and microbiology

UC Irvine has received $2 million from the prestigious W.M. Keck Foundation to advance research in chemistry and microbiology. John Hemminger, vice chancellor of research and a professor of chemistry, will use $1 million from Keck’s science & engineering research grant program to study chemical reactions on the surfaces of liquids. The work is expected to provide new understanding of diverse processes, such as the chemistry that occurs on aqueous aerosol droplets in the atmosphere that impact smog production, and chemistry at electrode surfaces in batteries. Anthony James, a Distinguished Professor of microbiology & molecular genetics and molecular biology & biochemistry, will use $1 million from Keck’s medical research grant program to test evolutionary models for controlling malaria transmission and understand the long-term impact on the evolutionary pattern of mosquitoes engineered to be resistant to the pathogens that cause malaria–a mosquito-borne disease affecting millions of people worldwide. The work is expected to provide new insight into how genetic variation in mosquito vectors changes over time and informs research in population biology and disease transmission in natural and human-altered landscapes.