Building Breakthroughs

There’s a scientific concept called “emergence.” It’s when a complex system becomes much greater than the sum of its individual parts. This is along the lines of what Dr. Eric Vilain, UC Irvine’s associate vice chancellor for scientific affairs, thinks about when he considers the newest building in UC Irvine’s health sciences district: the spectacular, 212,000-square-foot Falling Leaves Foundation Medical Innovation Building.

“The overarching idea is to bring together carefully selected programs in a collaborative space to accelerate medical research and discovery,” explains Vilain, who is also vice dean for clinical research at the UC Irvine School of Medicine. “This is definitely about creating an intentional and powerful research community.”

Made possible by $53 million in philanthropic support from Dr. Adeline Yen Mah and Robert A. Mah’s Falling Leaves Foundation, the six-floor building is now one of the largest interdisciplinary discovery and translational research hubs on the West Coast.

The design of the Falling Leaves Foundation Medical Innovation Building is a sophisticated blend of functional efficiency and collaboration-centric features. By using sustainable construction practices and strategically organized spaces, the building is a high-performance environment that not only facilitates advanced research with state-of-the-art equipment but also inspires the intellectual exchange necessary for innovation.

“From the moment you enter the building, you know this is a special place,” says Vilain. Integrated meeting spaces and offices are situated alongside laboratories to encourage cross-disciplinary research and discovery. There are also public event spaces, and much of the workspace, lab equipment and technology are intended to be visible and shared, increasing efficiency and fostering greater community. Flexible layouts and infrastructure, particularly in the open laboratory areas, allow the building to accommodate changing research needs over time. In addition, it’s designed to meet LEED Gold standards, prioritizing energy efficiency and environmental performance.

“As impressive as the building is, though, the real showstopper will always be the research and what comes out of that,” Vilain says. “These labs are working on breakthroughs – and bringing that innovation from the laboratory to the bedside to improve human health.”

Falling Leaves Foundation Medical Innovation Building Collaborators

At the corner of California Avenue and Michael Drake Drive, the Falling Leaves Foundation Medical Innovation Building is adjacent to the Susan & Henry Samueli College of Health Sciences, the Gavin Herbert Eye Institute, the Susan Samueli Integrative Health Institute and several other esteemed UC Irvine research facilities. In addition, it’s only a mile from the new UCI Health — Irvine medical complex. Through a highly competitive proposal process that took several years to complete, a panel of reviewers ultimately selected 12 high-impact programs, including:

Adeline Yen Mah Vaccine Center

Philip Felgner, founding director

• This program leads the future of vaccine science with myriad new approaches that harness the immune system and produce safe and effective targeted immunotherapies.
• The noninvasive gene therapy technique employed for the COVID-19 mRNA vaccines has paved the way for combating infections and a broad spectrum of cancer and genetic diseases that affect other organ systems.

From its new home at the entrance level (second floor) of the Falling Leaves Foundation Medical Innovation Building, the Adeline Yen Mah Vaccine Center focuses on advances in the emerging field of nucleic acid medicine – a method that uses the body’s own genetic material to fight disease. “We are at the beginning of a new era in vaccine science, and our program is leading the way,” says founding director Philip Felgner, UC Irvine professor-in-residence of physiology and biophysics.

Researchers at the vaccine center are advancing a low-volume infectious disease surveillance platform as an early-warning system for public health and extending it into personalized medicine. The team is developing a customized vaccine immunogenicity test to be offered on campus, enabling individuals to assess their need for booster doses. More broadly, Felgner’s group is removing barriers to the clinical implementation of nucleic acid technologies, with applications across vaccinology, cancer immunotherapy, autoimmunity, neurodegenerative disorders and gene therapy.

Robert A. Mah Molecular Innovation Center

Glenn Micalizio, director

• Collaborations between center investigators and colleagues working in cancer biology, neuroscience and infectious diseases will drive the design, evolution and synthesis of new modalities and therapeutics.

With so many experts on diseases and approaches to biological systems in the Falling Leaves Foundation Medical Innovation Building, it makes sense that innovative “makers of molecules” also need to be there. The Robert A. Mah Molecular Innovation Center is at the entrance level (second floor).

“When scientists identify biological macromolecules linked to cancer, neurological disease or other disorders, developing therapeutic interventions requires finding the right molecules to interact with these targets in a selective manner,” says Glenn Micalizio, director and the Susan and Henry Samueli Endowed Chair in Integrative Health. “As the center launches, we’re applying our strengths in chemistry and biology to design, synthesize and discover those therapeutic molecules.” In addition to Micalizio, the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences molecular dream team includes: Darci Trader, associate professor; and Nicole Avalong, Jeffrey Kim and Benita Sjoren, assistant professors.

“On every floor there are these world-class centers and researchers. We’re bringing broad-minded chemists into the building,” says Andrej Luptak, UC Irvine professor and chair of pharmaceutical sciences and a center advisory board member. “Now, when researchers need it, we’ll be able to go from an idea to a viable molecule quickly.”

Interdisciplinary Skin Science Program

Kristen Kelly, founding director

• With a unique collaboration between basic and translational skin scientists, this group will develop the next generation of medications and technologies for treatment of dermatologic disease and advance skin disease diagnosis and monitoring.

UC Irvine’s Interdisciplinary Skin Science Program is one of only six National Institutes of Health-funded Skin Disease Research Core Centers nationwide and, of those, one of only three that also have NIH grants to train future leaders in the field. Its researchers are focused on a range of dermatologic issues, including cancer, inflammatory disorders like psoriasis and eczema, genetic skin disease, cell development and repair, gynecologic skin disease, alopecia (hair loss), and pigmentary disorders like vitiligo and melasma. The program is also known for its work advancing state-of-the-art, noninvasive microscopic imaging.

Now in the Falling Leaves Foundation Medical Innovation Building, seven skin science researchers – with room for one additional future hire – occupy space on the third floor, which is a big step forward for the program, according to founding director Dr. Kristen Kelly, UC Irvine Robert A. Mah Molecular Innovation Center Glenn Micalizio, director l Collaborations between center investigators and colleagues working in cancer biology, neuroscience and infectious diseases will drive the design, evolution and synthesis of new modalities and therapeutics. Drug Discovery professor and chair of dermatology. The new home base not only brings the skin researchers together but offers important opportunities to collaborate with other groups on the premises. Says Kelly: “It’s really a testament to UC Irvine’s commitment to progress. The impact is going to be better science, which is going to lead to better treatments for patients. I count on seeing significant advances coming from the researchers in this building.”

Immuno-Oncology and Precision Cancer Therapeutics Research Programs

Richard Van Etten, founding director

• The Falling Leaves Foundation Medical Innovation Building will serve as a hub for the Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center’s core focus areas: cancer metabolism, cellular immuno-oncology and precision oncology.
• These converging areas of cancer research focus on the individual characteristics of each patient and their disease – a transformative new approach to treating and perhaps someday curing cancers such as leukemia.

Situated on the third floor, seven lead researchers and their teams will further the Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center’s quest to unlock the mysteries of highly individualized cancer treatment and use the patient’s own immune system to treat and even cure lung cancer, leukemia and many others.

“Our teams will collaborate not just among themselves but also with so many of the other groups in the building. It will be a powerful research hub,” says Dr. Richard Van Etten, director of the Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center. In fact, moving into the edifice has Van Etten reminiscing about his time spent as a young scientist at the Whitehead Institute in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where there were many researchers in one building. “My research was facilitated incredibly by my ability to just walk up or take an elevator up to the next floor and talk to these people, get advice from them or even get reagents from them,” he says.

One of Van Etten’s metrics for an environment’s level of collaboration is seeing how many people are carrying ice buckets – a common way to transport small amounts of biological or chemical samples. “When you see a researcher in an elevator with an ice bucket, you know they’re going someplace else to do work – and that’s a measure of collaboration,” Van Etten says. “I count on seeing plenty of ice buckets.”

Epilepsy Research Center

Robert Hunt, founding director

• The EpiCenter, as it’s called, will pioneer new care strategies and medications for the treatment of epilepsy, including gene and cell therapy.

The Epilepsy Research Center, which will occupy more than 10,000 square feet on the fourth floor of the Falling Leaves Foundation Medical Innovation Building, aims to translate cutting-edge research into breakthrough therapies for epilepsy and other complex brain conditions, with a distinct focus on healing the whole person. “We seek to understand precisely how the nervous system is changed in the most-difficult-to-treat epilepsies, such as in neurodevelopmental disorders or after a brain injury, and we use this information to create new therapies,” explains founding director Robert Hunt, UC Irvine associate professor of anatomy and neurobiology.

The EpiCenter team, with six core researchers, collaborates with dozens of others across UC Irvine and other UCs. “We leverage expertise from all areas of neuroscience,” Hunt says. As a result, the center has a significant discovery pipeline of breakthrough therapies that include new compounds, gene and cell therapies, and natural remedies with promising antiseizure potential – many already in preclinical epilepsy studies. In addition, the interdisciplinary EpiCenter team is developing new technology that enables more effective diagnostics, neuromodulation and brain repair.

“It’s an exciting time to be doing this research,” Hunt says. “UCI researchers have been contributing to epilepsy breakthroughs since the early 1980s. I can proudly say that today we’re a world-renowned center.”

With space in the new building, the EpiCenter will go full speed ahead toward its vision of translating research into real-world treatments. Says Hunt: “Our goal is to bring transformative treatments into the clinic so we can help as many people as possible. It’s not too much even to say we believe we will cure epilepsy someday.”

Environmental and Occupational Toxicology and Disease Program

Andrea De Vizcaya Ruiz, founding director

• How do the chemicals we breathe, drink and touch daily affect our health across our lifetimes? This question drives the program’s mission, with an emphasis on protecting vulnerable groups.
• It aims to map emerging environmental threats to human health, decipher how chemical mixtures in our surroundings harm vital organs, and formulate strategies to mitigate diseases resulting from environmental and occupational exposure.

Six researchers and their teams from the Environmental and Occupational Toxicology and Disease Program now call the fourth floor in the Falling Leaves Foundation Medical Innovation Building home. The group aims to understand how environmental exposures affect human health throughout the lifespan – from prenatal development to old age. Some of the major areas of focus include early-life environmental health, air and water quality, plastics in the environment, and exposures related to shifting climate. Despite the increasingly important work of the researchers in this program, the group has never previously had adequate dedicated research space, says founding director Andrea De Vizcaya Ruiz, UC Irvine professor of environmental and occupational health: “The new building provides the space our mission requires and materially strengthens our research and training.”

De Vizcaya Ruiz also likens the experience to boarding the Starship Enterprise – a symbol of exploration, pioneering and the pursuit of knowledge. “To be perfectly honest, I’m proud of this placement, as it brings environmental toxicology into a shared space with the other selected programs. There’s not a single disease or condition that isn’t potentially influenced by interactions with the environment, so clearly there will be so many ways we can collaborate.”

In addition, an impressive headquarters helps further an already impressive program. “Environmental toxicology has become a very active field, and the work coming out of UC Irvine definitely garners attention,” says De Vizcaya Ruiz. “Now, with the new space, our productivity and profile will do nothing but continue to rise.”

Center for Neural Circuit Mapping Translational Neuroscience Program

Xiangmin Xu, founding director

• The CNCM is pioneering a revolutionary effort to map the human brain at an unprecedented level of molecular detail.
• This precision mapping will empower researchers to uncover the mechanisms and pathways underlying neurodevelopmental, neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders with the ultimate goal of developing cures for diseases of the brain.

Established just five years ago with a dozen UC Irvine researchers, the Center for Neural Circuit Mapping now collaborates with more than 100 interdisciplinary researchers worldwide, hosts an annual international conference and public arts and science program, and has been given numerous multimillion-dollar federal grants and other research and training awards. With its new fourth-floor home in the Falling Leaves Foundation Medical Innovation Building, the center now has a space that reflects its expanding influence.

“Our researchers are advancing knowledge in so many areas – from Alzheimer’s disease and depression to memory, vision disorders like amblyopia, and more,” says CNCM founding director Xiangmin Xu, UC Irvine Chancellor’s Professor of anatomy and neurobiology. “What we do truly matters because these conditions affect millions of people worldwide.”

The CNCM also has a critical facility called the Viral Vector Core that not only develops and distributes cutting-edge viral vectors for research but also trains the next generation of scientific leaders in this rapidly changing field. While the CNCM has always thrived on interdisciplinary collaboration, Xu anticipates even greater partnerships ahead, particularly with physician-scientists at the new UCI Health — Irvine medical complex and Children’s Hospital of Orange County.

“Our biggest focus moving forward is translating our discoveries into clinical applications that directly improve patient care,” he says. “At UCI you hear about the Brilliant Future [campaign]. And I feel that’s exactly right: We are on the brilliant future trajectory.”

UC Irvine Diabetes Center

Qin Yang, founding director

• Scientists at the Diabetes Center employ interdisciplinary approaches to discover novel therapeutic targets and develop innovative tools for monitoring glucose and treating diabetes and diabetes-related metabolic diseases.

Since 2005, UCI Health has been a leader in diabetes prevention, education, research and comprehensive care. In 2023, the Diabetes Center and Division of Endocrinology earned a top 50 ranking nationwide by U.S. News & World Report for diabetes and endocrinology specialty care. The UC Irvine Diabetes Center’s research strength is anchored by approximately 20 federally funded investigators across campus, with research projects encompassing type 1 and type 2 diabetes as well as related complications.

“Diabetes is a full-blown health crisis demanding immediate attention,” says founding director Dr. Qin Yang, UC Irvine professor of medicine and physiology and biophysics. “If left unchecked, diabetes will overwhelm our healthcare system and devastate vulnerable communities.”

To further enhance diabetes research at UC Irvine, the center collaborated with KPMG to develop a strategic growth plan, which recommended consolidating laboratory space, a model adopted by most leading U.S. diabetes centers. Now in the Falling Leaves Foundation Medical Innovation Building, diabetes researchers occupy a dedicated area of the fifth floor. “This move represents a transformative opportunity for our diabetes research program,” Yang says. “We’re creating an environment that will foster unprecedented collaboration among our researchers and significantly enhance our ability to recruit top-tier faculty to advance our mission.”

Stem Cell Research Center: Neuroscience Program

Brian Cummings and Leslie Thompson, co-directors

• A dynamic and internationally recognized team of interdisciplinary investigators look to stem cell-based neurological therapeutics to understand and treat neuropsychiatric, neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative disease.

Housed on the fifth floor of the Falling Leaves Foundation Medical Innovation Building, the Sue & Bill Gross Stem Cell Research Center’s neuroscience program encompasses two current investigators with room to recruit three more, according to co-director Leslie Thompson, UC Irvine Donald Bren Professor of Psychiatry and Human Behavior/ Neurobiology and Behavior. Neuroscience program members will tackle a range of neurological diseases and dysfunction, such as brain cancer, along with genetic and degenerative disease.

The focus is neurotranslation – that is, research that moves from pinpointing the molecular mechanisms underlying neurological disorders to testing new candidate clinical therapies. “The aim is to use stem cell modeling and research to find targets and drugs to treat these disorders,” Thompson explains. “In addition, stem cell-derived products can themselves be therapeutics and have applications to neurological disorders.”

The interdisciplinary team will be aligned with UC Irvine’s California Institute for Regenerative Medicine-funded Good Manufacturing Practice facility and Alpha Clinic, which enables the university to engage in stem cell manufacturing and regenerative medicine clinical trials, as well as with all the researchers at the Sue & Bill Gross Stem Cell Research Center. But the new building is the ideal home for the group, Thompson says: “Someday we may look back and trace big advances in healthcare to this intentional research community.”

Brunson Center for Translational Vision Research and the Genome Editing Research Program

Krzysztof Palczewski, founding director

• Investigators have discovered how to reverse and prevent cell degeneration in the eyes. This team is now working to develop a method of guiding this therapy to specific cells in need of correction.
• These research advances have the potential to revolutionize the treatment of genetic disorders affecting vision and other inherited disorders.
• Within the next decade, UC Irvine’s vision scientists will develop cures for inherited blindness using gene therapy and noninvasive imaging.
• These cures for blinding diseases will not only restore and protect vision but also pave the way for combating the broad spectrum of genetic diseases that affect other organ systems.

Fourteen faculty members and their teams working in two programs – the Brunson Center for Translational Vision Research and the Genome Editing Research Program – call the sixth floor of the Falling Leaves Foundation Medical Innovation Building home. Working in combination, they’re on the brink of major breakthroughs that promise to cure inherited blindness. But founding director Krzysztof Palczewski, UC Irvine Donald Bren Professor of Ophthalmology and Irving H. Leopold Chair in Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, says the work these researchers do goes far beyond sight. “It doesn’t really matter whether you’re working on the eye or liver or kidney; it’s all quite interrelated in terms of the methodology that’s used. Therefore, we see much of our work not only advancing knowledge of diseases that affect vision but also potentially impacting virtually all areas of the School of Medicine and beyond.”

While Palczewski appreciates the impressive new facility, he keeps it all in perspective. “The building doesn’t do anything, the equipment doesn’t do anything; it’s the people who do things,” he says. Having people under one roof, though, matters. “Biochemistry, genetics, molecular biology … these are all contact sports,” Palczewski jokes. “You simply can’t do these from home. So now we have the right space to come together to share ideas and do powerful research.” In addition, his programs host a popular Distinguished Speaker Series, also known as Friday Seminars. These feature lectures by innovative researchers across the world on topics ranging from genetics, biochemistry, neurobiology, imaging and computational sciences to novel ophthalmic treatments. Palczewski looks forward to Friday Seminars taking place in the conference room on the main entrance level. He says: “There is great potential for our new home, and we already have the sense that so much fruitful science will come out of this.”

Precision Omics Collaboratory

Edwin Monuki, Abraham Qavi and Suzanne Sandmeyer, founding co-directors

• This interdisciplinary team is tasked with the generation and analysis of data (transcriptomics, genomics, proteomics, metabolomics and epigenomics) promoting the advancement of precision health.
• The unique program focuses on translating omics discoveries into FDA-approved tests that can directly benefit patients.

Adjacent to the Falling Leaves Foundation Medical Innovation Building but part of its mission, the Precision Omics Collaboratory is translating molecular findings (omics) to inform patient care. The team of six primary investigators is also developing omics-based, FDA approved laboratory tests – an important piece of the bench-to-bedside reality – for patients.

“Identifying the most promising discoveries, then translating them into useful FDA-approved tests is a common goal,” says founding co-director Dr. Edwin Monuki, UC Irvine Warren L. Bostick Professor and Chair in Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and associate director of the Medical Scientist Training Program. “Unfortunately, while this pipeline sounds easy, it is full of potholes. Moreover, programs that focus on this pipeline are rare across the U.S. The Precision Omics Collaboratory was specifically created with this pipeline in mind.” 

Being in the new building means the group’s work can be accelerated by brainstorming and problem-solving with other like-minded scientists and physician-scientists who are committed to the bench-to-bedside ideal.