Bridging the gap between science research & clinical medicine
Research Centers
The UCR School of Medicine faculty's research expertise spans the range from neuroscience to endocrinology to inflammation to cancer imaging. Our faculty have built upon this base of translational, basic science, and community-engaged research by partnering with colleagues across the UCR campus to create research centers that:
- Build on excellence in fundamental research, augment translational research, and build capacity and strength in clinical research.
- Connect research with community relevance through expanded community engagement.
- Expand collaborative research with other UCR academic units, community-based organizations, and other higher education and research-focused institutions.
- Increase extramural funding and philanthropic support to sustain and expand the school’s research enterprise.
Bridging Regional Ecology and Aerosolized Toxins to understand Health Effects (BREATHE)
The BREATHE Center at the University of California, Riverside School of Medicine is a multidisciplinary collaborative for studies Bridging Regional Ecology, Aerosolized Toxins, and Health Effects. Research efforts among our collaborative include regional climate modeling, culture and policy studies on air quality and health, environmental justice and health disparities, and the health impacts of aerosolized particles including dusts, soil microbes, allergenic pollens from invasive species, and pollutants.
Center for Glial Neuronal Interactions (CGNI)
The Center for Glial-Neuronal Interactions (CGNI) brings together a diverse set of researchers seeking to define the neuronal-glial interactions required for optimal brain and spinal cord function as well as for prevention and therapeutic intervention of neurodevelopmental, neurologic and neurodegenerative diseases and disorders, including:
- Alzheimer's disease
- Autism-spectrum disorders
- Epilepsy
- Huntington's disease
- Ischemia (stroke)
- Multiple sclerosis
- Parkinson's disease
- Schizophrenia
- Traumatic Brain Injury (concussions)
Center for Health Disparities Research (HDR@UCR)
The Center for Health Disparities Research at University of California, Riverside (HDR@UCR) is a research center that aims to develop a rich interdisciplinary and collaborative environment for training in and performing health disparities research, infusing community-engaged research methods into the academic culture, and equipping investigators with tools and training for effective community-based research.
The center brings together broad interdisciplinary approaches including environmental sciences, biomedical sciences, as well as social science methods to study health disparities.
Our training activities are available to graduate, postdoctoral, and new principal investigator development, as well as to established STEM researchers.
Center for Molecular & Translational Medicine (MolMed)
The Center for Molecular and Translational Medicine (MolMed) at the University of California, Riverside is a multi-disciplinary center that brings together researchers and clinicians from across the campus to help improve the health of individuals by translating basic findings into diagnostic tools or therapeutics.
Members of the center are working on novel treatments in a variety of medical fields, including:
- Degenerative diseases
- Immunology
- Infectious and cardiometabolic diseases
- Neurodegeneartive diseases
- Oncology
- Stroke
- Traumatic brain injury
Center for RNA Biology and Medicine
The Center for RNA Biology and Medicine is a research center sponsored by UC Riverside and founded by Professor Sika Zheng of the UCR School of Medicine Division of Biomedical Sciences.
The center cultivates a vibrant, dynamic research environment that amplifies UCR’s deep and unique strengths in RNA research, and interfaces scientific discovery with medical and industrial applications. The center lays a fluid, forward-facing pipeline from basic to clinical RNA research at UCR and bolster UCR’s worldwide engagement and visibility.
Key areas of current research include the elucidation of RNA biogenesis, RNA processing and modifications, RNA coding of phenotypic variability, and establishing the role of RNA in disease and the exploration of RNA-based-and RNA-targeted therapies.
Center for Cannabinoid Research
The University of California Riverside Center for Cannabinoid Research (UCRCCR) is comprised of scientists and clinicians from across campus with common interests in advancing our understanding of roles for the endocannabinoid system in health and disease, and the impact of cannabis use on these processes.
Given the widespread legalization of cannabis for both recreational and medicinal purposes throughout the United States and the world, it is critical that we identify the impact that cannabis use has on health, and to do so in an unbiased manner unaffected by dogmas and stigmas that have plagued cannabinoid research for decades. UCRCCR is uniquely positioned to achieve success in this area due to its promotion of a holistic approach to cannabinoid research that includes elucidating the biology of the endogenous cannabinoid system in the body.