UC Merced receives $1.8M from Keck Foundation to expand high-risk research by early-career scientists

University of California, Merced has announced nearly $1.8 million in new grants from the W.M. Keck Foundation to advance high-risk scientific research and support early-career researchers. The funding includes $600,000 for a bridge program designed to protect faculty and Ph.D. projects from disruptions in federal grant support, alongside $1.2 million for chemistry and biochemistry Professor Andy LiWang’s lab. The bridge initiative pairs faculty mentors with doctoral fellows pursuing research in neuroscience, mechanical engineering and bioengineering, including studies of brain signaling, motor control and microRNA communication. Additional funding supports research into bacterial circadian clocks and cellular adaptation in collaboration with Caltech and the University of Maryland, reinforcing UC Merced’s focus on exploratory, high-impact discovery.