Support IISBR

Student Training

Funding for student training would provide the opportunity to enhance the skills and knowledge of a larger number of undergraduate and graduate students and increase their engagement with faculty research. IISBR is committed to contributing to the training and education of all interested students and finding ways to reduce barriers for those we serve. Increased funds for student training would decrease costs barriers, allow for the training of more students, and make “out of the classroom” opportunities possible for more students.

These include:

• Tuition for our intensive 2-day, hands-on laboratory training (or “Spit Camp”). Our well-known “spit camp” has been taken by researchers and students from across the globe.
• Laboratory-based student summer assistantships to allow students in-depth opportunities to train with our faculty.
• Student laboratory supplies for an academic course would make costly laboratory courses more accessible for all students.
• Graduate student year-long IISBR assistantships.

Research Possibilities

The sky is the limit in using saliva to discover how our psychological and social worlds affect our bodies and our health. Opportunities to facilitate research will foster new collaborations, student engagement in research, and open the door to new areas of scientific health inquiry. Opportunities include:

• Undergraduate honors project. Undergraduate students in the honor’s program complete a year-long mentored research study. Funding to incorporate salivary biomarkers would allow students to engage in biobehavioral studies.
• Graduate student dissertation. Doctoral students often have innovative and impactful ideas that set a course for their careers.
• Visiting Research Program. IISBR has contributed to strong networks of leading scholars who are pushing the boundaries of the field. Invitations to great thinkers in the field to join as at UCI for a year as a visiting scholar provides a rich opportunity to enrich our campus environment and expand our own innovation.
• Pilot Grant Program. Offering small pilot research grants to our campus community fosters new collaborations, allows a researcher to discover salivary measures, and enhances science.

Institute Growth

There are opportunities to more substantially enhance the reach of IISBR.

• Funding for a visiting speaker series would allow us to bring renowned experts in salivary bioscience to the UCI campus.
• A legacy could be established through a naming gift to the Institute to solidify its place in UCI history.

For information on how you can make a difference, please contact: Juliana Goswick, Director of Development, jgoswick@uci.edu | 949-824-3968