W. M. Keck Foundation Gives $1.2 Million to UC Irvine to Support Early-Career Scientists

“By supporting early-career scientists and their students, the Keck Foundation is helping preserve the continuity of discovery and ensuring that promising ideas and talent are not lost during a period of funding uncertainty. These awards not only sustain critical research today but also strengthen the pipeline of innovation for the future,” says Aileen Anderson, vice chancellor for research. Steve Zylius / UC Irvine

Irvine, Calif., May 14, 2026 — A $1.2 million grant from the W. M. Keck Foundation to the University of California, Irvine is part of a special initiative to support early-career scientists facing uncertainty in federal research funding.

In response to these widespread federal reductions, the Keck Foundation launched a one-time bridge funding initiative that increased its annual investment in basic research by more than 50%. 

The Bridge Funding Initiative is part of a broader effort by the Keck Foundation to support early-career investigators and maintain momentum in the research pipeline. By investing in faculty–student partnerships, the program aims to help ensure continuity in scientific discovery and training. Through its Keck Scholar-Fellow Bridge Initiative, it has awarded two-year grants to 75 faculty-member and Ph.D.-student pairs across California to help sustain critical research and training.

Six UC Irvine research teams were selected for funding, underscoring the university’s strength in advancing innovative, high-impact science.

“This investment comes at a pivotal moment for the research community,” said Aileen Anderson, vice chancellor for research at UC Irvine. “By supporting early-career scientists and their students, the Keck Foundation is helping preserve the continuity of discovery and ensuring that promising ideas and talent are not lost during a period of funding uncertainty. These awards not only sustain critical research today but also strengthen the pipeline of innovation for the future.”

The funded projects span a wide range of fields, from ocean ecosystems to quantum physics and cancer research. One of the six teams selected includes Shivashankar Othy, PhD, assistant professor of physiology & biophysics, and Angel Zavala, PhD student in physiology & biophysics. Othy and Zavala study how the force-sensing protein Piezo1 regulates T cells, with findings suggesting it acts as a brake on tumor-fighting activity and could become the basis of new cancer immunotherapies.

Read the complete list of funded projects in the press release in UC Irvine News.