Blog

Oct 31, 2024

UCLA Chemistry & Biochemistry launches SPARK campaign to fund new lab equipment – UCLA

Posted on October 29, 2024 On October 29, 2024, the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry launched a SPARK fundraising campaign to raise seed funding for new lab purchases for our two campuswide,

Posted on October 29, 2024

On October 29, 2024, the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry launched a SPARK fundraising campaign to raise seed funding for new lab purchases for our two campuswide, state-of-the-art core facilities – the Molecular Instrumentation Center (MIC) and the Biochemistry Instrumentation Core Facility (BIF).

As one of the country’s top chemistry and biochemistry departments, we provide innovative education and conduct cutting-edge research, with a strong emphasis on laboratory experimentation. Access to modern, functional equipment is crucial for developing our students and researchers into skilled professionals. Hands-on experience with instrumentation enhances their academic and professional growth while supporting groundbreaking research efforts.

In November of 2023, we launched a successful fundraising campaign to support the purchase of new instrumentation for the MIC and BIF facilities. The next phase of our fundraising is this SPARK campaign. Because we feel so strongly about this initiative, we are matching gifts of any size 1:1 and qualifying gifts 2:1. This is a unique opportunity for donors to double or triple their impact.

A UCLA alumnus, Department Chair Professor Alex Spokoyny explains the importance of having the appropriate instrumentation for research: “As an undergraduate student at UCLA, I was trained as an experimental chemist. The Molecular Instrumentation Center (MIC) and the Biochemistry Instrumentation Core Facility (BIF) were where I often conducted my late-night experiments. This invaluable experience early in my career inspired me to become an educator.”

Molecular Instrumentation Center (MIC)

The MIC is a campuswide, state-of-the-art core facility that enables the use of modern instrumentation in molecular characterizations. The MIC is housed within and managed through the UCLA Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, and is open for Bruin researchers, other academic institutions and commercial enterprises. The purpose of the MIC is to meet the needs of the UCLA scientific community by providing all aspects of technical support in the application of modern instrumentation to solve problems in cutting-edge scientific research.

Biochemistry Instrumentation Core Facility (BIF)

The UCLA-DOE Biochemistry Instrumentation Core Facility provides the UCLA biochemistry community with easy access to sophisticated instrumentation for a wide variety of biomolecular characterizations, including molecular weight determination, kinetic and thermodynamic analysis of ligand binding, structural characterization, gel documentation and analysis, radioisotope detection, and quantification and spectroscopy.

Give Now

To learn about other ways to support our Shared Instrumentation Facilities Fund, please contact Loida De Leon, Director of Development, at [email protected] or 310-403-3043.

Δ