Adopt a Scientist
Frank M. LaFerla
Dean, School of Biological Sciences
Chancellor’s Professor
University of California, Irvine
Adoption fee: $500,000
Adoption type: Individual
Frank M. LaFerla is the Hana and Francisco J. Ayala Dean of the UC Irvine School of Biological Sciences. Professor LaFerla, Chancellor’s Professor and former chair of the Department of Neurobiology and Behavior since 2011, joined UC Irvine in 1995 as an assistant professor in the then-named department of psychobiology. Dean LaFerla is also the director of the NIH-funded Alzheimer’s Disease Center, only one of 27 in the country. During his time at UCI, he has served in numerous leadership roles, including as director of UCI MIND (Institute for Memory Impairments and Neurological Disorders), a research center internationally acclaimed for its work on disorders of the brain, particularly those that are age-related.
Professor LaFerla was also founding director of the Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program, which united several neuroscience-related departments and faculty under one major programmatic initiative and has since facilitated the recruitment to UC Irvine of numerous outstanding graduate students.
Professor LaFerla received his Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota and his B.A. from St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, and has research interests in the molecular biology of Alzheimer’s disease and neurodegenerative disorders, transgenic and genetically-modified animal models, presenilins and calcium signaling, and learning and memory.
He has received several honors for his research accomplishments, including the Promising Work Award from the Metropolitan Life Foundation for Medical Research, the Ruth Salta Investigator Achievement Award from the American Health Assistance Foundation, the Zenith Fellows Award from the Alzheimer Association, the UCI Innovators Award, and the Senate Distinguished Mid-career Faculty Research Award.
Professor LaFerla is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and an elected member of the American Neurological Association, the American Society for Cell Biology, the International Society for Stem Cell Research, and the Society for Neuroscience. He is a frequent guest speaker at local, national, and international venues, and is a current member of the board of directors of the Orange County Alzheimer’s Association.