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Much of Emily Jacobs’ research focuses on how sex hormones — estrogen, progesterone, testosterone — affect the brain. Where are they acting? On what circuits? And over what time span?

She studies these changes in both men and women, but Jacobs, a neuroscientist and a professor of psychological and brain sciences, is keenly aware that the female brain has, historically, been overlooked.

A few years ago, UC Noyce Initiative researcher and UC Berkeley public health scholar Ziad Obermeyer found that an algorithm that affected health care for millions of patients routinely gave wealthier, white patients better access to care for chronic conditions compared to sicker, less affluent Black patients. 

David Brockman, a retired CalFire captain and avid outdoorsman, built a deck in the backyard of his home last year, without the use of his dominant right hand, which he lost in an accident. The prosthetic hand he used instead was a crude but functional steel hook-and-harness device.

Brockman has tried other artificial limbs, including a high-tech prosthesis called a myoelectric. It looks like a hand and works by using electrical signals from muscles in the forearm. But that one just didn’t work for him.

In honor of International Women’s Day on March 8, the University of California, Davis, College of Engineering recognized some key female engineers  in recognition for how they inspire inclusion in engineering. Among those recognized were two researchers from the UC Noyce Initiative: Child Family Professor in Engineering Chen-Nee Chuah and Associate Professor Marina Radulaski.

The following are excerpts from the Q&A featuring Chuah and Radulaski:

In February 2024, National Geographic prominently featured the work of UC Noyce Initiative researcher and neuroscientist from UC Santa Barbara, Emily Jacobs, in an article that focuses on how the brain changes throughout the menstrual cycle. 

Congratulations to UC Noyce Initiative researcher Brittany Dugger, Ph.D. for being named one of the 2024 Chancellor's Fellows for UC Davis. Dugger was one of nine early career academics who were given this title in recognition of doing exemplary work.

“These outstanding faculty members are some of our brightest and most promising scholars,” UC Davis Chancellor Gary S. May said. “I know they will continue to impress and shine a light on the groundbreaking work happening here at UC Davis. I expect this recognition and support will help propel them to even greater heights.”

UC Noyce Initiative researcher Yoshimi Fukuoka, Ph.D., R.N., F.A.A.N, was recently (Jan 26) named one of UC San Francisco's "24 People to Watch in 2024."

Ann Schmeltz Bowers, a technology industry executive pioneer and longtime philanthropist who inspired the founding of the UC Noyce Initiative, died on January 24, 2024, at her home in Palo Alto, California. She was 86.

Among the many accomplishments UC Noyce Initiative researchers realized in 2023, UC Noyce Initiative research Ziad Obermeyer was name among one of the top 100 leaders in artificial intelligence by TIME.

Learning more about women's brains, protecting the grid from cyberattacks, exploring the capacity of quantum computing — these are transformational research projects being pursued because of a new, five-campus, University of California consortium called The UC Noyce Initiative.