Call for sponsorship | Chemical Screening Center

In 2023, we are announcing three exciting ways that donors could support the CSC’s impact on the community, education, science, and medicine!

1. Endow the facility.
We want to name the screening center after you! A substantial donation would allow a generous person or company to name the recently-revamped center after themselves or in honor of someone. The donation would go to an endowment, from which the facility would receive an annual income, to cover operational expenses such as instrument repairs and replacements, to ensure the longevity of our mission. Henceforth, all mentions of the facility would celebrate this name: publications, grants, presentation acknowledgements, website, social media, university materials, and a beautiful sign at the door of the facility.

2. Sponsor an internship.
We are hoping to offer a named, paid internship to an outstanding undergraduate student who will learn valuable technical and professional skills while working in the CSC as an assistant. Having a stipend means that the opportunity would be more equitably accessible to students who are paying their way through college by working. Over the course of one year, with chance of renewal until their graduation, the student will contribute to the operation of the facility, and in so doing, intersect with exciting research at UCSC as well as networking with our industry partners and technology vendors. The lab bench skills and soft skills gained at the CSC will include those highly relevant to careers in pharmaceutical R&D, and will stand a student in good stead for getting into, and succeeding when they start, further education or jobs in science. The named internship will be in their title and on their resume, and the named internship will be advertised among undergraduates to solicit applications.

photo of Robert showing a group of users how to use the Phenix

a photograph of users placing microplates on the pinning robot deck

3. Start a named diversity, equity, and inclusion initiative.
We would love to have the ability to offer experience in chemical screening workflows to participants of existing DEI-focused research programs. Our university already is able to offer stipends and small amounts of research funding for those accepted into STEM diversity programs such as: MARC, CAMP, UC LEADS, and Packard Scholars programs (for undergraduates); PREP (post-baccalaureate), and IMSD (grad students years 1-2). These programs bring junior scientists from under-represented groups into laboratories where they conduct real research under the mentorship of UCSC faculty. However, the faculty usually only send PhD candidates and post-docs to us for advanced technologies. By paying for the fees incurred by their CSC training and resource use towards their project, this fund would ensure these star students get access earlier in their development as scientists. Giving students skills and opportunities earlier will help address diversity, equity, and inclusion in STEM, since not all students interested in science are retained in the discipline and promoted through the most prestigious trajectory. They would receive hands-on, one-on-one education tailored to the needs of the individual student, taught by the CSC manager, who is a PhD-level expert in this area and is passionate about educating the next generation of scientists. The named initiative will be broadcast wherever this opportunity is mentioned, including in the university’s discussions about promoting DEI in STEM.