Gifts and Giving

Support Learning and Memory Research

Thank you for your interest in supporting our research. Your philanthropy is very important and allows us to fulfill our mission in understanding the brain mechanisms that underlie learning and memory as well as developing early diagnostic markers and therapeutic interventions for devastating brain disorders such as major depression and Alzheimer’s disease. Your donations directly support our research, outreach, and education activities. We work directly with the staff at UCI’s Development offices to ensure that your contributions meet your philanthropic vision.

Click on the donate button below or contact Dr. Yassa directly to discuss potential philanthropic opportunities or ways to support our research.

Your Dollars Support Cutting-edge Research

Support researchers and students making unprecedented progress in addressing some of the critical learning and memory issues of our time. Below are three of our focus areas.

Learning & Memory Research

Our basic research is geared towards understanding how the brain learns and remembers information with an emphasis on applications to school education, technological innovation, and public health. Federal funding for basic research is inadequate and support from generous donors enables new breakthroughs and discoveries.

Alzheimer’s Disease Clinical Research

More than five million American struggle with Alzheimer’s disease today. To date, there is no treatment or cure. The global burden of Alzheimer’s disease continues to increase and federal research support has not been able to keep up the pace. We are actively working to search for a cure and for early markers for accurate diagnosis.

Clinical Research on Mood Disorders

Mood disorders such as depression present one of the most pressing public health challenges our society faces today. Major depressive disorder alone affects approximately 6.7% of the adult U.S. population with over 30% of these cases classified as severe. We are working to better understand the brain mechanisms involved in depression and to develop new therapeutics that target these mechanisms.

Emerging Need

Attention golfers! Our research group is in need of a motorized golf cart to assist our participants with transportation between locations on our large University campus during their research study visits. If you or your organization are looking to sell at a discount, or willing to donate a new or gently used golf cart, please contact Liv McMillan, the Yassa Lab program manager, at 949-824-3919 or liv@uci.edu.