The University of California, Davis, has been named one of The Hartwell Foundation’s top 10 centers for biomedical research.

“We are proud and excited that the foundation has selected UC Davis for this top honor,” Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi said. “Our selection to the top-10 list is evidence of the excellent achievements of our researchers.”

The Memphis-based Hartwell Foundation is committed to funding innovative early stage biomedical research to benefit children.

“Like UC Davis, The Hartwell Foundation seeks to inspire innovation and achievement,” said foundation president Frederick A. Dombrose. “The leadership of UC Davis shares the same values as The Hartwell Foundation.”

Three UC Davis researchers have received Hartwell Individual Biomedical Research Awards over the last three years.

The most recent award — $300,000 in research support for three years — is to Cristina E. Davis, an associate professor in the UC Davis Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. The award will support Davis’ proposal to develop a breath sensor device that could improve asthma control in children.

Davis will collaborate with UC Davis colleagues Bruce Hammock, a professor of entomology; Jean-Pierre Delplanque, a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering; Ruth McDonald, a professor of pediatrics; and Nicholas Kenyon, an associate professor of internal medicine.

“This is a fantastic opportunity to pursue a research plan poised to provide a ‘quantum leap’ forward in our understanding and implementation of real-time diagnostic tests for childhood asthma,” said Davis. “I am very grateful to receive this recognition and support from The Hartwell Foundation." Davis is among 12 researchers from 10 institutions who were selected as Hartwell investigators this year.

Previous Hartwell Individual Biomedical Research Award winners at UC Davis are Sanjay Joshi, an associate professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, and J. Kent Leach, an associate professor of biomedical engineering.

Until now, UC Davis has been invited to nominate two researchers each year for Hartwell research awards. With its designation as a “research center of excellence” by the foundation, the university will now be eligible to nominate four researchers a year.

The other top-10 biomedical research centers on the Hartwell list are Cornell University; Duke University; St. Jude Children's Research Hospital; the Johns Hopkins University; the University of Michigan; the University of Wisconsin Madison; UC San Diego; the University of Virginia; and the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.