• Education

Curci Scholarship Will Boost Graduate Student Diversity

A collection of portraits of the 2022 curci scholars. Top row left to right: Amélie Marie Lucie Delcourt, Ricardo Espinosa Lima, Yang-Sun Hwang. Bottom row left to right: Gabriella (Gabi) Maldonado, Tuan Thinh (caleb) Tong, Xinlan Wen
The inaugural cohort of Curci scholars. Top row, left to right: Amélie Marie Lucie Delcourt, Ricardo Espinosa Lima, Yang-Sun Hwang. Bottom row, left to right: Gabriella (Gabi) Maldonado, Tuan Thinh (caleb) Tong, Xinlan Wen. Read their full bios here.

With generous support from the Shurl and Kay Curci Foundation, UC San Francisco has begun a new scholarship for women and international scholars that promises to help build a more diverse pipeline of basic science PhD students.

“We welcome this year’s scholars, who come from around the world to conduct their graduate studies at UCSF,” said UCSF Chancellor Sam Hawgood, MBBS. “We are grateful to the Curci Foundation for the critical support these scholarships will provide students through the first years of their PhD programs, and the added strength they bring to our ability to recruit the most talented graduate students.”

The scholarship will support a total of 12 students in two cohorts at UCSF, providing approximately $70,000 per student per year for tuition, stipend and benefits for the first two years of their PhD programs. UCSF is joining the program pilot begun at UC Berkeley, UC San Diego and the University of Washington. The University of Colorado and University of Utah were also recently included in the program, which may expand further. It is hoped that the program will support more Curci scholars at UCSF in the future.

We hope to increase the development of talented scientists by funding aspiring life science PhD candidates, particularly women and international students.

Ron Rosequist, president of the Curci Foundation

“Innovation knows no boundaries, and with this fellowship UCSF is well-positioned to attract the best international scholars,” said Nicquet Blake, PhD, Vice Provost of Student Academic Affairs and Dean of the Graduate Division at UCSF. “This thoughtful gift will provide an enormous boost for our talented international students, who are ineligible for federal funding and must pay higher non-resident tuition in the early years of their graduate training.”

The Curci Foundation focuses on basic research in the life sciences to help create a more healthy and sustainable future. A crucial part of this mission is to ensure that graduate science training reflect the true diversity of the talent pool by supporting more female and international scholars.

“The Foundation has supported various research efforts by UCSF scientists and is pleased to expand the relationship,” said Ron Rosequist, president of the Curci Foundation. “We hope to increase the development of talented scientists by funding aspiring life science PhD candidates, particularly women and international students.”

Read the full bios of UCSF’s new Curci Scholars.

Topics