Program Announcement (DEcember 17, 2024):

UCRI is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2025 Multicampus Research Programs and Initiatives (MRPI) awards. Fourteen highly meritorious projects proposing innovative research across a wide range of disciplines and topics were selected. Congratulations to these outstanding researchers!

Read 2025 Press Release

MRPI NEWS AND HIGHLIGHTS

Heat exposure in California schools prompts multi-campus research project
Beehive sensors offer hope in saving honeybee colonies
New internship program gives UC Santa Cruz and HBCU students a hands-on look at the lives of enslaved peoples in 19th-century America
UC Davis Health leads $2M program to improve eye care for people with diabetes
UC Merced-led research to focus on reducing power needed for computing

See all News and Highlights

Multicampus Research Programs and Initiatives

Systemwide research to strengthen the UC research enterprise

Overview

► 146 projects since 2009

► $175M in program spending

► over 1500 UC faculty, postdocs and graduate students supported

► $575M in extramural funds leveraged by MRPI awardees

MRPI funding supports innovative, multicampus research collaborations that reinforce UC's position as a leading university.

Goals and PrioritieS

Enable exceptional research and groundbreaking discoveries that advance knowledge in areas important to California society, the environment, and the economy
Enhance our competitiveness in attracting top faculty, graduate students, prestigious awards, and external funding
Empower bold and original research

MRPI awards are made in two categories: Planning/Pilot Awards and Program Awards. MRPI competitions are anticipated every two years, subject to availability of funds.

Fostering Breakthroughs Through UC Integration

Collaborative research efforts across the UC system represent a powerful engine of discovery, delivering unique contributions not only to the University itself, but also to the state and the nation. By uniting the diverse expertise and infrastructure of all ten campuses, the three UC-managed national laboratories, the UC natural reserve system, and agricultural research stations, these partnerships meet society’s most pressing challenges with versatility and vision. Since 2009, every corner of the University has played a role in advancing funded research—pushing boundaries, solving complex problems, and exploring the frontiers of knowledge.

Bridging Disciplines for real-world impact

At the heart of MRPI is a strong commitment to interdisciplinarity. In fact, half of all MRPI projects bring together collaborators from three or more distinct fields, demonstrating the power of diverse perspectives to drive meaningful research. These joint endeavors embody the UC’s unwavering commitment to public service in its mission to improve lives via research that matters.

Example Projects That Foster Collaboration Across Disciplines

►Materials Science for Climate-Proof Agriculture

A collaboration across materials science, botany, and mechanical engineering aims to reduce pressure on the agricultural sector by enabling plants to grow in environments unconstrained by specific soil or climate conditions, essentially making cultivation climate-resilient.

►Abolition Medicine and Disability Justice

Researchers from six diverse disciplines—including family and pediatric medicine, English, and gender studies—combine their expertise to reimagine healthcare and educational systems that confront oppressive structures and challenge social marginalization.

►California Policy Lab

To address the state’s most pressing social and economic challenges, over forty researchers representing all ten UC campuses, in disciplines from economics and law to public health and internal medicine, share infrastructure and foster connections across previously siloed datasets to creating new datasets as systemwide “common goods.”

building a stronger University of California

MRPI funding strengthens the entire UC system by supporting faculty, graduate students, postdocs, and other researchers across all campuses, positioning them for greater success in securing extramural funding. This systemwide investment helps retain top scholars, attract exceptional graduate students, and sustain the University of California’s standing as the world’s leading public research university. By building capacity at every level, MRPI helps ensure UC remains a powerful engine of innovation, discovery, and academic excellence.

Populations supported by MRPI since 2009

Pie chart illustrating the distribution of faculty, graduate students, and postdocs, with faculty at 54%, graduate students at 39%, and postdocs at 7%.

Learn More

For additional information and detailed insights about the program and its current grantees, see the document linked below.

program fact sheet