A woman wearing a black t-shirt gently examines green plants in a natural setting.

Environmental Health Science Scholar Award

Program Overview

A major goal of the Environmental Health Sciences Core Center  is to expand EHS research and translation at UC Davis by recruiting researchers who are interested in EHS and providing opportunities and resources to assist them in conducting such research.

One way to grow the cadre of EHS researchers is to honor, each year, a promising researcher with the EHS Scholar Award. Candidates for this award include:

  • An early-stage investigator – defined as an individual who has not received an NIH R01 or similar grant and who is within 10 years of completing their research degree or medical residency.
  • An established investigator new to EHS or UC Davis EHSC – defined as an individual no longer qualifying as an ESI but actively seeking to undertake new directions by investigating environmental factors that contribute to disease or disability in human populations.

The selected awardee is honored with the “EHS Scholar” designation for one year, receiving: 1) funding to cover partial salary support and access to career development activities 2) formal mentoring as appropriate, and 3) priority access to the EHSC Cores, which include an Exposure Core, a Translational Research Sciences Core, Community Engagement Core, and an Administrative Core. 

Illustration of Student Farmer

Transform Ideas Into Action.

The Environmental Health Science Scholar Award offers early-stage investigators and established researchers new to EHS or UC Davis the funding, mentorship, and visibility to jumpstart bold, interdisciplinary research. Ready to turn your big idea into real-world impact? This is your chance.

While applications are closed for the 2026 award, they will open up later this year for the 2027 award. In the meantime, review the previous award application to see how it works.

Meet the Minds Shaping the Future of Environmental Health

Our past EHS Scholars are trailblazers tackling urgent issues—from wildfire smoke and maternal health to climate change and toxic exposures. Explore their groundbreaking work and see how this award helped launch their next big leap.

Smiling Randy Carney, Ph.D. with glasses surrounded by abstract blue watercolor.

Randy Carney Finding New Ways to See the Unseen

Dr. Randy Carney pioneers ultra-sensitive Raman/SERS platforms to harness extracellular vesicles for early detection and precision diagnostics in environmental health and cancer. His EHS Scholar-funded research is forging next-gen tools that may revolutionize pollutant exposure assessment and personalized medicine.
Hong Ji, PhD

Hong Ji Decoding the Lasting Impact of Wildfires

As an EHS Scholar, Dr. Ji connects clinical insight with cutting-edge epigenetics to explore how wildfire smoke alters gene regulation in developing lungs. Her journey from pediatric research to primate models is opening new paths to prevent disease before it starts.