Charlie Dunlop School of Biological Sciences



The Charlie Dunlop School of Biological Sciences at the University of California, Irvine is one of the largest academic units at UCI devoted to research and education in the life sciences. The school was renamed in 2024 in recognition of a $50 million philanthropic gift from biotechnology entrepreneur Charlie Dunlop, founder of Ambry Genetics.
The Dunlop School emphasizes an interdisciplinary approach across four departments — Developmental & Cell Biology, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Molecular Biology & Biochemistry, and Neurobiology & Behavior — unified by the school’s core philosophy of “Mind | Body | World."
It is home to more than 4,000 undergraduate majors, 300 graduate students, and over 120 faculty members, conducting research in neuroscience, environmental science, molecular biology, developmental biology and related disciplines. It is ranked No. 32 in U.S. News & World Report’s list of best graduate schools.
WWW bio.uci.edu

History

The school was established in 1965, making it one of UCI’s original academic units. It initially consisted of four departments — Molecular & Cell Biology, Organismic Biology, Psychobiology, and Population & Environmental Biology — and 17 founding faculty members under the leadership of Edward A. Steinhaus, the school’s founding dean.
On March 12, 2014, the School was officially renamed after UCI professor and donor Francisco J. Ayala by then-Chancellor Michael V. Drake. Ayala had previously pledged to donate $10 million to the School of Biological Sciences in 2011. The school reverted to its previous name in June 2018, after a university investigation confirmed that Ayala had sexually harassed at least four women colleagues and graduate students.
On June 15, 2024, during the school's commencement ceremony, UCI announced that the school would be renamed the Charlie Dunlop School of Biological Sciences in recognition of a $50 million gift from biotech entrepreneur Charlie Dunlop, to create an endowed fund for unrestricted support of academic and research activities.

Leadership

Since its founding, the school has been led by the following deans:
DeanYears of Service
Edward A. Steinhaus1963 – 1967
James L. McGaugh1967 – 1970
Howard A. Schneiderman1970 – 1979
Grover C. Stephens1982 – 1986
L. Dennis Smith1987 – 1990
Elvera Ehrenfeld1992 – 1996
Shin Lin1997 – 2000
Susan V. Bryant2000 – 2006
Albert F. Bennet2007 – 2013
Frank M. LaFerla2014 – Present