Welcome back and a look forward
As classes resumed this month, Chancellor Julio Frenk addressed the Bruin community reflecting on his first year with UCLA, reviewing achievements and challenges from 2025, including fallout from the wildfires and federal policy changes that ushered in last year. He reaffirmed UCLA's mission in research, education, and service while highlighting four flagship initiatives: UCLA Connects, UCLA Research and Innovation Blueprint, UCLA for Life, and Effective UCLA.
These initiatives are intended to strengthen community connections, drive innovation, expand educational access, and improve operations. In 2025, UCLA advanced this mission through several notable recognitions: faculty earned prestigious fellowships, one alumnus received a Nobel Prize, and two alumni earned MacArthur Fellowships.
Weird and wonderful science: UCLA research findings from 2025
Check out 13 of the year’s most unusual discoveries at UCLA – from the connection between elephant poop and guitars to the mysterious properties of swirls. These fascinating insights cover the range of human curiosity and prove that groundbreaking science doesn’t always look serious at first glance.
Astronomers reveal how common planets form
Researchers are tracking four young planets orbiting the 20-million-year-old star V1298 Tau. These baby planets, which will evolve into super-Earths and sub-Neptunes, are losing their atmospheres and shrinking in size. This unusual system offers a fresh glimpse into how common planetary systems form. By observing these planets for more than five years, researchers figured out their sizes and masses, and have discovered that they are in an exciting stage of development. This finding challenges our understanding of planetary evolution and offers a new example of what young systems might look like in our galaxy.
UCLA engages with local civic leaders
In early January, Chancellor Julio Frenk toured Homeboy Industries with program participants and met with co-CEOs Shirley Torres (‘03) and Steve Delgado who are leading this remarkable nonprofit organization. The Chancellor also met with local elected officials, including L.A. City Councilmembers Imelda Padilla and Adrin Nazarian (‘96) and had a chance to connect with Chancellor Alberto Román who leads the Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD), the largest community college district in California.
UCLA Connects: 9 examples of scholarship and service impact in 2025
In 2025, Bruins actively demonstrated the principles of UCLA Connects by addressing real-world challenges through scholarship and community engagement. Throughout the year, faculty, staff, students, and alumni dedicated themselves to service and collaboration, reinforcing UCLA's role as a public research institution committed to innovation and civic responsibility in a complex world.
What will happen in 2026? UCLA experts predict
UCLA Magazine highlights insights from six UCLA faculty members, offering a range of perspectives on trends across economy, technology, health, climate, law, and pop culture that may shape the upcoming year.
After the fires: UCLA community gathers for reflection and renewal
On January 7, members of the UCLA community gathered for a "Moment of Reflection" to commemorate the anniversary of the devastating Palisades and Eaton fires that dislocated so many Angelenos. Chancellor Frenk emphasized the sense of loss felt by the community while celebrating the spirit of compassion and support that emerged during the crisis. The event showcased the healing power of music, featuring the UCLA Chamber Singers, and concluded with participants sowing wildflower seeds as a symbol of renewal and resilience.
New report analyzes water system performance in urban wildfires
One year after the devastating January 2025 fires, Los Angeles continues to grapple with the performance of its infrastructure and the need for improvements in the face of rising wildfire risks. This new publication explores how water systems can better protect communities, aid emergency responses, and support resilient rebuilding. The collaborative effort includes insights from 44 experts across various sectors.
Altadena recovery webinar examines rebuilding equity
On January 6, the UCLA Latino Policy & Politics Institute (LPPI) hosted a webinar examining the uneven paths to recovery that homeowners, tenants, and small businesses face following the Eaton fire. Panelists included representatives from UCLA LPPI, Altadena Tenants Union, Neighborhood Housing and Services of Los Angeles County, Eaton Fire Survivor Network, and a local business owner. The program examined how social, financial, and policy factors have shaped recovery so far, and explored ways to ensure that the path forward centers the voices and experiences of those most affected.
Health impacts continue
With many families still displaced and high levels of pollutants still prevalent in some communities, the 2025 fires continue to exact a toll on human health. UCLA Health experts report ongoing respiratory problems from smoke and toxins, especially flare-ups in asthma and COPD patients returning to contaminated homes. Heightened risks of depression, PTSD, and anxiety from trauma and housing instability also persist. The UCLA Wildfire Impacted Communities Research Registry includes more than 4,400 participants to study short-term and long-term effects and inform future preparedness.
UCLA and community partners support Altadena fire recovery
In December, UCLA researchers from the Fielding School of Public Health joined community partners in Pasadena’s Washington Park to test soil samples for lead and other contaminants in neighborhoods devastated by the wildfires, including Altadena, Pasadena, and the Crescenta Valley. Associate professor Kirsten Schwarz leads the LA Urban Soil Social Impact Collaborative, which has hosted a series of soil testing events, workshops and remediation projects across the region. At the Pasadena event, the team screened 200 samples from nearly 70 residents using portable analyzers and delivered immediate results. Schwarz urges residents to add clean soil, compost, or mulch, keep yards planted, and create barriers that block, dilute, or bind lead to reduce exposure risks. Residents
like Kevin Bolling from Altadena praised the critical information that helps them understand and tackle potential hazards.
Altadena resident leads community recovery efforts post-fire
UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs master's candidate Samantha “Sam” James, a sixth-generation Altadena resident, co-founded the Altadena Recovery Team with three other local women. James applies practical policy expertise gained during her California Senate Fellowship in State Senator Josh Becker’s office, where she helped draft and advance SB 1008—the Keep Families Connected Act that eliminated costly prison phone fees—to guide equitable, community-led recovery initiatives. As CEO of the team, she directs trauma-informed direct aid programs and coordinates supply distributions and wellness activities. James has secured nearly $400,000 in grants and donations, and she advocates for state-level reforms, including mortgage relief legislation that Governor
Newsom signed into law.
UCLA Magazine: Engineers with a cause
UCLA's Engineers Without Borders club, founded in 2004, actively partners with underserved communities and nonprofits worldwide to design and build sustainable solutions for clean water, sanitation, food security, education, and accessibility. Former president Suraj Shah highlights how students apply engineering skills for real global impact while raising funds, designing, constructing, and training communities for lasting results.
Double Bruin advances from aviation enthusiast to Boeing leader
Jack Castro, a UCLA Samueli School of Engineering alumnus (B.S. ’87, M.S. ’91), serves as senior technical fellow at Boeing, where he leads structural simulation strategy. His career began with a childhood interest in airplanes, deepened at UCLA through faculty mentorship and an internship that introduced him to finite element analysis. It has continued with close collaboration with Boeing engineers.
UCLA Samueli, a consistently top-ranked public engineering school, has produced more than 50,000 active alumni and pioneered advances in fields including artificial intelligence, reverse osmosis, mobile communications, and human prosthetics.
Restoring the healthy form of a protein could revive blood vessel growth in premature infants’ lungs
A UCLA-led research team discovered that premature babies with bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) produce a broken NTRK2 protein that stops healthy blood vessels from growing in damaged lungs. This faulty protein blocks repair after injury from excess oxygen and ventilators. Led by Mingxia Gu, an associate professor at the David Geffen School of Medicine and a member of the UCLA Broad Stem Cell Research Center,
the team used mRNA to deliver instructions for the normal protein in mini-lungs and mice, restoring vessel growth and improving lung health. Gu says this approach could lead to new treatments that help these tiny babies breathe better and recover stronger lungs.
Webinar
Thursday, February 12
11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
UCLA Health
Cardiovascular risk score predicts eye diseases
A new study from UCLA Health shows that a cardiovascular risk score already used routinely in primary care can predict who will develop serious eye diseases years later. Researchers found that people with higher cardiovascular risk scores were significantly more likely to develop age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma, retinal vein occlusion, and hypertensive retinopathy, among other conditions.
UCLA Health team works to defeat osteoarthritis
UCLA Health is leading an innovative effort to transform osteoarthritis treatment from merely managing symptoms to regenerating damaged joints. With a grant from the ARPA-H NITRO program, a collaborative team from UCLA, Duke University, and Boston Children’s Hospital is developing a groundbreaking injectable therapy that could replace joint replacements. This ambitious project addresses a significant health crisis affecting millions while making effective treatment accessible to everyone.
Supporting Communities: UCLA's Impact
Discover how UCLA's students, staff, and faculty are enhancing the well-being of Greater Los Angeles through UCLA Community Partnerships.
PROGRAM SPOTLIGHT
The Sustainable LA Grand Challenge brings together world-class researchers and community stakeholders to facilitate interdisciplinary, solutions-oriented, and societally relevant sustainability research.
