The Mary Zavanelli Endowment fund provides full summer support for undergraduates doing independent research projects in faculty labs. This support allows the students to focus full time on developing their projects and their research skills, both of which can help them get jobs and enter graduate programs once they achieve their degrees.
This fund was established in honor of Mary Zavanelli, a beloved lecturer in Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology. Mary was diagnosed with 
amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in 2013 and passed away on February 18, 2017.
Mary received her Ph.D. from UC Santa Cruz in 1991, working with Professor Manny Ares on RNA splicing. In 1995, Mary became a lecturer at UC Santa Cruz and excelled in teaching many different courses over the years, including highly popular courses in Female Physiology and the Biology of AIDS. Mary was also an exceptional athlete and competed in numerous Ironman triathlons. Mary’s love of biology, her commitment to teaching, and her perseverance in facing ALS have been an inspiration for students and colleagues alike.
This endowment, formed in Mary's honor, will be used to support undergraduate research in the health sciences. From her teaching experiences at UCSC, Mary knew that meaningful research opportunities for undergraduates are hard to find and yet can have a tremendous impact on students persisting in challenging science majors and ultimately in their career success.
We encourage you to join us in supporting the Mary Zavanelli fund so we can continue Mary's wish of providing undergraduate research opportunities to students in the health sciences.
