About

About Us

UC Irvine Research Associates brings together community members who share a passion for health innovation to promote, celebrate and support health sciences research at UC Irvine. As Orange County’s only academic health system, UC Irvine is home to nationally renowned researchers who are working locally to develop tomorrow’s healthcare breakthroughs today. Research Associates brings this exciting work to the community, giving local residents an early look at the future of health.

Our History

Research Associates was founded by Athalie Richardson Irvine Clarke as a UC Irvine School of Medicine support group in 1983.

Clarke felt it was important to celebrate the significance of medical research by honoring the outstanding accomplishments of UC Irvine investigators. The Athalie Clarke Achievement Award was named in her honor.

Clarke’s vision was sustained for decades by the group’s long-serving president, Madeline Martin Swinden. In 2019, under Swinden’s leadership, Research Associates expanded its mission to encompass support for all schools and programs in the UC Irvine Susan & Henry Samueli College of Health Sciences, which includes the School of Medicine. This transition united Research Associates with another group established by Clarke — Associates for the Advancement of Nursing Science and Research, operating today as the Sue & Bill Gross School of Nursing Leadership Council.

As Research Associates evolves to serve a larger purpose, it remains true to the intent of Athalie Clarke and Madeline Swinden, shining a light on the visionary researchers in the Susan & Henry Samueli College of Health Sciences for all the community to see the groundbreaking studies that are improving health and wellbeing.