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Changing the course of what’s happening to what can and should be

UC Davis’ Big Ideas are forward-thinking, interdisciplinary initiatives that will build upon the strengths of the university to positively impact the world. UC Davis researchers, scientists, clinicians and others are conducting innovative and ambitious work in sustainability, food, animal and human health, and more. These transformative projects can only become realities through partnerships with passionate donors, whose gifts will lead to the discoveries to solve California’s and the world’s most pressing problems.

Recent Stories

Inside look: UC Davis lab testing new technology for aging seniors living alone


As more children become the caretakers of their aging elderly parents, there's new state-of-the-art health technology being developed right now at the University of California Davis Health System.

The aim of the technology is to help more seniors live at home alone, longer.

Dr. Alyssa Weakley is a neuropsychologist at UC Davis, studying dementia. She is also a granddaughter trying to care for her grandmother, who was diagnosed with early stages of Alzheimer's Disease. Her grandmother lived in Southern California when first diagnosed.

What AI can do for older adults

When Alyssa Weakley’s 82-year-old grandmother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2019, the family scrambled to respond. Her grandmother lived in southern California; Weakley and other family members were in northern California and Washington State. As problems arose, they took turns flying down to see the older woman. Often, that meant leaving a job or making child-care arrangements on short notice.