Research Facilities
Graduate students at UC Davis are fortunate to have access to numerous
specialized laboratories, research units, and high-technology research
facilities.
For a complete listing of facilities available at, or associated with UC Davis, link to the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research.
The Human Performance Laboratory houses equipment for the study of blood and muscle chemistry and enzymology, metabolism and energetics, muscle mechanics and electromyography, movement kinetics and kinematics, body composition and anthropometry, cardiorespiratory function during exercise in a controlled environment, control and acquisition of motor skills and the psychosocial aspects of human performance.
The Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Facility provides qualified researchers in the biological, medical and physical sciences access to state-of-the-art NMR instrumentation for spectroscopy and imaging. At present, the facility operates six spectrometers of varying purposes and capabilities. All of the spectrometers are multinuclear, and a large variety of high resolution, surface and imaging coils are available for use.
Occupational Biomechanics Laboratory, Biological and Agricultural Engineering. The laboratory is equipped with various kinematic and kinetic devices to assess three-dimensional motion and forces during occupational work, including: the Lumbar Motion Monitor (spinal motion), the Greenleaf system (hand/wrist motion); Bertec 4060 3-D forceplate; Lido Lift Simulator system; digital push-pull force gauge; accelerometers; inclinometers; electromyography systems; Biopac Student Lab System (physiology); and Kodak Ektapro 1000 high speed camera. Several occupational risk assessment software programs are also available in the laboratory.
The J.D. Wheat Veterinary Orthopedic Research Laboratory comprises researchers who study disorders of musculoskeletal tissues and organs of domestic animals using mechanical testing, gross and microscopic morphology and morphometry, radiography and microradiography, computer modeling; and epidemiology techniques. Basic science and clinical veterinary faculty, graduate students, clinical veterinary residents, and undergraduate students pursue research in the laboratory. Specialized equipment includes a servohydraulic biaxial materials testing system and equipment for the histologic processing of mineralized tissues.
The Western Human Nutrition Research Center was established by the USDA Agricultural Research Service in 1980 in the northeast corner of the Presidio of San Francisco. In April, 1999 the Center moved onto the campus of the University of California at Davis, CA. Modern facilities and equipment allow measurement of total energy expenditure, dietary intake and body composition of humans, clinical chemistries in blood and other biological fluids, and isotopic tracers of nutrients by mass spectrometry. The center has a metabolic research unit to house volunteers for one to four months of intensive study.The Center is planning a new building to be completed on the UC Davis campus in a few years.
The California
Regional Primate Research Center investigates selected human health
problems for which the nonhuman primate is the animal model of choice.
Research programs include behavioral and neurobiology, developmental and
reproductive biology, respiratory diseases, virology and immunology, genetics
and a variety of biomedical collaborative research projects. Self-sustaining
breeding colonies of macaques are available for study of spontaneously
occurring disorders.
The UC Davis Sports
Medicine Program is located in downtown Sacramento with a staff of
exercise specialists that offer a comprehensive line of programs and services
for a variety of athletes from recreational to professional. The staff
of Sports Medicine physicians, surgeons, physical therapists, exercise
physiologists, biomechanical engineers, nutritionists, psychologists and
coaches cover all the needs of an athlete from injury prevention, treatment
and rehabilitation to physiological and biomechanical exercise testing
for formulating training programs to improve health and performance. Our
facility houses two modern performance labs with cycle ergometers, treadmills,
metabolic carts, electrocardiographs, a portable force platform, EMG equipment,
a biodex for isokinetic testing, cycling torque analysis, spirometry and
lactate testing. Within the next 2 years we will complete a biomechanics
lab with force platforms and motion analysis. We have an applied research
program that offers facilities and equipment for graduate student projects
and an internship program for all students from undergraduates to medical
residents to gain hands-on clinical experience in the field of exercise
physiology, biomechanics, physical therapy and sports medicine.
The Muscle Biology laboratory houses equipment to identify and
understand regulatory mechanisms involved in the determination and maintenance
of muscle size, muscle adaptation, and muscle function. To pursue these
scientific interests we employ an integrative research approach in which
muscle function, growth, and adaptation are studied in animal and cell
culture models from whole-body to cellular to molecular levels. Studies
are conducted examining changes in gene expression, cell signaling pathways,
enzyme kinetics, energetics, muscle contractile function, and individual
muscle fiber characteristics in normal and aging models as well as various
models of muscle disuse and disease.
