New Firtel Eureka! Scholarship Honors Longtime Biological Sciences Professor

Firtel family celebrates professor’s 80th birthday with funding to support research experiences for a new generation of biologists

July 3, 2024

By Mario Aguilera

Each summer, in addition to trips to the beach and catching up with family and friends, UC San Diego School of Biological Sciences undergraduate students have the opportunity to add life-changing research experiences to their summer plans.

The Eureka! Scholars Program offers students the chance to gain priceless work experience in various laboratories in the School of Biological Sciences, which consistently ranks among the world’s best in several disciplines of biology.

The Firtel family.

Eureka! Scholars are exclusively funded by philanthropic support. But since the number of students who apply to become Eureka! Scholars far outweighs the number of scholarships available, less than half of applicants are awarded.

That equation is about to change thanks to the family of a longtime School of Biological Sciences faculty member. In honor of Distinguished Professor Emeritus Rick Firtel’s 80th birthday, the Firtel family has provided $32,500 to support a Eureka! Scholar each year for five years, with the potential to extend the scholarship support for an additional five years. The new scholarship is called the Richard A. Firtel Eureka! Scholarship.

Rick’s wife Judy and sons Andy and Ken Firtel joined together to create the scholarship. Rick Firtel spent more than four decades at UC San Diego in leadership positions and conducting research on signal transduction pathways and the mechanics that control cell movement.

“When I was an active Biology faculty member at UC San Diego, I believed that the Eureka! Scholars Program provided an exceptional opportunity for select students to be able to further their excitement in biology and enhance their education,” said Firtel. “I am extremely proud and happy that my family chose to honor my birthday and my 45 years at UC San Diego in this way.”

Each $6,500 scholarship supports a student’s living expenses during the summer, which gives them the freedom to work full-time in a laboratory. Feedback from previous Eureka! Scholars has revealed that the summer work experience through the scholarship can be life-changing and often influences the students’ academic pursuits and career trajectory.

“This wonderful new funding support will extend the Eureka! Scholars program’s ability to provide transformational research opportunities for our students,” said School of Biological Sciences Dean Kit Pogliano. “I am deeply appreciative of the Firtel family for providing these valuable funds and honoring the legacy of Rick Firtel and his distinguished scientific career and many contributions to the UC San Diego School of Biological Sciences.”

Eureka! student scholars have the opportunity to work in labs that are addressing an array of pressing scientific challenges, from new therapies that treat deadly diseases to improving the world’s food supply to ensuring the sustainability of the planet. Scholars work under the direction of a faculty member and alongside lab managers, postdoctoral scholars, graduate students and others.