Please join the School of Biological Sciences in sending our best wishes to Professors John Avise, Michael Cumsky, David Gardiner and Donald Senear on their retirement from UCI. Each one of them has dedicated countless hours to help propel BioSci to its current position as a revered institution of life science research and education, and we are forever indebted to them for their commitment. 

• John Avise, PhD – Distinguished Professor, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology. Professor Avise’s research merged the fields of genetics and natural history by employing molecular markers to analyze the behaviors and evolution of a wide diversity of animal species in their natural environments. Prior to joining UCI, he was a professor at University of Georgia for 30 years. He was a member of the BioSci faculty since 2005, teaching here for 15 years.  

• Michael Cumsky, PhD – Professor of Teaching, Molecular Biology and Biochemistry. Professor Cumsky’s research focused on the complex problem of mitochondrial biogenesis and involved defining the regulatory elements that control the expression of nuclear genes specifying mitochondrial proteins and the process of protein import into mitochondria. He joined UCI in 1985, serving 35 years as a member of the faculty at BioSci.  

• David Gardiner, PhD – Professor, Developmental & Cell Biology; Associate Dean of Academic Personnel. Professor Gardiner’s research focused on salamanders, the only vertebrates that regenerate lost body parts as adults. The strategy was to use axolotls (Ambystoma mexicanum) to discover signals that trigger the regeneration response. He started at UCI BioSci in 1982, and was hired as full professor in 2008, serving a combination of 38 years at UCI.  

• Donald Senear, PhD – Professor, Molecular Biology and Biochemistry. Professor Senear’s research goal was to understand the fundamental mechanisms of transcriptional regulation at the level of macromolecular structure, function and interactions. He joined UCI in 1988 and shared his knowledge with students for 32 years as a member of the BioSci faculty.  

 Congratulations to our esteemed colleagues and best wishes.