Case Studies

The UC Trust offers a unique opportunity to donate tax effectively from Europe for the advancement of the UC system. We accept funds in Dollars, Great British Pounds, Euros and Swiss Francs and we do not take on administration fees when transferring you donation to campuses. Find out about some of the incredible research we support below.

People walking on a path by the UC Berkeley Forest Statue on the University of California Berkeley campus.

Case Study: Human Mortality Database at UC Berkeley

The UC Trust assists in collecting and disbursing funds to impactful initiatives on many UC campuses. One such initiative is the Human Mortality Database (HMD), co-directed by Magali Barbieri who is a researcher in the Department of Demography at UC Berkeley.Over the past few years, over $300,000 has been donated to this database via the UC Trust.

The Human Mortality Database (HMD) was launched in 2000 to provide high-quality, internationally comparable mortality data. It aids the study of longevity and demographic trends, with continuous updates, including response to crises like COVID-19.

The HMD is the world's leading scientific data resource on mortality in developed countries. The HMD is utilized around the world by researchers, students, journalists, policy analysts, and others interested in human longevity.

According to Barbieri, "With 75,000 registered users and over 5,500 scientific articles in peer-reviewed journals, the HMD has become the gold standard for the study of longevity. Its popularity derives from its reliance on cutting edge demographic methods, highest-quality freely available data, multiple rounds of verifications of both input and outcome variables, transparency, comparability over time and across populations, and ease of access."

The UCI Neurotology faculty Harrison Lin, MD, Hamid Djalilian, MD, and Mehdi Abouzari, MD, PhD.

Case Study: Advancing Tinnitus Research at UC Irvine

A generous pledge from an anonymous German entrepreneur and tinnitus patient support the groundbreaking work of Dr. Hamid Djalilian, a professor of otolaryngology, neurosurgery, and biomedical engineering and director of otology, neurotology, and skull base surgery at University of California, Irvine. By leveraging tax incentives, the donor’s original $50,000 donation became a recurring gift totaling $250,000 over 5 years.

Djalilian and his research team are leading the way in developing a number of innovative medical devices, new procedures and novel medications to help those experiencing tinnitus, hearing loss, balance disorders, migraines, vertigo and facial nerve paralysis. He is a founding member and president of the Migraine in Otolaryngology Society and a global leader in this effort. This donor’s generous gift will help advance Djalilian and his team’s work on these life-changing devices and treatments that will benefit the millions who suffer from tinnitus.

This anonymous donation was made through a collaborative partnership with UC Irvine and the UC Trust – through a Berlin-based transnational giving foundation. Individual or corporate donors who are European taxpayers may be able to make tax-effective, cross-border gifts to University of California campuses through these collaborative partnerships.

“Coming up with a tax-deductible solution for a transnational donation has been a crucial factor to enable me to increase my support,” says the donor. “Being quite aware about the worldwide developments in tinnitus research, Dr. Djalilian´s ideas were the most disruptive and innovative ones I have heard so far. Furthermore, his drive to bring those developments into a clinical reality on a basis that could be provided by ENTs worldwide has impressed me.”