Biological Sciences

UC Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Fellow Hannah Palmer, Ph.D., was named as the 2022-23 Congressional Science Fellow by the Geological Society of America (GSA) and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), and will spend a year in Washington, D.C., working for a member of Congress or a congressional committee beginning in September 2022.

An international team of researchers, including Professor Clarissa Nobile from UC Merced, has discovered which component in mucus prevents a fungus most humans carry from turning destructive.

This research lays the foundation for a new class of antifungal medicines.

Professor Maria-Elena Zoghbi and her lab are taking a closer look at a human transporter protein that acts as a cellular protector by relocating a molecule that has important antioxidant properties in the cells, preventing oxidative damage in several tissues, including the heart.

UC Merced’s top 10 Glad Slam finalists went head-to-head earlier this month to share their research in three minutes, in a format meant to share their scholarly work in a manner that is accessible for the general public.

Twelve of UC Merced’s graduate programs and one of its schools are among the best in the country in the U.S. News & World Report 2023 Best Graduate Schools rankings, according to results released March 29.

Professor Katrina Hoyer ’s lab is helping UC Merced serve the San Joaquin Valley community through its studies of immune responses to Valley fever and other diseases.

Graduate students Susana Tejeda-Garibay and Nadia Miranda are exploring fungal and host immune interactions in Valley fever, and they have both earned prestigious research fellowships to further their work.

Rhondene Wint is one of 10 exemplary graduate students to be featured in the March 17 special issue of Diverse: Issues In Higher Education (Diverse) based on “standout scholarship thus far and their current trajectory toward a very promising future in academia and beyond,” according to the magazine’s press release.

The new UC Merced Bobcat STEM Scholars Program, funded by a $1.4 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF), will provide four years of scholarship support for up to 10 eligible incoming students per year who declare majors within the university’s School of Natural Sciences (SNS).

Graduate students who are passionate about their research, concerned about the environment and eager to reach across disciplinary boundaries are invited to apply for a three-week summer program in which they will team up with like-minded scientists and engineers to design solutions to environmental sensing challenges.

The American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) has elected founding faculty member Professor Kara McCloskey into its College of Fellows for outstanding contributions to biomaterials for cell and tissue engineering, and meritorious commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion.

She is the first faculty member from UC Merced to earn this honor.