Avinav Biswas, a third‑year undergraduate majoring in biological sciences at UC Merced, has been named a 2026 Barry M. Goldwater Scholar, becoming the university’s first recipient of one of the nation’s most prestigious undergraduate awards for students pursuing research careers in science, engineering and mathematics.

The scholarship provides $7,500 annually to support tuition, fees, books and living expenses. It is awarded to students who demonstrate exceptional research achievement and promise, and who plan to pursue careers centered on scientific discovery.

Community voices, student research and cross-sector partnerships took center stage at the UC Merced’s Public Health Symposium, where speakers emphasized equity, access and connection as urgent priorities in the Central Valley and beyond.

On March 20, UC Merced's Center for Health Equity brought together researchers, regional health partners and community members to share findings from a study on how community health workers are transforming patient care across the San Joaquin Valley.

Our circadian clocks play a crucial role in our health and well-being, keeping our 24-hour biological cycles in sync with light and dark exposure. Disruptions in the rhythms of these clocks, as with jet lag and daylight saving time, can throw our daily rhythms out of whack.

But a group of researchers is getting closer to understanding how these clocks operate.

UC Merced biochemistry Professor Andy LiWang and his colleagues have solved how the circadian clocks in microscopic bacteria precisely control when different genes are turned on and off during the 24-hour cycle.

Biochemistry Professor Andy LiWang has spent much of his career studying how life keeps time. His work on the circadian clock of cyanobacteria — tiny, ancient organisms that share the planet with us — has shed light on one of biology’s most elegant systems.

But his newest research project, supported by a prestigious $1.2 million grant from the William M. Keck Foundation, pushes that inquiry into bold, uncharted territory.

The same cellular renewal that keeps our bodies healthy might also fuel the growth of cancer. A UC Merced biologist has found that the brain could hold the key to stopping it.

In the United States, 20 percent of the population is Latino. By 2050, it’s expected that one in three people will identify as Latino. But less than 7 percent of doctors come from a similar background.

Dr. Michael Galvez, a board-certified pediatric hand surgeon at Valley Children’s Hospital in Madera County, is on a mission to change that number. In 2022, he cofounded National Latino Physician Day, which is aimed at raising awareness and is part of an effort to increase the minority health care workforce.

Kathy Chau believed she knew what her future would look like. The first in her family to attend college, she had long been advised to aim for a safe and stable job — one that might not light a fire in her soul but would pay the bills.

“I resigned myself to working a corporate job. I didn't like the sound of it, but I didn't hate it, either,” she said.

The stethoscopes may come later, but the commitment to community was clear as UC Merced welcomed its newest SJV PRIME+ students last weekend. The Student and Family Welcome event marked the beginning of an eight-year journey for 15 students who will progress from bachelor’s degrees at UC Merced to medical degrees from the UCSF School of Medicine, and complete clinical training at UCSF Fresno — all with a shared mission to strengthen health care in the San Joaquin Valley. 

As nations cut emissions that once fueled urban smog, scientists are discovering unexpected chemistry taking place in the atmosphere.

UC Merced Professor Xuan Zhang is leading a project to uncover how these chemical shifts could affect the air we breathe and the climate. The project is supported by a National Science Foundation CAREER Award.

Zhang is the 43rd researcher from UC Merced to earn a CAREER award from the NSF.