Health Sciences Research Institute

Professor Clarissa J.

Researching oceanic oil spills can be difficult when you work at a landlocked university like UC Merced.

But thanks to a large consortium of researchers from around the country, that’s exactly what Professor Wei-Chun Chin is doing in the hopes of understanding the deeper, long-term effects of spills to better deal with them.

Members of the campus and community are invited to learn more about UC Merced research — including work on sustainability, psychology and antibiotic resistance — during the university’s eighth annual Research Week, presented by the Office of Research and Economic Development.

Researchers at the University of California, Merced, have completed a comprehensive map of the genetic makeup of melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer. By comparing the genomes of more than 300 melanomas, the researchers were able to identify mutational hotspots that give rise to cancer.

Note: This story originally appeared in the Fall 2014 issue of UC Merced Magazine.

Before it infects humans who breathe it in, the fungus that causes valley fever changes shapes in the environment. Once infected, some people fight it off while others die.

In an effort to combat the increasing rates of obesity among Latino residents, the University of California, Merced and the Merced County Central California Regional Obesity Prevention Program will join forces.

Funded by a three-year, $90,000 grant from National Institutes of Health’s Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the campus and nonprofit will look at efforts in other areas that have scientifically proven successful in reducing obesity, particularly in young children.

Two UC Cooperative Extension specialists are being deployed to UC Merced to take advantage of its location at the center of California agriculture and build on ongoing research into agriculturally significant matters related to climate, food security and nutrition.

The two UCCE specialists, from the UC Division of Agricultural and Natural Resources, will help further connect campus research with local farmers and residents.

Valley fever, described as a “silent epidemic” by the Centers for Disease Control, will be explored through a series of wide-ranging talks at the University of California, Merced.

California’s drought is a major topic, including on the UC Merced campus.  

It will be among the subjects explored during this year’s Research Week, from March 10 through 14. The annual event includes a brunch kickoff, a poster competition, live research demonstrations, a smoking symposium presented by the Health Sciences Research Institute, a psychology symposium, a geospatial summit, lectures and a symposium on the drought presented by the Sierra Nevada Research Institute.