Brenda Ortiz

Turlock Student Blends Public Health, Advocacy to Support Underserved Communities

April 16, 2026

Simone Samra’s dedication to education and community work is influenced by her mother's experience immigrating from India and her belief in the power of education for immigrant women. Samra is keenly aware of the barriers immigrants face when attempting to transfer their education or...

Graduate students Alauna Wheeler, Arabi Seshappan, Zunaira Iqbal and Hope Hauptman received a prestigious fellowship from the Northern California Chapter of the Achievement Rewards for College Scientists Foundation.

ARCS Scholars Work to Advance STEM Research

Four UC Merced graduate students can focus fully on their research and academic studies this year thanks to a generous gift from the Northern California Chapter of the Achievement Rewards for College...

UC Merced sociology graduate students and graduate alumni gave presentations, organized panels or acted as discussants.

UC Merced Well-Represented at California Sociological Association Conference

Nearly a dozen UC Merced graduate students and graduate alumni participated in the annual California Sociological Association (CSA) Conference in Sacramento on Nov. 3-4. The theme of this year...

Alumnus Edwin Shen designed a multi-material bioprinter with novel features that improve resolution and embed hydrogels with concentration gradients of small molecules.

UC Merced Alum Drives Innovation in Drug Manufacturing

You could almost say Edwin Shen was destined to become a bioengineer. His mother, a medical doctor, practices pathology in Northern California, and his father retired from a career as a mechanical...

Miguel Chacón-Terán was presented with his award at Merck’s headquarters in Rahway, NJ.

Chemistry Postdoc Awarded Merck Research Award

Miguel Chacón-Terán was selected as one of 16 scientists from across the country to receive the 2023 Merck Research Award for Underrepresented Chemists of Color, intended to support rising chemists...

Joslyn Conchas is one of 15 incoming students who were accepted into UC Merced’s inaugural San Joaquin Valley Prime+ B.S. to M.D. pathway that focuses on high school students who are committed to pursuing careers in medicine.

Fresno Native Takes Next Step to Becoming a Doctor

For Joslyn Conchas, becoming a physician wasn’t always the plan. “I wanted to be a veterinarian, but that was before I saw firsthand how impactful health disparities are within my...

Incoming first-year student Preston Nguyen knows how to balance academics and soccer.

Soccer Standout Heads to UC Merced this Fall

Since age 5, Preston Nguyen has been kicking around a soccer ball. “I have been consumed by the sport ever since,” the Turlock native said. “I can play any role in the midfield,...

Luis Rubén González Marquez is conducting research this summer in Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala thanks to funding from a ASA Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grant

Sociology Student Receives Campus’s First NSF-funded Dissertation Award

UC Merced doctoral student Luis Rubén González Marquez was awarded the American Sociological Association Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grant (ASA DDRIG), funded by the National...

After more than 15 years at UC Merced, Associate Director for Educational Equity and Access for the Calvin E. Bright Success Center Alejandro Delgadillo is retiring.

Delgadillo Reflects on 30 Years of Serving Students

When Associate Director for Educational Equity and Access for the Calvin E. Bright Success Center Alejandro Delgadillo announced his plans for retirement earlier this year in a social media post,...

Quantitative and Systems Biology Ph.D. student Christi Turner

Turner Honored as 2023 Lindau Fellow

Christi Turner will represent UC Merced and join Nobel laureates from around the world at the 2023 Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting, June 25-30 in Germany. Turner, a Quantitative and Systems Biology...