Brenda Ortiz

Three UC Merced Students Receive Fellowships Supporting Future Faculty

July 28, 2026

collage of three graduate students: Brianna Aguilar-Solis, Vanessa Sanchez and Nora Shamoon

UC Merced doctoral students Brianna Aguilar-Solis, Vanessa Sanchez and Nora Shamoon have been awarded the 2026-2027 UC President's Pre-Professoriate Fellowship, a University of California Hispanic Serving Institutions Doctoral Diversity Initiative award that supports promising scholars from...

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...

Students, Alums Receive Competitive NSF Fellowships

UC Merced students Brianna Aguilar-Solis, Diane-Marie Brache-Smith, Sierra Lema and Sarif Morningstar, and alumni Diana Cruz Garcia and Anna Maria Calderon were awarded fellowships from the National...

Scholars Explore Future Careers at National Labs Day

UC Merced’s Graduate Division hosted its third National Labs Day on April 21. The goal of the day-long event is to connect graduate students and postdoctoral scholars with researchers from...

Student Speakers will Impart Words of Wisdom at Commencement

Two undergraduate student speakers will share their journeys and insights with UC Merced’s graduating class and their families and friends at two commencement ceremonies to be held this weekend...