Five UC Merced Faculty Members Earn Early Career Research Awards

Five UC Merced faculty members are among the first awardees of a UC-wide honor given for exemplary research in budding academic careers.

The Early Career Faculty Research Excellence Awards, launched last fall, support commitment to scholarship and creative activity across the 10-campus system. The awards build on a range of programs and initiatives across the system designed to support thriving faculty careers at UC. 

“These exceptional early career scholars exemplify the tremendous talent and creativity that drive UC Merced’s success,” Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Betsy Dumont said. “I look forward to hearing about their discoveries.” 

Awardees will receive $50,000 to support research proposed in their nomination. The awards are sponsored by the UC Office of the President, which said in a statement that the recipients represent the breadth of excellence in UC’s professoriate.

The UC Merced awardees:

Professor Adeyemi Adebiyi, life and environmental sciences

• Project: “Consequences of Sustainable Groundwater Management Act: Climate and Health Impacts of Dust from Fallowed Agricultural Lands in California.”
• Quote: "Thank you so much for this wonderful recognition. I am deeply grateful to the selection committee for their support of my research on the impacts of dust from fallowed agricultural lands, work that I believe carries meaningful implications for both environmental science and public policy in California. This award will be instrumental in advancing our understanding of how sustainable water management decisions intersect with air quality, regional climate, and human health, and I look forward to making the most of this opportunity."

Professor Myles Ali, history and critical race & ethnic studies

• Project: “Captive Lives: Experiences of Slavery and Freedom in Colonial Sierra Leone.”
• Quote: “I am honored to receive this award from UCOP. I am thankful for the support of my colleagues in the Department of History and Critical Race & Ethnic Studies. I look forward to carrying out my research agenda, which reaffirms 19th-century Sierra Leone as a seminal historical site in Atlantic-wide and global struggles of freedom and liberation.”

Professor Matthew Hutchinson, life and environmental sciences

• Project: “Behavioral Strategies Underpinning Rewilding Success: Mule Deer Recovery in the Central Valley.”
• Quote: “It is humbling to be recognized, among all the incredible research being conducted at UC Merced and throughout the UC system, with this award. We are using it to accelerate our research on how wildlife adapt to and thrive in the Central Valley’s unique landscapes.”

Professor Andrea Polonijo, sociology

• Project: “Testing Prosocial Vaccine Messages to Reduce Disparities in Older Adults.”
• Quote: “I am honored to receive this award, which comes at a pivotal stage in my career.” The award will support research that studies ways to talk about vaccines that convince older adults to get vaccinated, especially people who have been left behind by the healthcare system.”

Professor Beth Scaffidi, anthropology and heritage studies

• Project: “Reassembling Looted and Lost Skeletons in Legacy Archaeological Collections: The Andean Paleomobility Unification Project for Repatriation.”
• Quote: “I am grateful for this award, which fills a critical funding gap for chemical analyses I will conduct under a fellowship to the Field Museum of Chicago. It will also permit me to develop a project of pinpointing where Andean skeletons in collections in the U.S. and abroad were originally discovered.” Scaffidi said the award also will help support graduate and undergraduate students who will work with her over the next year in the Skeletal and Environmental Isotope Lab.