Health Sciences Research Institute

UC Merced Researchers Analyze How Inflammation Works on a Molecular Level

March 22, 2024

UC Merced bioengineering Professor Eva de Alba and postdoctoral scholar Meenakshi Sharma are pictured.

Inflammation is the process by which the human immune system responds to injury and stimulates tissue repair and healing. But it can become a chronic condition, leading to health concerns such as heart disease, diabetes, cancer and arthritis. UC Merced bioengineering Professor Eva de Alba, a...

Two professors are researching how to predict those who is most likely to use firearms to commit suicide.

New Project Aims to Predict People Likely to use Firearms in Suicides

The majority of people who die by suicide do so with firearms, and there were more firearm suicides in America in 2017 than there were homicides committed by any method. Combined. Those shocking...

Rose Scott engages with a child to gauge his reactions as part of her research.

Grant Enables Researcher to Focus on Valley Families and Children’s Development

Certain aspects of children's social cognition ripple throughout their lives, including whether small children can understand that other people’s minds are different than their own. That...

A women in a blue lab coat wearing a blue latex glove holds a microscope slide up to the camera.

Grad Student Discovers, Patents Process to Create “Nanofoams” in Liquid Crystals

It sounds like an easy-to-follow recipe from the world of molecular gastronomy: Dissolve nanoparticles in liquid crystals and cool to form frothy nanofoams, tiny tubes and hollow microspheres. But...

Professor’s Research Earns Prestigious Appointment to Help Guide Tobacco Policy

Professor Mariaelena Gonzalez has been appointed by Gov. Jerry Brown to the California Tobacco Education and Research Oversight Committee (TEROC). Gonzalez, with the School of Social Sciences,...

Researcher Takes First Step Toward Improved Diagnosis for Valley Fever

Clinicians searching for a new way to identify Valley fever patients who will develop the disease’s worst symptoms will find hope in a new paper by UC Merced Professor Katrina Hoyer . A...

Health Communication Researcher Working to Improve Internet-based Medical Information

If you’re an American with Internet access, you’ve probably done it. You get a headache, a sniffle or a mystery bruise, and instead of seeing your doctor, you consult “Dr. Google....

UC Merced Professors Honored for Work with First-Generation Students

UC Merced psychology Professor Anna Song and biology Professor Jennifer Manilay had a special dinner with UC President Janet Napolitano at her Oakland home recently to honor the faculty...

Jaapna Dhillon is UC Merced’s first postdoctoral researcher to receive a Pathway to Independence Award from the National Instit

Postdoc Earns Prestigious NIH Award to Study Health Disparities

Jaapna Dhillon had no idea that studying how almonds affect health would win her a huge advantage in securing a tenure-track position. But Dhillon just became UC Merced’s first postdoctoral...

Frustration and Compromise in Flocking Cells Produce New Migration Patterns

Even if some members of a goal-driven group don’t seem to work well with others — even if the whole group is extremely frustrated — the group can still compromise and find new ways...