Health Sciences Research Institute

A Husband’s Self-esteem Could Protect Against Preterm Births, Study Finds

November 20, 2025

A husband’s optimism and confidence might play a crucial, if often unseen, role in helping babies arrive healthy and on time. A new study from UC Merced psychology researchers found that when married fathers reported higher levels of resilience — a quality that includes traits...

COVID Lockdown Disrupted Preschoolers’ Social Skills, Trailblazing Research Shows

Lockdowns. Social distancing. Shuttered schools and businesses. The COVID-19 pandemic and its sweeping disruptions set off a stampede of “what it’s doing to us” research, focused...

Ending Health Disparities Starts with Good Data, National Authority Says

Solid and sharable research data must go hand in hand with collaboration and caring to tackle the health gaps that trouble minoritized and underserved populations in the San Joaquin Valley...

New Method of Mapping Proteins Offers Undergraduate Students New Opportunities

Research on cell development has led not only to a more efficient way to map proteins in living cells but also tapped into the research capabilities of UC Merced undergraduate students and brought...

air quality and health conference uc merced

Valley Air Quality, Public Health the Focus of UC Merced Conference

Scientists, policymakers and concerned community members will gather at UC Merced this week to compare notes and chart new directions to improve air quality and public health in the San Joaquin...

UC Merced Professor Christiana Spitzmueller

UC Merced Leads $6.5 Million Initiative to Reduce Promotion and Tenure Bias Against Black and Hispanic Faculty

Black and Hispanic faculty members seeking promotion at research universities face career-damaging biases, with their scholarly production judged more harshly than that of their peers, according to a...

Pictured are RESTORE facility leaders Jennifer Manilay, Kara McCloskey, Changqing Li, and David Gravano.

New Facility Will Expand UC Merced's Groundbreaking Stem Cell Research

Stem cells hold vast potential to help people live healthier lives. UC Merced researchers have delved into expanded uses of these cells, which can be used to create any cell in the body, to...

From left, Professor Fred Wolf, Sammy Villa and Vishva Dixit in the lab.

Researchers Discover Mechanism that Could Control Longevity, Cancer Cell Production

Researchers at UC Merced used fruit flies to uncover a cellular process common to many organisms that could dramatically impact the understanding of cancer and aging. Department of Molecular and...

Kara McCloskey and students in her lab are shown.

Students Spend Summer Learning about Stem Cells

A diverse group of students participated in a stem cell training pilot program at UC Merced this summer. It was the second summer for the Training Undergrads in Stem Cell Engineering and Biology (...

Hellman Awards Deepening Research into Genomes, Health and Computer Science

Three faculty members have joined the prestigious ranks of Hellman Fellowship recipients this year. Applied mathematics Professor Tomas Rube, who studies mathematical biology, Professor Andrea...