Health Sciences Research Institute

Study Indicates Human-caused Dust Events are Linked to Fallow Farmland

June 2, 2025

The Central Valley is a major contributor to a growing dust problem, in large part because of agriculture, researchers say.

An average of more than 1 million acres of idled farmland a year is a significant contributor to a growing dust problem in California that has implications for millions of residents’ health and the state’s climate. A new study published in Nature Communications Earth and Environment...

B Cell Study Indicates Promising Direction for Anti-parasitic Vaccines

Creating vaccines to train the immune system against parasites is particularly challenging. They are also highly specialized masters of immune evasion. Some parasites can secrete proteins that...

NSF Award Goes to Research into Brain Formation and What Leads to Developmental Disorders

Professor Xuecai Ge, a developmental neurobiologist, has received a CAREER award for research to gain insight into the molecular mechanisms that direct brain formation, and how errors in cell...

Study: Many Immigrants Perceive Racial Discrimination at Work, in Health Care

In recently published reports, Department of Public Health Professor Maria-Elena Young, Public Health doctoral student Sharon Tafolla and colleagues at UCLA discovered that Latino and Asian...

Hirst Selected for Prestigious Fellowship in the American Physical Society

Physics Professor Linda Hirst has been elected a fellow of the American Physical Society (APS) by the APS Council of Representatives at its most recent meeting. This is the second consecutive year...

HIV Preventative Developed in LiWang Lab Takes One Big Step Forward

An HIV-inhibiting silk film designed to advance prevention and help end the AIDS epidemic in countries in Africa, developed by UC Merced Professor Patti LiWang, has met recent success at the...

Get Up and Move: HSRI Maps Routes for Walking Meetings

As the daytime temperatures cool and the pandemic persists, colleagues at UC Merced’s Health Sciences Research Institute offer a suggestion: Why not take your meetings for a stroll? The...

A woman comforts another woman by holding her hand.

Brain Study 'Turns Off the Brake' to Understand How Sympathy Can Be Increased

A new study by faculty members and students in UC Merced's Department of Cognitive and Information Sciences takes a closer look at the sympathy people have for one another. The...

NCPC Hosting Free Webinar on Policy and the Media

UC Merced's Nicotine and Cannabis Policy Center (NCPC) and the American Heart Association are hosting a free webinar to provide insight on generating media coverage and helping change...

An image depicts a plush toy on top of a mattress.

Research Shows Sleep and Social Support Are Vital to Latina Teen Mothers' Mental Health

It's no surprise that a good night's rest is one of the most important factors for a person's well-being, but not everyone can say they have the luxury of being able to sleep for eight...