Mind & Body

How Writing Rewires Your Brain to Face Everyday Challenges

February 11, 2026

AI-rendered of hand emerging from a box, holding a pen pressed against paper

Written words can do more than communicate. They can also unlock the writer’s ability to process distress, identify hurtful feelings and take control of personal conflict. Emily Johnston, a writing studies professor at UC Merced, has researched how the act of writing rewires the brain to...

Journal Published UC Merced Public Health Professor's Study on Violence and Suicidal Behavior

A study conducted by a UC Merced researcher found that people injured through violent acts have a substantially higher risk to die by or attempt suicide. The study, conducted by public health...

New Study Suggests Chance Plays a Bigger Role Than One Might Think in Faculty Promotion

For professors, it’s up or out when it comes to tenure and promotion: After five years on the job as assistant professors, junior professors’ promise is evaluated by their more senior...

Researcher Among the World's Most Highly Cited for the Fourth Straight Year

Distinguished Professor Martin Hagger from the Department of Psychological Sciences has been awarded one of this year’s Clarivate Highly Cited Researcher awards. He is one of four...

UC Merced Project Scientist Rosa Manzo, Ph.D. (center) with Camarena Health’s Claudia Fabian Chavez (left) and Maria Meraz (right)

Genentech Grant Supports New UC Merced Center for Health Equity

UC Merced was recently awarded a significant grant from Genentech, a member of the Roche group, to create the UC Merced Center for Health Equity. The initiative will focus on eliminating health...

An aerial photograph of the UC Merced campus.

NIH Grant to Study Immigration Policy Impacts on Mental Health and Access to Health Care for Latinos in Rural Communities

UC Merced public health Professor Maria-Elena De Trinidad Young has been awarded an R01 grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The $3 million grant will fund Young's ambitious...