Public Health

UC Merced Project Aims to Strengthen Heat Relief in Kern County

May 21, 2025

In California’s Kern County, nearly 925,000 people live in oppressive heat 125 days per year. Several types of relief are offered. Residents can get breaks on energy bills bloated by air conditioning costs. Triple-digit temperatures trigger the opening of public buildings labeled “...

UC Merced, Stanislaus State Awarded $1.4 Million to Help Snuff Out Tobacco Use

UC Merced's Nicotine and Cannabis Policy Center (NCPC) and California State University, Stanislaus, are partnering on a large project as part of California Endgame's goal to end...

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...

Survey: Fresno Voters Concerned with Pandemic, Spending Priorities, Basic Needs

A representative sample survey of Fresno voters, now in its second year, is giving area policymakers insight into the opinions and concerns of the people they represent. The UC Merced Community...

Bakersfield College, grad student fellowship

With Fellowship, Grad Students Pay It Forward at Community College Level

Their community college experiences occurred hundreds of miles apart, but Kim Arellano Carmona and John Wilson each found the support and inspiration that would propel them to Ph.D. candidate studies...

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...

Governor Announces State Funding for UC Merced’s Medical Education Building

Gov. Gavin Newsom, speaking at UC Merced on Monday, announced that the state will support the building of the university’s new medical education building. The Health, Behavioral Sciences and...

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...

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...

Dr. Thelma Hurd has been appointed the inaugural Thondapu Family Endowed Chair in Medical Education.

UC Merced Names First Endowed Chair in Medical Education

Distinguished UC Merced Director of Medical Education and public health Professor Dr. Thelma Hurd has been appointed the inaugural Thondapu Family Endowed Chair in Medical Education. “I am...