Public Health

New Bobcat Looks to Expand Impressive Research Resume

August 29, 2025

This is the final entry of a series of profiles of new UC Merced Bobcats enrolled for the fall 2025 semester. Adriana Ponce Mata spent the last two summers working in one of the largest and oldest companies in the Bay Area. This fall, she joins UC Merced to begin her next chapter. Through...

Campus Research Taking a Healthy Approach

By Jeremy Olson for UC Merced Magazine Editor’s note: This story originally appeared in the fall 2015 issue of UC Merced Magazine. The University of California, Merced, was plotted at the juncture...

Project Aims to Fight Breast Cancer One Message at a Time

Research indicates that obesity can increase a woman’s risk of developing and dying from breast cancer. But while communication about healthy eating has proven to be effective, a growing and...

Event Connects High School Girls with Female Scientists

While many young women her age are thinking about their favorite shoes or who they’ll go with to the winter formal, Callie Nance, 15, is thinking about her favorite science organizations and her...

Valley Fever Lecture Series to Bring Attention to ‘Silent Epidemic’

Valley fever, described as a “silent epidemic” by the Centers for Disease Control, will be explored through a series of wide-ranging talks at the University of California, Merced. Twelve lectures...

New Study Connects Smoke-Free Laws, Dentists’ Advice to Quit

Smoke-free laws may help encourage dentists to recommend that their patients kick the smoking habit, according to new research co-authored by UC Merced Professor Mariaelena Gonzalez. The paper,...

Professor Studies How Information Consumption Impacts Health Behaviors

From sunrise to sunset, people consume all kinds of information from television, online and from other sources. UC Merced public health Professor A. Susana Ramirez wants to know how that...

UC Merced's First Ph.D. Grad Now Leading the Class

UC Merced’s first Ph.D. graduate is back on campus. But this time, Ricardo Cisneros isn’t enrolled as a student; he’s a professor instead. Cisneros, who earned his doctorate in Environmental Systems...

Researchers Studying Valley Fever to Help Region

In an effort to combat a debilitating disease commonly found in the region, UC Merced researchers are collaborating with area medical leaders to better understand valley fever. Through the campus’s...

Professor Secures Funding from Major Biotech Company to Advance Diabetes Research

UC Merced biology Professor Rudy Ortiz is furthering his innovative research into diabetes with support from a major pharmaceutical company. Ortiz’ work, developing new applications for medicines...