Quantitative and Systems Biology

Ready, Set, Slam: 10 UC Merced Scholars Battle for Champion Title

March 9, 2026

Group of individuals attending event with grads student presenting on stage

Ten UC Merced graduate researchers are gearing up to deliver the most intense three minutes of their academic careers. Each spring, master’s and Ph.D. students across the campus’s three schools are invited to participate in Grad Slam — a fast‑paced competition that challenges...

Cancer Systems Biology Identifies Master Regulators and New Drug Targets in Therapy-Resistant Cancer

New research published today in the Nature Partner journal npj Systems Biology and Applications establishes how genome-wide data in combination with systems biology analyses can identify master...

Misbehaving “Killer” Cells Accelerate Progress of Autoimmune Disease

In 1998, scientists studying rheumatoid arthritis observed a population of immune cells that weren’t behaving the way they were supposed to. Immunologists noted the strange phenomenon, but...

Following a Devastating Pandemic, California’s Sea Stars are Evolving

In 2012, Environmental Systems graduate student Lauren Schiebelhut was collecting DNA from ochre sea stars living along the Northern California coast — part of an effort to study genetic...

Woman in olive shirt rests on railing in front of concrete wall.

Beaudin Named Campus’ Second Winner of Prestigious Pew Award

Biology Professor Anna Beaudin was named a member of the 2018 class of Pew Biomedical Scholars today, one of 22 early-career researchers nationwide to receive this year’s prestigious award...

Students Discover Cannibal Lizards on Remote Aegean Island

It reads like a mashup of Greek mythology and H.G. Wells. “The Odyssey of Doctor Moreau,” perhaps. Explorers find their way to a remote Aegean island and discover it’s inhabited by...

QSB’s Portia Mira Places Third at GradSlam Finals

Portia Mira scored $1,000 for winning third place in the University of California’s 2018 Grad Slam competition , marking UC Merced’s first appearance as a top-three finalist during the...

Pictured left to right: Graduate Dean Marjorie Zatz, students Craig Ennis, Portia Mira and Michelle Len, and Associate Dean Chris Kello

QSB’s Portia Mira Wins GradSlam!, Advances to Finals

After a fierce round of competition during last week’s UC Merced GradSlam! finals, the third time was the charm for quantitative and systems biology (QSB) student Portia Mira, who emerged as...

Multi-well dish with pink liquid inside.

Study: Drug-Resistant Cancer Cleverer Than Imagined

Precision medicine offers hope after a life-changing cancer diagnosis. But some cancers that initially respond to targeted chemotherapy become treatment-resistant — and the tumor itself is the...

Graduate programs in the natural sciences are among the many UC Merced graduate programs included in the newest U.S. News rankings of Best Graduate Schools.

Grad Programs Make U.S. News Rankings Debut

For the first time, UC Merced’s doctoral programs in the sciences have been ranked among the best in the nation, according to U.S. News & World Report’s 2019 edition of Best Graduate...