Research Excellence

Unlocking the Secrets of Tiny, Living Clocks Could Revolutionize Science

February 2, 2026

Biochemistry Professor Andy LiWang has spent much of his career studying how life keeps time. His work on the circadian clock of cyanobacteria — tiny, ancient organisms that share the planet with us — has shed light on one of biology’s most elegant systems. But his newest...

Prestigious Academy Recognizes Microbiology Advances by the LiWang Lab

Professor Andy LiWang is now the first from UC Merced to be elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology. Colleagues at Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile, Texas A&M...

UC Merced Reaches Out with an All-Virtual Research Week

The question: What happens when UC Merced holds Research Week in the middle of a pandemic? The hypothesis: An annual, weeklong presentation of ground-breaking work reaches a big, new virtual audience...

New Study Shows Immigration Policies Impact Student Success

A new report from the UC Collaborative to Promote Immigrant and Student Equity (UC PromISE) that summarizes results of a study of children of immigrants attending the University of California...

Bioengineer’s Infectious-Cells Research Earns an NSF CAREER Award

Bioengineering Professor Arvind Gopinath received a CAREER award for his research that seeks to understand how living biological materials such as bacterial swarms and fungal biofilms colonize...

Shark Teeth Provide Clues About Ancient Global Change

A character in a very famous movie about a great white shark once said all sharks do is “swim and eat and make little sharks.” It turns out they do much more than that. Sharks have...

Prestigious Biennial Grant Program Includes Funding for Ag-labor and Wildfire Research

Two new projects designed and led by UC Merced researchers will address challenges facing many Californians — wildfire recovery and agricultural labor — but will also have global reach...

Innovate to Grow Coming to a Zoom Room Near You

UC Merced’s premier experiential learning expo, Innovate to Grow (I2G), is providing students, faculty and staff with a new set of experiences to learn from this year, as the event continues in...

Physicist Liu Receives NSF CAREER Award to Create ‘Bacteria Treadmill’

Physics Professor Bin Liu has received a CAREER award for his research into a new micromanipulation technique to virtually hold freely moving microorganisms, essentially creating a “bacterial...

Q&A: How People Decide Whether to Comply with Public Health Orders

How do people decide whether to comply with public health directives around the COVID-19 pandemic, such as wearing masks, social distancing and staying at home? Whether to take such preventative...

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