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For the First Time, All Avian Evolutionary Relationships Revealed Through Collaboration

April 29, 2025
Professor Emily Jane McTavish and colleagues at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology have mapped the evolution of every known bird species. They created a complete evolutionary tree of bird species by combining data on 9,239 species published in nearly 300 studies between 1990 and 2024 and additional...

Researchers Look Ahead to Fire Season 2025

April 22, 2025
Pictures accompanying Professor John Abatzoglou's presentation on the 2025 fire season were blurry. That was intentional, he said, because so much about wildfire is unpredictable. "There's a lot that we know, and a lot we don't know," he said. However, Abatzoglou said, some conclusions can be drawn...

Pew Celebrates 40 Years of Support for Innovative Biomedical Research

March 27, 2025
Note: This article has been republished in part.The full article is available online . When David Mendoza-Cózatl, a 2006 Pew Latin American fellow in the biomedical sciences, got an email soliciting applications for the Pew Innovation Fund, he sprang into action. The program provides alumni from...

Finalists Vie for Campus Grad Slam Champion Title During Research Week

March 10, 2025
Each spring, master’s and doctoral students across UC Merced’s 18 graduate groups are invited to contend in the campus’s Grad Slam Finals. They are given three minutes and one visual slide to present their research to a panel of non-specialist judges. This year’s competition will take place during...

Research Team Focuses on the Next Generations of Scientists

March 4, 2025
The Biology Integration Institute (BII): The Institute for Symbiotic Interactions, Training and Education in the Face of a Changing Climate, or INSITE, stands out because it is supported by $12.5 million from the National Science Foundation, one of the largest NSF grants UC Merced has ever received...

Physiological Society Recognizes Rudy Ortiz for Mentoring Underrepresented Students

February 24, 2025
Physiology Professor Rudy M. Ortiz has been named this year's winner of the A. Clifford Barger Underrepresented Minority Mentorship Award by the American Physiological Society. The UC Merced professor was recognized for his leadership, guidance and mentorship of underrepresented minority and...

New Method of Mapping Proteins Offers Undergraduate Students New Opportunities

November 7, 2024
Research on cell development has led not only to a more efficient way to map proteins in living cells but also tapped into the research capabilities of UC Merced undergraduate students and brought about a new learning opportunity that could shape their futures. Researchers know a protein’s function...

Researchers Discover Mechanism that Could Control Longevity, Cancer Cell Production

September 3, 2024
Researchers at UC Merced used fruit flies to uncover a cellular process common to many organisms that could dramatically impact the understanding of cancer and aging. Department of Molecular and Cell Biology Professor Fred Wolf, then-graduate student Sammy Villa and Genentech Vice President and...

Researchers Accurately Model Animals’ Hunting, Scavenging Behavior

August 14, 2024
A group of UC Merced researchers modeled predation behaviors, as well as changes in those behaviors, among large carnivores, developing a new theory that will help biologists assess the health of various ecosystems. Department of Life and Environmental Sciences Professor Justin Yeakel, Department...

Hellman Awards Deepening Research into Genomes, Health and Computer Science

July 22, 2024
Three faculty members have joined the prestigious ranks of Hellman Fellowship recipients this year. Applied mathematics Professor Tomas Rube, who studies mathematical biology, Professor Andrea Polonijo, a medical sociologist, and computer science and engineering Professor Peingfei Su will...

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