Immunology Professor Jennifer Manilay and bioengineering Professor Joel Spencer are using a new grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to expand a project they’ve been working on for the past two years — delving into the immune systems of living mice to see how B-cells develop under different circumstances.
Name: Gabriel Viramontes
Year: Fourth year
Major: Biological Sciences
Hometown: Lodi
What is a memorable project that you worked on during your time at UC Merced?
From graduate student Jose Zamora’s perspective, the CREST Center for Cellular and Biomolecular Machines (CCBM) has been a spectacular success.
An important and expensive piece of equipment that was nearing the end of its life is getting a vital upgrade, thanks to a new grant awarded to Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry Professor Andy LiWang from the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR).
Name: Allen Kalampukattussery
Year: Third yearMajor: Biological Sciences, Human Biology emphasis
Hometown: San Jose
What is a memorable project that you worked on during your time at UC Merced?
Name: Austin John Escobar
Year: Third year
Major: Biological Sciences with Human Emphasis; minor in Education
Hometowns: Dublin, Calif., and Manila, Philippines
What is a memorable project that you worked on during your time at UC Merced?
Graduate student Betsabel Chicana ’s research into understanding how the immune system works when there’s a problem inside the bones has earned her a prestigious fellowship from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Two faculty members and three graduate students who are working on food systems, food security and food sustainability research have received small grants through the UC Global Food Initiative (GFI) to bolster their projects.
A brand-new faculty member is shaking up the way researchers understand cellular systems.
Computational biology Professor Bercem Dutagaci, who started at UC Merced in January, developed simulations of bacterial cells as a new way of looking at how RNA and proteins self-organize inside the cells. Her most recent work demonstrates that the insides of cells are organized at complex levels of order, instead of a chaotic stew of molecules.
Professor Andy LiWang is now the first from UC Merced to be elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology.
