Elizabeth Arakelian

Public health Professor Asa Bradman contributed to a new report that examines the relationship between synthetic food dye — found in everything from juice to cupcakes — and child development.

The report, released today by the California Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA), finds that current federal levels for safe intake of synthetic food dyes may not sufficiently protect children’s behavioral health.

Name: Cathryn Flores

Year: Third year

Major: English, minor in Writing 

Hometown: Fremont

What is a memorable project that you worked on during your time at UC Merced?

Many students don’t think about internships until later in college, but at UC Merced undergraduate students can take advantage of hands-on training with faculty before even starting regular classes. Through the FACTS Bridge Program, first-year and transfer students get a head start on research and much more.

Name: Michael David Aquino

Year: Fourth

Major: Sociology

Hometown: Los Angeles

What is a memorable project that you worked on during your time at UC Merced?

Covering the 4,000 miles of California’s water canals could save billions of gallons of water and generate renewable power for the state every year, according to a new study.

Name: Erika Estrada Rodriguez

Year: Third Year

Major: Sociology

Hometown: Panorama City

What is a memorable project that you worked on during your time at UC Merced?

International Women’s Day is more than a day to celebrate the fantastic females around us. It is a day to reflect on the contributions women have made both socially and politically around the world. Women across the globe have used their gifts and talents to help others in myriad ways, and UC Merced is proud of the female faculty as leaders on its campus. Read on for just a handful of the intelligent and inclusive women who make UC Merced the special campus it is.

COVID-19 has left the food insecure population especially vulnerable. The pandemic has upset food supply chains and in turn, access to healthy and nutritious food has become even more difficult. A cadre of public health professors are lending insight into how the food shortage has specifically impacted the Latinx community.

Shakespeare can feel stuffy and difficult to understand. Native English speakers often struggle with decoding the Bard’s works, so imagine how difficult it would be to appreciate Shakespeare if you spoke another language.

This is the challenge UC Merced’s students and faculty took on with their bilingual production of “Ricardo El Segundo,” or “Richard II.”

President Joe Biden and the Democrat-controlled Congress have started boldly with immigration. On Feb. 18, Democrats introduced the U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021, which would rollback many of President Donald Trump’s policies and bring comprehensive immigration reform, including a pathway to citizenship for the estimated 10.5 million undocumented immigrants in the United States. Researchers and community advocates are recognizing a renewed opportunity to use public health research and advocacy lenses to inform the dialogue — and ultimately the policies — surrounding immigration reform.