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Lorena Anderson

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Senior Writer and Public Information Representative

Office: (209) 228-4406

Mobile: (209) 201-6255

landerson4@ucmerced.edu

Mucus Molecules can Thwart Fungal Infection, Researchers Discover

An international team of researchers, including Professor Clarissa Nobile from Ƶ, has discovered which component in mucus prevents a fungus most humans carry from turning destructive.

This research lays the foundation for a new class of antifungal medicines.

‘Molecular LEGO’ Study Analyzes Building Blocks of Partially Disordered Protein

Bioengineering Professor Victor Muñoz and his lab have created a new way to solve some of the mysteries among an increasingly important class of proteins that don’t appear to have any specific structures but serve very important functions, including the complex genetic processes that separate high-order organisms from single-cell bacteria.

They call it “molecular LEGO,” pulling the proteins apart and rebuilding them, segment by segment.

Bioengineers Work on New Technology to Look Deep Inside Living Tissue and Tumors

Bioengineering Professor Changqing Li is building a high-resolution CT imaging scanner that will allow scientists to study and understand how oxygen plays a role in cancer therapy and stem cells growing in deep tissue such as bone marrow, and possibly develop new advances to culture stem cells outside the body and therapeutics to control tumor growth.

Lab Aims to Understand Transporter Protein that Protects Cells from Damage

Professor Maria-Elena Zoghbi and her lab are taking a closer look at a human transporter protein that acts as a cellular protector by relocating a molecule that has important antioxidant properties in the cells, preventing oxidative damage in several tissues, including the heart.

Senate Confirms Berhe as Federal Office of Science Director

The U.S. Senate today confirmed Ƶ to be the new director of the Office of Science in the federal Department of Energy.

The Department of Energy’s Office of Science is the lead federal agency supporting fundamental scientific research for energy, and the nation’s largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences.

Cottrell Award Giving Undergrad a Grad Student Experience

Physics undergraduate student Elsa Vazquez and her faculty mentor Professor David Strubbe have won a prestigious Cottrell Postbaccalaureate award that allows Vazquez to continue her research into 2D materials for another year after she graduates with her bachelor's in May.

Professor Brings Her Computational Expertise to a New Field of Chemistry

A new five-year collaboration has presented the opportunity to be part of the emerging field of polariton chemistry, the results of which could change the face of chemistry.

CITRIS Researchers Lay Groundwork to Bring Flying Buses to California Skies

The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) has awarded a team of researchers from the University of California campuses at Merced, Berkeley and Davis a two-year grant to simulate urban air mobility in the San Francisco area, and to draft regulations for this highly complex form of travel.

The guidelines and best practices the team creates could help get advanced air mobility — featuring flying buses, air taxis and drone deliveries — off the ground around the state.

Plan to Attend Innovate to Grow or Volunteer as a Judge

Now is the time to this year's (I2G) competition and see some of the 66 student engineering teams present their solutions to real-world engineering challenges.

Engineer and Dentist Partner to Root Out Problems in Teeth

A trip to the dentist isn't something most people look forward to. But computer science and engineering Professor Shijia Pan found inspiration and a new collaborator at her dentist’s office.

Pan, Merced dentist Dr. Jun Ho Lee, and Professor VP Nguyen from the University of Texas, Arlington, are working together to improve people’s health by devising a new kind of retainer that senses dental occlusion.