27 faculty and 0 courses in Biology at University of California, Merced.
- Axel Visel, Adjunct Professor h-index 79
Human functional genomics and enhancers in development and disease
Notable: “Genome-wide atlas of gene expression in the adult mouse brain” (2006) · 5,970 citations
- Chris T. Amemiya, Professor h-index 64
Understanding the development and evolution of novelties in vertebrates; EvoDevo, Genomics, Immune System, Developmental Biology
Notable: “The genomic basis of adaptive evolution in threespine sticklebacks” (2012) · 1,937 citations
- Clarissa J. Nobile, Professor h-index 49
Molecular and mechanistic bases of medically relevant microbial communities; Microbiology, Genetics, Biofilms, Transcriptional Regulation, Infectious Diseases
Notable: “Candida albicans Biofilms and Human Disease” (2015) · 1,043 citations
- Zhong Wang, Professor h-index 43
Notable: “RNA-Seq: a revolutionary tool for transcriptomics” (2008) · 13,398 citations
- Rudy M. Ortiz, Professor h-index 36
Metabolism in response to natural or dietary interventions including fasting and in metabolic diseases like diabetes and metabolic syndrome; Metabolism, Physiology, Endocrinology, Nutrition
Notable: “Osmoregulation in Marine Mammals” (2001) · 199 citations
- Miriam Barlow, Professor h-index 27
Evolution of antimicrobial resistance; investigating approaches to combat the threat of resistance
Notable: “Growth Rates Made Easy” (2013) · 537 citations
- Michele K. Nishiguchi, Professor h-index 27
Evolution and ecology of beneficial symbiosis and molecular mechanisms of interactions; bobtail squid-Vibrio symbiosis as model; Evolution, Microbiology, Symbiosis, Microbial Ecology
Notable: “Counterillumination in the Hawaiian bobtail squid, Euprymna scolopes Berry (Mollusca: Cephalopoda)” (2004) · 266 citations
- Aaron Hernday, Associate Professor h-index 24
How transcriptional regulatory networks and epigenetic mechanisms control cellular differentiation, heritability, and virulence in unicellular microbes; Fungal Genetics, Genomics, Systems Biology
Notable: “A Recently Evolved Transcriptional Network Controls Biofilm Development in Candida albicans” (2012) · 712 citations
- Ramendra Saha, Associate Professor h-index 21
Synapse-nuclear communication and activity-induced gene transcription; neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism; Neurobiology, Epigenetics, Gene Transcription, Signal Transduction, Phase Separation
Notable: “HATs and HDACs in neurodegeneration: a tale of disconcerted acetylation homeostasis” (2005) · 442 citations
- Fred Wolf, Professor h-index 21
Molecular and neural circuit mechanisms for simple behavioral actions: alcohol plasticity for addiction, thirst motivation; Drosophila genetics and behavior; Neurobiology, Addiction, Animal Behavior, Genetics, Brain Circuits
Notable: “Two Different Forms of Arousal in Drosophila Are Oppositely Regulated by the Dopamine D1 Receptor Ortholog DopR via Distinct Neural Circuits” (2009) · 266 citations
- Nestor J. Oviedo, Professor h-index 20
Fundamental mechanisms of stem cell regulation; insights into tissue repair, host-pathogen interactions, and malignant cell transformation; Stem Cells & Cancer, Tissue Regeneration, Bioelectricity
Notable: “SMEDWI-2 Is a PIWI-Like Protein That Regulates Planarian Stem Cells” (2005) · 641 citations
- Patricia LiWang, Professor h-index 20
Protein-protein interactions involved in viral infection and inflammation; designing anti-inflammatory compounds and better viral inhibitors; Protein Biochemistry
Notable: “Glycosaminoglycan binding and oligomerization are essential for the in vivo activity of certain chemokines” (2003) · 768 citations
- David Ardell, Associate Professor h-index 19
Computational biology and evolution of gene expression mechanisms; machine learning, data science and multi-scale theoretical models for evolutionary systems biology of tRNA-protein interactions
Notable: “Structure is three to ten times more conserved than sequence—A study of structural response in protein cores” (2009) · 598 citations
- Stefan Materna, Assistant Professor h-index 19
How genome-encoded information directs embryonic development using zebrafish as a model; Gene Regulation, Morphogenesis, Transcriptomics, Developmental Malformations
Notable: “The Genome of the Sea Urchin Strongylocentrotus purpuratus” (2006) · 1,156 citations
- Juris A. Grasis, Assistant Professor h-index 19
Antiviral immunity and interactions with viral particles using multi-omic analyses and computational biology; Immunology, Virology, Microbiology, Metagenomics, Systems Biology
Notable: “Efficacy of Sterile Fecal Filtrate Transfer for Treating Patients With Clostridium difficile Infection” (2016) · 711 citations
- Katrina Hoyer, Associate Professor h-index 19
Immune dysfunction mechanisms leading to disease; autoimmune disease and host immunity to Coccidioides
Notable: “Interleukin‐2 in the development and control of inflammatory disease” (2008) · 268 citations
- Kelly M. Shepardson, Assistant Professor h-index 17
Fungal pathogenesis and immunology; Aspergillus and host-immune responses; Viral-mediated susceptibility; Host-Pathogenesis, Immunology, Fungal, Interferons
Notable: “mTOR- and HIF-1α–mediated aerobic glycolysis as metabolic basis for trained immunity” (2014) · 2,149 citations
- Xuecai Ge, Associate Professor h-index 17
Mechanisms of cell signaling in the developing brain, focusing on primary cilium; signaling errors leading to brain developmental disorders; Primary Cilia, Brain Development, Cell Signaling
Notable: “Disrupted in Schizophrenia 1 Regulates Neuronal Progenitor Proliferation via Modulation of GSK3β/β-Catenin Signaling” (2009) · 781 citations
- Kirk Jensen, Associate Professor h-index 17
Toxoplasma gondii and host-immune responses, vaccine development, parasite pathogenesis; Immunology, Vaccines, Genetics
Notable: “Thymic Selection Determines γδ T Cell Effector Fate: Antigen-Naive Cells Make Interleukin-17 and Antigen-Experienced Cells Make Interferon γ” (2008) · 470 citations
- Jennifer O. Manilay, Professor h-index 17
Osteoimmunology: intersection of developmental biology, immunology and skeletal biology; Hematopoiesis
Notable: “Fringe Glycosyltransferases Differentially Modulate Notch1 Proteolysis Induced by Delta1 and Jagged1” (2004) · 208 citations
- Maria Zoghbi, Assistant Professor h-index 14
Es on the evolution of antimicrobial resistance. Our lab is investigating several approaches to combat the threat of resistance.Lab website
Notable: “Three-dimensional structure of vertebrate cardiac muscle myosin filaments” (2008) · 274 citations
- Ruben Michael Ceballos, Associate Professor h-index 10
Host-virus interactions in multiple virus systems; biotechnologies for biofuels, agricultural, and biomedical applications; Microbiology, Virology, Biotechnology, Host-Pathogen Interactions
Notable: “Effects of Environmental Factors and Nutrient Availability on the Biochemical Composition of Algae for Biofuels Production: A Review” (2013) · 824 citations
- Maggie Sogin, Assistant Professor h-index 10
Ecology and evolution of host-microbe interactions in marine organisms; Microbial Ecology, Marine Biology, Symbiosis, Host-Microbe Interactions
Notable: “Spatial metabolomics of in situ host–microbe interactions at the micrometre scale” (2020) · 243 citations
- Stephanie Woo, Assistant Professor h-index 10
How cells work together to build tissues and organs in the developing embryo; Developmental Biology, Tissue Morphogenesis, Cell Migration, Cytoskeleton Dynamics
Notable: “Rac1 and RhoA Promote Neurite Outgrowth through Formation and Stabilization of Growth Cone Point Contacts” (2006) · 184 citations
- Bercem Dutagaci, Assistant Professor h-index 10
Structure, dynamics, function and cellular organizations of biomolecules using computational modeling, molecular dynamics simulations and machine learning; Computational Biophysics, Protein-Nucleic Acid Interactions
Notable: “Dynamic Nuclear Polarization-Enhanced NMR on Aligned Lipid Bilayers at Ambient Temperature” (2014) · 55 citations
- Laura Beaster-Jones, Associate Teaching Professor h-index 9
Notable: “Expression of somite segmentation genes in amphioxus: a clock without a wavefront?” (2008) · 46 citations
- Mike Cleary, Professor
Faculty counts are directory headcounts; the named list may be a subset. h-index shown only for ORCID-backed or high-confidence OpenAlex matches. Data as of 2026-07-02.