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Faculty Research Areas

The Public Health faculty at UC Merced are committed to addressing issues within the San Joaquin Valley through research, teaching, and service to the community. All Public Health efforts are led by a multidisciplinary group of faculty with expertise in the following:

 

RESEARCH AREA FACULTY

Environmental Health

Asa Bradman, Ricardo Cisneros, Alec Chan-Golston, Sandie Ha, Andrea Joyce

Epidemiology & Biostatistics

Alec Chan-Golston, Sidra Goldman-Mellor, Sandie Ha, Irene Yen,

Health Systems & Policy

Nancy Burke, Arturo Durazo, Mariaelena González, Susana Ramírez, Ali Rivera-González, Maria-Elena Young

Health Promotion & Communication

Nancy Burke, Lindsay Crawford, Karina Díaz Rios, Arturo Durazo, Susana Ramírez,

 

BY RESEARCH TOPICS FACULTY

Health Equity

Nancy Burke, Alec Chan-Golston, Lindsay Crawford, Karina Díaz Rios, Arturo Durazo, Mariaelena González, Sandie Ha, Thelma Hurd, Susana Ramírez, Ali Rivera-González, Irene Yen, Maria-Elena Young

Latino and Immigrant Health

Nancy Burke, Ricardo Cisneros, Arturo Durazo, Mariaelena González, Ali Rivera-González, Maria-Elena Young

Sexual and Gender Minority Health

Arturo Durazo

Community Health

Nancy Burke, Karina Díaz Rios, Arturo Durazo, Thelma Hurd, Maria-Elena Young

Mental and Behavioral Health

Arturo Durazo, Sidra Goldman-Mellor, Susana Ramírez

Nicotine and Cannabis

Nancy Burke, Arturo Durazo, Mariaelena González, Irene Yen

Air Pollution and Occupational Health

Asa Bradman, Alec Chan-Golston, Ricardo Cisneros, Sandie Ha

Maternal and Child Health

Asa Bradman, Karina Díaz Rios, Sidra Goldman-Mellor, Sandie Ha

Food and Nutrition

Karina Díaz Rios, Susana Ramírez

Education

Lindsay Crawford, Karina Díaz Rios, Irene Yen

Housing

Asa Bradman, Irene Yen

Health Insurance and Hospital Utilization

Alec Chan-Golston, Sidra Goldman-Mellor, Sandie Ha, Ali Rivera-González

Vector-Borne and Infectious Diseases

Andrea Joyce

Public Health Disasters

Ali Rivera-González, Sandie Ha

Chronic Disease and Aging

Nancy Burke, Sandie Ha

 

BY METHODS AND METHODOLOGY FACULTY

Community-Engaged / Participatory Research

Asa Bradman, Nancy Burke, Karina Díaz Rios, Arturo Durazo, Sandie Ha, Ali Rivera-González, Irene Yen

Qualitative Methods

Nancy Burke, Karina Díaz Rios, Arturo Durazo, Susana Ramírez, Ali Rivera-González, Irene Yen, Maria-Elena Young

Spatial Statistics and GIS

Alec Chan-Golston, Ricardo Cisneros

Mixed Methods and Multi-Methods

Nancy Burke, Karina Díaz Rios, Susana Ramírez, Ali Rivera-González

Health Care Big Data Analyses

Alec Chan-Golston, Sidra Goldman-Mellor, Sandie Ha, Ali Rivera-González

Updated November 2025