Brenda Ortiz

When farmworkers decide conditions are so harsh they have to leave the fields, the story doesn’t end there — it moves to another corner of the labor market.

For Holly Rus, ’17, a passion for health psychology and real-world impact has led to a career at the forefront of consumer sleep research. She is head of scientific research at Sleep.ai, where she directs studies designed to improve health and wellness through better sleep.

“I lead a team of researchers and serve as principal investigator on longitudinal behavioral health intervention studies testing consumer sleep products,” said Rus, who earned a Ph.D. in Psychological Sciences.

Five UC Merced doctoral students have earned prestigious awards from the Northern California Chapter of ARCS Foundation, joining a select group of scholars recognized for outstanding research.

“Congratulations to this year’s ARCS Scholars. You are being recognized as outstanding scientists who are breaking barriers and solving problems that will create a better world for all of us. We are proud to offer you our support,” said Heidi Huchberger, co-president of ARCS NCC.

UC Merced doctoral students Brianna Aguilar-Solis, Vanessa Sanchez and Nora Shamoon have been awarded the 2026-2027 UC President's Pre-Professoriate Fellowship, a University of California Hispanic Serving Institutions Doctoral Diversity Initiative award that supports promising scholars from California Hispanic-serving institutions as they pursue careers in academia.  

Each will receive a full year of support, allowing them to focus full-time on their research.

UC Merced doctoral candidate Adekunle “Kunle” Adewole has been selected as a 2026 Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings Fellow. 

Adewole was also chosen as one of 18 participants in the Baden-Württemberg International Post Meeting Programme for Young Scientists.

“I keenly anticipate this opportunity to exchange ideas and views with all participants and delegates as we examine one of the major recent advances transforming how we pursue science,” he said.

Jarrod L. Brown Jr. is the first UC Merced graduate student to be awarded the National Academy of Education/Spencer Dissertation fellowship, supporting his doctoral research in structural inequality in higher education.

Editor's note: This story is republished from the Spring/Summer 2026 issue of UC Merced Magazine.

Omar DeGuchy remembers the moment he left the comfort of UC Merced — the place he’d found his footing — and stepped onto what some call “the smartest square mile on Earth.” He defended his Ph.D. dissertation in applied mathematics remotely in 2020 and started a job at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL).

Simone Samra’s dedication to education and community work is influenced by her mother's experience immigrating from India and her belief in the power of education for immigrant women.

Samra is keenly aware of the barriers immigrants face when attempting to transfer their education or degrees, often limiting their career options.

“If you don't get the opportunity to use your education in America, it can be very discouraging,” said Samra, who graduated from John H. Pitman High School in Turlock.

Nervous but prepared, Tahirah Williams took the stage at UC Merced’s Grad Slam competition in March and delivered her three-minute talk, “More Than Slime: When Mucus Meets the Valley Fever Invader.” By day’s end, she had been announced as the university’s 12th Grad Slam Campus Champion.

UC Merced saw broad gains in the U.S. News and World Report 2026 Best Graduate Schools rankings with graduate programs rising in national standing, reflecting the campus’s growing academic and research profile.