As a child, Sika Zheng, PhD, founding director of the Center for RNA Biology and Medicine and a professor of biomedical sciences at the UC Riverside School of Medicine, was fascinated by the cycle of life and death. While he initially planned to become a physician, his curiosity about the...

The UC Riverside School of Medicine has received continued full accreditation from the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME), the school announced Tuesday, June 18, 2024. “This would not have been possible without the hard work and collaboration of many, including faculty, staff, and students,” said Deborah Deas, MD, MPH...

Three cadets from the US Military Academy at West Point will be conducting research internships in the University of California Riverside School of Medicine’s Biomedical Sciences program as the inaugural participants in a new program designed to build research-based bridges between the institutions. Scott Pegan, PhD, a professor in the...

A pair of School of Medicine staff members received awards from the UC Riverside Staff Assembly at their annual end-of-year awards ceremony at the Barn on Monday, June 3, 2024. Stephanie Sandoval of the School of Medicine's Department of Social Medicine, Population, and Public Health was presented with the People...

The UCR School of Medicine class of 2024 began their medical school journey online during the COVID-19 pandemic, but finished it on Friday surrounded by cheering family and friends. 66 students received their degrees in the ceremony, which was held on May 31, 2024 in the Student Recreation Center on...

Growing up as an undocumented immigrant, Violeta Covarrubias feared going to the doctor with her family in case the visit led to deportation. After obtaining her American permanent residency as a teenager, Covarrubias enrolled at UCLA as an undergraduate, where she volunteered in hospitals and noticed patients in similar situations...

When Keziyah Yisrael, biomedical sciences class of 2024 began working on PhD research focused on the Salton Sea, she had no idea that the project would become an enduring passion and the likely basis for her career. Yisrael majored in microbiology at the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia with...

Growing up in Riverside with two psychotherapist parents, Seiberling knew as a child that she wanted to become a doctor. “I think at a young age, I was just really enamored with the idea of having the knowledge and the ability to bring calm to hectic situations,” she recalled. “There...

As a high school student, Pedro Villa, PhD, began dreaming of a career in medicine after his grandfather was diagnosed with cancer. Yet just as he was set to receive his bachelor’s degree from UC Riverside in 2012, financial and caregiving challenges blocked his path toward medical school. Villa spent...

The UC Riverside School of Medicine presented the Faculty, Staff, and Student Awards and dinner at a ceremony on Thursday, May 16, 2024 at the Doubletree by Hilton Hotel in Ontario, California. Photos from the dinner and the award winners in attendance can be found here. Senior Associate Dean of...

In 2003, Monica J. Carson, PhD, believed she’d work at the Scripps Research Institute in San Diego forever. When friends encouraged her to look at other jobs to be sure she wasn’t missing a better opportunity, she happened upon a job posting at UC Riverside that seemed to describe her...

More than 300 faculty, staff, and students involved in medical education came to Riverside from May 4-7, 2024 for the Western Group on Educational Advancement (WGEA) Conference, hosted by the UCR School of Medicine and held at the Riverside Convention Center. The theme for the conference was “Developing Resilience While...

On Saturday, the UC Riverside School of Medicine hosted Open House 2024, an annual event that helps attendees learn more about the school and the path to entering the health professions. More than 600 people attended the event, including prospective students, medical school applicants, high school students, and their families...

In high school, Mario Sims, PhD, read a book that would have a profound impact on his life and career: The Philadelphia Negro, by W. E. B. Du Bois. Du Bois, a sociologist and civil rights activist in the early 1900s, linked social conditions, environment, segregation, and other factors to...

On Monday, the UCR School of Medicine hosted an event to recognize the J.W. Vines Medical Society’s efforts to increase diversity among medical students as well as the organization's influence on the SOM and its community-based mission. Watch a recording of the event See a gallery of photos from the...

This is a edited version of a press release sent out by the CHCF on Monday, April 1 The California Health Care Foundation (CHCF) announced the election of Deborah Deas, MD, MPH, and Kristin Torres Mowat, JD, MBA, to its board of directors. “I couldn’t be more excited to welcome...

Everything in your life may be going well, but sometimes, it can still all fall apart. One patient with eye pain recently visited the UCR Health Community Clinic , a clinic intended to serve the local unhoused population. During the appointment, he shared his experience with Moazzum Bajwa, MD, MPH...

All eight residency and fellowship programs at the UCR School of Medicine that are accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) have received continued accreditation with commendation. The ACGME reviews graduate medical education programs annually in the U.S. to ensure that they adhere to all program requirements...

On Friday, the UCR SOM class of 2024 learned where they will spend the next few years of their medical career during Match Day. The annual event brings together fourth-year medical students and their families to celebrate their next steps toward becoming doctors. At 9 am exactly, students across the...

Recently, Brenda Ross, MD, a maternal fetal medicine specialist at UCR Health, suggested that a patient with underlying health conditions have her pregnancy managed at a larger hospital with more in-house specialists. When the patient refused, Ross agreed to work with her. Ross recalled the patient being consistent with her...