UC Riverside School of Medicine

Thank you for all of your efforts in caring for our patients and communities and for teaching our medical students!

Your hard work does not go unnoticed!

Reflections on Black History Month More than four decades after its official recognition by the US government in 1976, Black History Month continues to hold importance in communities today, serving as a space for reflection and remembr...

More than four decades after its recognition by the US government, Black History Month continues to hold importance in communities, serving as a space for reflection and remembrance. To honor this, several members of the UCR SOM community shared their perspectives on what this month means to them.

Keeping neurons on the right path RNA control is essential for building the brain’s layered structure

Professor Sika Zheng of the UC Riverside School of Medicine and his team found that an when a protein called UPF2 is missing, neurons lose their way and the brain’s structure can become disorganized, with changes linked to epilepsy, autism, and schizophrenia.

news.ucr.edu/articles/202...

The science of Ramadan fasting UC Riverside’s Dr. Sherif Hassan breaks down the medical benefits and potential risks of fasting

The month of Ramadan, which began last week, is when many Muslims around the world fast from dawn to sunset.

Sherif Hassan, MD, a professor of internal medicine at the UCR School of Medicine, answers questions about fasting, including its benefits as well as the risks and precautions.

Students demonstrating ultrasound technique

Introduction of the workshop

students performing ultrasound on a volunteer

student putting gel on an ultrasound wand

The UCR School of Medicine's Internal Medicine Interest Group hosted a cardiac ultrasound workshop at the American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES) Healing the Earth Conference held at the SOM Education Building II on February 7, 2026.

Save the Date UCR School of Medicine Open House - 4-11-2026 10 am to 2 pm.

Save the date for the UCR School of Medicine Open House on Saturday, April 11, 2026 from 10 am to 2 pm. Learn more at our website.

medschool.ucr.edu/openhouse

Ting-An Lin

Congratulations to doctoral student Ting-An Lin, who works in the lab of Professor of Biomedical Sciences Changcheng Zhou at the UCR School of Medicine, on receiving a 2026 American Heart Association Predoctoral Fellowship.

insideucr.ucr.edu/awards/2026/...

What you should know about your heart Heart disease remains the leading cause of death in the United States. February is American Heart Month, established in 1964 by President Lyndon B. Johnson to encourage Americans to prioritize and pro...

February is American Heart Month and heart disease remains the leading cause of death in the United States. Ramy Sadek, MD, a board-certified cardiologist with UCR Health, hosts a Q&A that discusses key heart health facts, including often-overlooked risk factors, and the importance of prevention.

Collage of our women physicians

Tuesday, February 3 was National Women Physicians Day! We are proud of each and every one of our physicians in the UC Riverside School of Medicine and UC Riverside Health. Thank you all for what you do!

Students from the Run Club showing their medals

Students from the Run Club showing their medals

Students from the Run Club showing their medals

First and second year medical students from the UCR School of Medicine Run Club competed in the Surf City Half Marathon in Huntington Beach on Sunday, February 1st. Advisor Patricia Walker, the associate director of LACE, also ran the half marathon.

Tomorrow, February 4, 2026 at 12 noon, the UCR SOM welcomes Gabrielle Pina, DO, for our Black History Month Lunch and Learn. This event is open to the campus and public. Register using the QR code in the image

Co-hosted by UCR SOM Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and UCR African Student Programs

CHC Announces 2026 Mini Grant Recipients The UCR School of Medicine Center for Healthy Communities (CHC) has announced the recipients of its annual Community Medicine and Population Health Mini-Grants Program for 2026. The program funds up t...

The UCR SOM Center for Healthy Communities has announced the recipients of its annual Community Medicine and Population Health Mini-Grants Program. The program funds up to two community health and population medicine initiatives per year and has awarded more than $60K to over the past seven years.

Scientists find hidden diversity inside common brain parasite UC Riverside study reshapes understanding of toxoplasmosis and identifies new paths for treatment

New research by Emma Wilson, PhD, professor of biomedical sciences at the UCR School of Medicine, has found that the common parasite toxoplasma gondii is far more complex than previously believed and may be why it has been so difficult to treat.

news.ucr.edu/articles/202...

Mark Wolfson, PhD, professor and chair of the UC Riverside School of Medicine's Dept. of Social Medicine, Population, and Public Health, is quoted in the New Yorker about what political parties are doing correctly and incorrectly in creating political coalitions.

www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...

Two students in suits walk on campus with text: "Apply now to be the next UC student regent"

Are you interested in shaping UC policy and decisions that impact the student experience? Then you should apply to be the next Student Regent!

RSVP for an informational webinar on 1/29 and learn more here: https://bit.ly/3YeWrqS

Dr. McCole with graduate students

A pair of recent studies by Declan McCole, PhD, professor of biomedical sciences at the UCR School of Medicine, highlight the role of a gene called PTPN2 in protecting the gut from harmful bacteria linked to inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

news.ucr.edu/articles/202...

Dr. Anderson presenting at Grand Rounds

Anderson is pictured at center with, from left, Robert Rodriguez, MD, Mark Wolfson, PhD, Mario Sims, PhD, and VC and Dean Deborah Deas, MD, MPH.

Anderson presenting at Grand Rounds

The UCR SOM welcomed Cheryl Anderson, PhD, MPH, professor and dean of the UC San Diego Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science, as the speaker for its 2026 Grand Rounds last Thursday, January 15, 2026.

Community college pathway expands and diversifies physician pipeline California Medicine Scholars Program is key to closing a 4,000-physician primary care gap by 2030

The California Medicine Scholars Program (CMSP) is a statewide initiative that helps community college students pursue careers in medicine, reports a paper published in the journal Academic Medicine. The UC Riverside School of Medicine's Daniel Teraguchi and Teresa Cofield are coauthors.

The School of Medicine is excited to announce that we are hosting the 2026 Unified California Community Health Conference (UCCHC) on March 13-14, 2026. Ticket info and more can be found at their link.

www.ucchconference.org

Students practicing CPR

Not all heart failure is the same! Research by UCR SOM medical students, including Kayhon Rabbani, MD, Cloie Chiong, MD, Roy Mendoza, MD, and MS3 Pavneet Kaur, examined more than 250K hospitalizations to analyze how types of heart failure impacts patient outcomes.
cr.elmerpub.com/index.php/cr...

Father’s microplastic exposure tied to their children’s metabolic problems A study led by biomedical scientists at the University of California, Riverside, has shown for the first time that a father’s exposure to microplastics (MPs) can trigger metabolic dysfunctions in his ...

Research from Changcheng Zhou, PhD, in the UCR School of Medicine Division of Biomedical Sciences finds that a father’s microplastic exposure can alter sperm RNA and raise metabolic disease risk in offspring, with female offspring most affected. Published in the Journal of the Endocrine Society.

Journal highlights need to transform girls’ mental health care UC Riverside’s Dr. Lisa Fortuna is an editor of the journal’s special issue

A new issue of the journal Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America co-edited by Lisa Fortuna, MD, seeks to shift how people think about girls’ mental health by focusing on the systems that support them.

Fortuna (r) is pictured with Michelle Porche, EdD, a contributor to the issue.

Improving Multiple Sclerosis Research, and Treatments, in the Inland Empire: Mahsa Khayat-Khoei, MD As a medical student, Mahsa Khayat-Khoei, MD, found neurology complex and interesting, but also somewhat intimidating. “You get to study neurons and different diseases that affect different areas of t...

Mahsa Khayat-Khoei, MD, joined UCR Health for the opportunity to help underserved patients while conducting groundbreaking multiple sclerosis (MS) research.

somnews.ucr.edu/articles/202...

Scientists identify small RNA molecule that regulates cholesterol and heart disease Discovery points to new “upstream” drug targets for preventing atherosclerosis

Changcheng Zhou, PhD, of the UCR SOM is the lead author of a study in Nature Communications that shows that a small, previously overlooked small RNA molecule plays a major role in controlling the body’s cholesterol production and the development of heart disease.

news.ucr.edu/articles/202...

Members of the basketball team in the UCR SRC

Congratulations to the UCR School of Medicine intramural basketball team for winning third place in the UCR Men’s Intramural Basketball League! For team captain Aamir Ansari (MS2), "Basketball is a way of building community, working under pressure, and staying active."

New clues to why some animals live longer RNA “editing” process offers an explanation

A collaborative study by scientists at the UCR School of Medicine, including Professor of Biomedical Sciences Sika Zheng, PhD, and researchers at USC, reports on how a process known as alternative splicing may help explain why some mammals live far longer than others.

news.ucr.edu/articles/202...

A research team, including UC Riverside School of Medicine Biomedical Scientist Scott Pegan, PhD, has developed a vaccine for Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) made from a non-infectious version of the virus that protects quickly and provides long-lasting immunity.

news.ucr.edu/articles/202...

Microplastics hit male arteries hard UC Riverside-led mouse study finds link between microplastic exposure and atherosclerosis

UC Riverside-led mouse study finds link between microplastic exposure and atherosclerosis

news.ucr.edu/articles/202...

Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease cases rise nationwide UCR Health pediatrician explains symptoms, transmission, and what parents should watch for as outbreaks spread

Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease has been making a comeback across the country this Fall. UCR Health Pediatrician E. Caroline McGowan, MD, answers some important questions about the illness in our latest expert Q&A.

news.ucr.edu/articles/202...

Last year, UCRSOM researchers led by Maurizio Pellecchia, PhD, developed a molecular crowbar strategy to degrade a protein that is overexpressed in many cancers. They designed compounds that bind to Pin1 and cause its degradation. This could lead to a new therapeutics.

news.ucr.edu/articles/202...