UC Riverside School of Medicine

08/29/2026

Check out some of the highlights from Thursday's Scrubs Got Talent Show at the UCR School of Medicine. Thanks to the UCR SOM Healthcare Leadership Program for their great work on this event!

08/28/2026

On Thursday, August 27, the UCR SOM Healthcare Leadership Program hosted the second annual UCR SOM Talent Show, Scrubs Got Talent!

The HLP team but together this video from this fun event! Congrats to all of our winners!

08/28/2026

In honor of Breastfeeding Awareness Month, UCR Health’s Dr. Brenda Ross-Shelton highlights the incredible power of milk donation—often called "liquid gold"—and how it helps protect the health of newborns and NICU babies across our region.

From the lifelong health benefits of breastfeeding for both moms and babies to UCR School of Medicine student-led community initiatives, UCR Health is dedicated to supporting families from the very beginning. Plus, check out our new UCR Health branding inside the lactation suites at Ontario International Airport, giving traveling mothers a clean, comfortable, and supportive space on the go! ✈️🍼

Learn how donor milk reaches local NICUs and supports community health across Inland Southern California.

Watch the full video here:

In honor of Breastfeeding Awareness Month, UCR Health’s Dr. Brenda ...

08/27/2026

Interested in medical school but not sure if the UCR School of Medicine is the right choice for you? Here's some stats that might help you make up your mind.

08/25/2026

Esther Caroline McGowan, MD, MS, has been appointed associate dean for clinical medical education at the UC Riverside School of Medicine. She will begin in the position on September 1, 2026.

McGowan is a board-certified pediatrician who sees patients at UCR Health and previously served as the co-director of the Longitudinal Ambulatory Care Experience (LACE). Her educational interests include clinical reasoning, social determinants of health, and preparing future physicians to provide compassionate, culturally responsive care to diverse and underserved communities.

"I am both honored and humbled to serve as associate dean for clinical medical education. From the beginning of my career, I have been deeply committed to medical education and to helping shape the knowledge, skills, compassion, and character of the next generation of physicians," McGowan said. "I look forward to continuing this work together and supporting our exceptional students as they become culturally responsive, patient-centered physicians and leaders who will serve the Inland Empire and beyond."

Read the full story at the link in the comments.

08/25/2026

Xuecai Ge, PhD, associate professor at the UCR School of Medicine, has been awarded a $2.1 million NIH grant to study the primary cilium—a microscopic organelle acting as a cellular antenna.

Over the next five years, Ge's lab will investigate how this organelle regulates protein synthesis, energy production, and brain development, providing insight into potential targets for neurodevelopmental disorders.

Read the full story: https://news.ucr.edu/articles/2026/08/24/nih-grant-will-advance-study-primary-cilium

08/25/2026

Rosanna Jhawar, MD, has been appointed associate dean for clinical skills education and innovation at the UC Riverside School of Medicine, effective August 1, 2026.

“I am very pleased to have Dr. Rosanna Jhawar step into this leadership role,” said Vice Chancellor for Health Sciences and the Mark and Pam Rubin Dean of the School of Medicine Deborah Deas, MD, MPH. “Dr. Jhawar has demonstrated a strong commitment to our students and to continually strengthening how we prepare them for clinical practice. Her experience and leadership within our medical education program make her well positioned to advance this important area of our curriculum.”

As associate dean for clinical skills education and innovation, Jhawar will provide academic oversight of UCR SOM’s integrated doctoring curriculum, which encompasses doctoring, clinical skills, and case-based learning. The curriculum also serves as an important platform for integrating clinical reasoning, health systems science, evidence-based medicine, professional identity formation, and other concepts across the medical education program.

08/23/2026

The UCR School of Medicine, the Office of Faculty Development, and the Office of Strategic Initiatives are announcing A Celebration of Women in Medicine and Science event on September 21. This year's theme is: Centering, Elevating & Sustaining Women's Voices.

All are welcome, but seating is limited so make sure you RSVP.

https://ucriverside.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_5z44H1lemoEuVE2

08/23/2026

Scott Pegan, Ph.D., professor of biomedical sciences in the UCR School of Medicine Division of Biomedical Sciences, is leading research that could open new possibilities for treating Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, a dangerous tick-borne disease with a mortality rate of up to 40%.

In a new study published in Nature Communications, Pegan and his colleagues identified multiple sites on the virus that can be targeted by protective antibodies. The findings could help guide the development of new antibody treatments and combination therapies for a disease that currently has no widely approved, highly effective treatment or vaccine.

The research also challenges the long-held assumption that the virus's nucleocapsid protein is useful only for diagnosis, revealing its potential as a therapeutic target.

https://news.ucr.edu/articles/2026/08/21/study-suggests-new-antibody-therapy-tick-borne-disease

08/21/2026

Most master’s programs require a thesis or capstone project showcasing tools and knowledge that students gained during the program. The final project for the UCR SOM's new Master of Public Health (MPH) program takes it one step further.

For their capstone projects, each MPH student works alongside a local organization to create a project or proposal that will provide a clear benefit to the community. Projects by the MPH inaugural class of 2026 covered a wide range of topics, from health literacy to mental health to care for unhoused populations.

Read about three of their projects, including Karina Young (above right), and their impact on the local area, on the SOM News website. The link is in the comments.