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Current & Past Fellows

Christopher Joseph Lee

Christopher Joseph Lee

Current Position: President’s Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of English: Literature and Languages, University of California, Merced

Education: B.A., Religion and Comparative Literature, Boston University; MTS, Women, Gender, Sexuality, Religion, Harvard Divinity School; Ph.D., Brown University, English

Dissertation: Unspectacular Violence: Narrating Trans/Queer Death in Contemporary American Culture

Thesis Advisor: Ralph E. Rodriguez, Professor of American Studies and English, Brown University

Research Topic: Developing a book manuscript on the trans and queer aesthetic strategies available to transform the politics of damage beyond carceral solutions and catastrophic reprisal. Research areas include trans literature and poetics, queer necropolitics, visual studies, critical prison studies, Asian American studies, and HIV/AIDS cultural studies.

Mentor: Nigel Hatton, Professor of Literature and Philosophy, University of California, Merced

 

Natalie Santizo

Natalie Santizo

Current Position: President’s Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of History & Critical Race and Ethnic Studies, University of California, Merced

Education: B.A., Psychology and Sociology, University of Southern California; M.S., Justice Studies, Arizona State University; Ph.D., Chicana/o and Central American Studies, University of California, Los Angeles

Dissertation: Critical Latinx Foodways: Racial Formation, Regional Identity, and Placemaking in the San Gabriel Valley, 1900-1968

Thesis Advisor: Genevieve Carpio, Professor of Chicana/o and Central American Studies, University of California, Los Angeles

Research Topic: Developing a critical foodways lens in historical and contemporary investigations of identity, placemaking, and survival of Latinx people. My project, Critical Latinx Foodways: Food Politics, Race, and History in Southern California, 1900-2020, argues that historical and contemporary struggles of food workers are vital to our understanding of placemaking and survival of Latinx populations. I do so by focusing on food laborers and vendors that shape the places they work (labor), live in (placemaking), and their movement across regional boundaries (mobility).

Mentor: Mario Sifuentez, Professor of History & Critical Race and Ethnic Studies, University of California, Merced

 

Kaozong Nancy Mouavangsou

Kaozong Nancy Mouavangsou

Current Position: President’s Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of History & Critical Race and Ethnic Studies, University of California, Merced

Education: B.A., English, University of California, Davis; M.A., Education, University of California, Davis; Ph.D., Education, University of California, Davis

Dissertation: A Critical Ethnography of Hmong American Students Navigating and Transforming Their University

Thesis Advisor: Julia Menard-Warwick, Professor of Linguistics, University of California, Davis

Research Topic: Race/Ethnicity, Gender, Education, Hmong American, and Epistemology and Methodology

Mentor: Ma Vang, Professor of History & Critical Race and Ethnic Studies, University of California, Merced

 

Cristina Gomez-Valdez

Cristina Gomez-Vidal

Current Position: Chancellor's Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Public Health, University of California, Merced

Education: B.A., Interdisciplinary Studies Field, University of California, Berkeley; M.S.W., Social Welfare, University of California, Berkeley; Ph.D., Social Welfare, University of California, Berkeley

Dissertation: The Legal Reproduction of Infant Health Inequities in Unincorporated Communities

Thesis Advisor: Anu Manchikanti Gómez, Professor of Social Welfare, University of California, Berkeley

Research Topic: Government systems and community resilience and adaptation to climate-change related health threats in unincorporated communities

Mentor: A. Susana Ramirez, Professor of Public Health, University of California, Merced

 

Mairin Balisi

Mairin Balisi

Current Position: Chancellor's Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of California, Merced

Education: B.A., Integrative Biology and B.A. Comparative Literature, University of California, Berkeley; M.S., Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; Ph.D., Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Los Angeles

Dissertation: Carnivory in the Oligo-Miocene: Resource specialization, competition, and coexistence among North American fossil canids

Thesis Advisor: Blaire Van Valkenburgh, Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Los Angeles

Research Topic: The isotopic signature of humans on carnivores over a century of urbanization

Mentor: Jessica Blois, Professor of Life and Environmental Sciences, and Sora Kim Professors of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of California, Merced

 

Hannah Palmer

Hannah Palmer

Current Position: Chancellor's Postdoctoral Fellow, Department Life and Environmental, University of California, Merced

Education: B.S., Marine Biology, University of California, Los Angeles; Ph.D., Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of California, Davis

Dissertation: Oceans and climate change in the Northeast Pacific through the Holocene

Thesis Advisor: Tessa Hill, Professor of Earth & Planetary Sciences and Bodega Marine Laboratory, University of California, Davis

Research Topic: Geochemical tracing of California wildfire: implications for paleofire reconstruction and wildfire pollutant distribution

Mentor: Sora Kim, Professor of Life and Environmental Sciences, and Asmeret Asefaw Berhe, Professor of Life & Environmental Sciences, University of California, Merced

 

Nathan P. Acebo

Nathan P. Acebo

Current Position: Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Fellow in Critical Mission Studies, Department of Anthropology & Heritage Studies, University of California, Merced

Education: BB.S., Anthropology, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona; M.A., Anthropology, Stanford University; Ph.D., Anthropology, Stanford University

Dissertation: Re-Assembling Radical Indigenous Autonomy in the Alta California Hinterlands: Survivance at Puhú

Thesis Advisor: Barbara Voss, Professor of Anthropology, Stanford University

Research Topic: California Indigenous social networks, subaltern resistance and governance, colonialism, decolonizing practices

Mentor: Kathleen Hull, Professor of Anthropology & Heritage Studies, University of California, Merced

 

Kyungjin Min

Kyungjin Min

Current Position: Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of California, Merced

Education: B.SB.S., Life Science, POSTECH, Korea; M.C.P., Environmental Studies, Seoul National University, Korea; Ph.D., Ecology, University of Kansas

Dissertation: Temperature responses of microbial soil organic matter decomposition and associated respiration at various scales, ranging from exo-enzymes to populations to ecosystems

Thesis Advisor: Sharon Billings, Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Kansas

Mentor: Asmeret Asefaw Berhe, Professor of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of California, Merced

 

Myles Ali

Myles Ali

Current Position: Chancellor's Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of History, University of California, Merced

Education: B.A., History, York University; M.A., History, York University; Ph.D., History, York University

Dissertation: "Here in the Queen's Territory. Every Man and Woman is Free": Slavery and the Lives of the Enslaved in Late Nineteenth Century Sierra Leone

Thesis Advisor: José C. Curto, Professor of History, York University

Research Topic: CSlavery and Emancipation in British West Africa

Mentor: Kevin Dawson, Professor of History, University of California, Merced

 

Aaron Alvarado

Current Position: President's Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of History, University of California, Merced

Education: B.A., American Studies and Women & Gender Studies, University of California, Davis; M.A., Ethnic Studies, University of California, Riverside; Ph.D., Ethnic Studies, University of California, Riverside

Dissertation: Reckoning the Rural: The San Joaquin Valley, California, and the Politics of Knowledge

Thesis Advisor: Dylan Rodriguez, Professor of Media and Cultural Studies, University of California, Riverside and Nick Mitchell, Professor of Feminist Studies and Critical Race & Ethnic Studies, University of California, Santa Cruz

Research Topic: The intersections of knowledge production, racial capitalism, and agriculture in the San Joaquin Valley

Mentor: Mario Sifuentez, Professor of History, University of California, Merced

 

Colleen Cheverko

Colleen Cheverko, Social Sciences

Current Position: Chancellor's Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Anthropology, University of California, Merced

Education: B.S., Anthropology, Psychology, Binghamton University-State University of New York; M.A., Anthropology, California State University, Chico; Ph.D., Anthropology, The Ohio State University

Dissertation: The biological impact of developmental stress: correlations between growth disruptions and mortality risk in bioarchaeology

Thesis Advisor: Clark Spencer Larsen, Professor of Anthropology and Mark Hubbe, Professor of Anthropology, Ohio State University

Research Topic: Childhood stress and mortality risk in prehistoric California

Mentor: Christina Torres-Rouff, Professor of Anthropology, University of California, Merced

 

Meria-Elena De Trinidad Young

Maria-Elena De Trinidad Young, Social Sciences

Current Position: Chancellor's Postdoctoral Fellow, School of Social Sciences, Humanities & Arts, University of California, Merced

Education: B.A., Spanish, Swarthmore College; M.P.H., Maternal and Child Health, University of California, Berkeley; Ph.D., Community Health Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles

Dissertation: Producing citizenship position through state immigrant policies: an examination of the relationships between health, policy, citizenship, and race in the United States

Thesis Advisor: Steven P. Wallace, Professor of Community Health Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles

Research Topic: Immigration policy and health

Mentor: Tanya Golash-Boza, Professor of Sociology and Susana Ramirez, Professor of Public Health Communication, University of California, Merced

 

Marie-Claire Chelini

Marie-Claire Chelini, Life Sciences

Current Position: President’s Postdoctoral Fellow, School of Natural Sciences, University of California, Merced

Education: B.A., Biological Sciences, Universidade de São Paulo; M.S., Biological Sciences, Universidade de São Paulo; Ph.D., Biological Sciences, University of Nebraska - Lincoln

Dissertation: Proximate and evolutionary causes of sexual size dimorphism in the crab spider Mecaphesa celer

Thesis Advisor: Eileen Hebets, Professor of Biological Sciences, University of Nebraska - Lincoln

Research Topic: Malaria as a driver of phenotypic diversity in a California lizard

Mentor: Carolin Frank, Professor of Natural Sciences, and Danielle Edwards, Professor of Natural Sciences, University of California, Merced

Fernanda Santos

 

Fernanda Santos, Mathematics, Engineering & Physical Sciences

Current Position: Chancellor's Postdoctoral Fellow, School of Natural Sciences: Life and Environmental Sciences, University of California, Merced

Education: B.S., Geography, State University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; M.A., Physical Geography, Hunter College of the City of University of New York; Ph.D., Earth and Environmental Sciences, The Graduate Center of the City University of New York

Dissertation: Carbon and nitrogen dynamics from slow pools of soil organic matter in a temperate forest: pyrogenic organic matter and root litter.

Thesis Advisor: Jeffrey A. Bird, Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The Graduate Center of the City University of New York

Research Topic: Terrestrial controls of fire-derived carbon exported from land to rivers

Mentor: Asmeret Asefaw Berhe, Professor of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of California, Merced, and Sanjai Parikh, Professor of Land, Air and Water Resources, University of California, Davis

 

Oana David

 

Oana David, Arts & Humanities

Current Position: Dr. David is an Analytical Linguist with Google. In her role, she works across Google platforms to drive improvements in quality, classification, information structure, and natural language understanding and generation.

Education: B.A., Anthropology and Japanese Language & Literature, Boston University; M.S., Modern Japanese Studies, University of Oxford; M.S., Linguistics and Philology, University of Oxford; Ph.D., Linguistics, University of California, Berkeley

Dissertation: Metaphor in the Grammar of Argument Realization

Thesis Advisor: Eve Sweetser, Professor of Linguistics and George Lakoff, Professor of Linguistics, University of California, Berkeley

Research Topic: Computational and experimental approaches to the study of metaphor in communications about immigration, climate change, disease and other societal challenges.

Mentor: Teenie Matlock, Professor of Cognitive & Information Sciences, University of California, Merced

Mark Fleming

 

Mark Fleming, Social Sciences

Current Position: Chancellor's Postdoctoral Fellow, School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts: Public Health, University of California, Merced

Education: B.A., Biology, Oberlin College; M.S., Sociology, University of Wisconsin, Madison; Ph.D., Medical Anthropology, University of California, San Francisco/University of California, Berkeley

Dissertation: Stress and the Biopolitics of Work

Thesis Advisor: Sharon Kaufman, Professor of Anthropology, History, and Social Medicine, University of California, San Francisco

Research Topic: : "Hot Spotting" and the Political and Economic Management of Chronic Disease in the Urban Poor

Mentor: Nancy Burke, Professor of Public Health, University of California, Merced