Medical education at UC Merced is expanding at a rapid pace as part of the campus’ long-term goal to address the shortage of physicians and health care professionals in the Central Valley.
This fall, the university welcomed the second cohort of students in the B.S.-to-M.D. pathway. Formally known as the San Joaquin Valley PRIME Plus Program (SJV PRIME+), the partnership among UC Merced, UC San Francisco and UCSF Fresno offers students a path from undergraduate studies to medical school, with access to guidance, peer support and training focused on meeting the challenges faced by this very specialized group during their academic journey.
Like the inaugural cohort of B.S.-to-M.D. pathway students who entered UC Merced in the 2023-24 academic year, the second cohort comprises 15 students, doubling the number of students in the program. All the scholars were recruited from the Valley and share an ambition to become medical leaders, practitioners and advocates for the region.
Students in the second cohort come from small towns and cities in Fresno, Kern, Madera, San Joaquin, Stanislaus and Tulare counties, representing a rich diversity of cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds. They share a deep motivation to improve health care access and quality of care for their hometowns and communities.
“My commitment to medicine stems from my upbringing on a farm and in a rural community,” said Gunreet Mahil, a student from Madera. “I’ve been able to witness firsthand the severe lack of adequate health care for farmworkers and community members in the San Joaquin Valley. These experiences have deeply influenced and shaped my perspective on health care… (and) fueled my commitment to addressing health care disparities and improving access for not only underserved populations, but also the community that has shaped my identity and purpose.
“I’d like to become a doctor that patients are excited to see,” she added. “I’m beyond excited to start caring for my community.”
Tayba Khan, a first-year student from Fresno, shared that her experiences growing up with limited care facilities helped her understand the systemic disadvantages faced by her community. “Constantly working to survive meant that medical care was always pushed to the side until it was impossible to bear, and this attitude surrounding medicine and work created a culture where the emergency room was the only point of care for entire communities,” she said. “This stress on the emergency rooms left many patients with bandage solutions and no long-term interventions.
“Seeing my parents suffer in silence to give me a future put into perspective how detrimental inadequate access to medical care is to communities across the Central Valley,” continued Khan. “Being a doctor, to me, means being the bridge between adequate health care access and my community.”
“Students join this program because they are dedicated to becoming doctors for the Valley,” noted Director of Medical Education Dr. Margo Vener. “Our job is to give them the training they need to make their dreams turn into reality, and they can become the skillful, humane physicians that the Valley deserves.”
Vital to the SJV PRIME+ students’ ability to embark on this rigorous course of study is the philanthropic support of community partners and campus donors. Many of the B.S.-to-M.D. pathway students are the recipients of comprehensive, multi-year scholarships that help cover undergraduate expenses. For most of these scholars, receiving financial assistance is what made attending UC Merced possible.
Among the UC Merced partners whose gifts are helping make a difference for these scholars is the Central Valley Opportunity Fund (CVOF), a Central Valley Community Foundation initiative.
“Both UC Merced and the medical education students' passion for making a difference in our community reflects the values of the Central Valley Opportunity Fund,” said CVCF Merced Regional Director Kim Garner. “We all share a commitment to making big and lasting changes in our region, creating equitable health care opportunities and transforming systems to correct inequality.”
To keep pace with the growing program, several new teaching faculty were hired this fall. Joining Vener in the Department of Medical Education are Rosa Manzo, Matthew Warren, Julia Alvarez, Marco Garcia-Ojeda, Susan DeRiemer and Nripendra Dhillon. Chief among the faculty’s priorities is to prepare the curriculum for the program’s foundational courses, which are slated to be ready for classroom delivery by fall 2027.
Also underway is the construction of UC Merced’s Medical Education Building, which will house the B.S.-to-M.D. pathway along with the departments of psychology and public health and the Health Sciences Research Institute. Groundbreaking on the state-of-the-art facility took place in May, and the building is on track to open in fall 2026.
