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We Investigate Social Factors Influencing Health and Well-Being The Housing, Opportunity and Place (HOPe) Lab is a research group at the University of California, Merced investigating key social factors affecting health and health inequities in California's Central Valley, the heart of California.

The California Initiative for Health Equity and Action (Cal-IHEA) was created by the University of California (UC) Office of the President at the request of the California Legislature. Cal-IHEA builds on the university's public service mission and seeks to improve health equity in California by...

LOC Toolbox: The LOC Toolbox is a general resource designed for Local Organizing Committees (LOCs) across a range of topics. While our partnership with Faith in the Valley (FIV) and Cultiva Central Valley (CCV) has primarily focused on housing LOCs, we hope this toolbox will support those interested...

Guiding Principles | Nuestros Principios Rectores: Summary: Recognizing the importance of local organizing committees (LOCs) in effecting positive social change, HOPe Lab, Faith in the Valley Fresno, and Cultiva Central Valley - as a collaborative, aim to provide accessible resources, tools, and...

I'm the Principal Investigator and Director of the Lab. I'm a social epidemiologist, a public health professor at the University of California Merced and a Robert Wood Johnson Interdisciplinary Research Leadership fellow. My research is currently centered on the question of how place influences...

Educational Trajectories and Health This is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) funded study investigating education trajectories, the paths people take to complete their education, how it differs by sex, race/ethnicity, and family circumstances, and what the effect of different trajectories is on...

Sofia Aguilar, a native of Los Angeles, California, graduated from the University of California, Merced in 2024 with a bachelor's degree in Public Health. She was a Student Researcher in Dr. Yen’s Housing, Opportunity and Place (HOPe) Lab in the Department of Public Health. In this role, Sofia...

Undergraduate Research Assistant Alum Sofia Aguilar, a native of Los Angeles, California, graduated from the University of California, Merced in 2024 with a bachelor's degree in Public Health. She was a Student Researcher in Dr. Yen’s Housing, Opportunity and Place (HOPe) Lab in the Department of...