UCLA - University of California - Los Angeles
05/01/2026 | News release | Distributed by Public on 05/01/2026 10:58
IN FOCUS: AANHPI Heritage Month
Maui resident Jamil Newirth was just 32 years old when he was given a terminal brain cancer diagnosis. More than a decade later, Newirth beat the odds thanks to a novel cancer vaccine developed by UCLA neurosurgeon Dr. Linda Liau, who is the chair of neurosurgery at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and director of the UCLA Brain Tumor Program.
Improving the quality of translated voting materials, broadening government outreach to potential voters and increasing the number of in-person voting sites are key to boosting voter turnout among Asian Americans in Los Angeles, according to a report from the UCLA Asian American Studies Center. The researchers found that language accessibility and community are key to getting people to the polls.
Read more about the study's findings and government outreach from UCLA Newsroom.
Improved data tools can help Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities advocate for local and state resources
In this webinar from the Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (NHPI) Data Policy Lab, presenters Richard Calvin Chang, Shreya Paul and Professor Ninez Ponce along with community leaders Sydney Pike and Isa Sasi talked about data visualization tools that zoom in on NHPI-specific, California county-level data on health and social drivers of health from multiple sources. Data profiles can be used by community leaders and advocates to fight for resources and policy changes at the local and state levels.
Watch and learn more from the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research.
Anna Sew Hoy explores perception, language and feeling
Los Angeles-based artist Anna Sew Hoy, a UCLA professor and 2022 Guggenheim Fellow, discusses her work at a UCLA Department of Art lecture. Hoy's large public sculpture, Psychic Body Grotto, can be visited in the 32-acre Los Angeles State Historic Park.
Listen to a conversation about her work from the Hammer Museum.
Bruins in Baseball: The Artful Dodger
Since Dave Roberts became the manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers, the team has taken home nine division titles, five National League pennants and two World Series rings. Roberts, the first MLB manager of Asian descent to win a World Series, talks baseball, his time at UCLA and how he scored his dream job.
Read his interview with UCLA Magazine.
Advancing the study of South Asian religions
A major philanthropic commitment is enabling UCLA faculty and students to learn about the legacy and practice of Jainism, one of the world's oldest living religions. The Bhagawan Abhinandan Endowed Chair for Jain Studies and Religions of South Asia is the first endowed professorship on this subject at UCLA.
Read more about the initiative to expand scholarship in this underrepresented field.
From UCLA to "Sesame Street"
Alan Muraoka has played the proprietor of Hooper's Store on "Sesame Street" for nearly three decades, becoming one of its most influential creative voices. The UCLA alum and Emmy award-winner reflects on his career and inspirations.
Read more about his impact on the show from UCLA Magazine.
The historical, political, and cultural contexts of experimental Korean art
This symposium is presented in collaboration with GYOPO, an L.A.-based collective of Korean cultural producers and art professionals, and includes a performance by artist Sung Neung Kyung. It also includes perspectives from L.A.-based Korean American artist Young Joon Kwok and Jennifer Jihye Chun, a professor of Asian American studies and labor studies at UCLA.
Watch this program and learn more about the legacy of this decisive movement from the Hammer Museum.
Music Alive in the Archive: Celebrating the Music and Legacy of Hua Wenyi
The UCLA Ethnomusicology Archive hosted a roundtable discussion and performances by the Kunqu Opera Society USA and students from the UCLA Music of China Ensemble, directed by Chi Li. This event was a celebration of Hua Wenyi, one of the most influential Kunqu opera performers of her generation, who co-founded the Hua Kun Research Institute in Los Angeles and was awarded the National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts.
Read more about Wenyi's legacy and watch the event from the Ethnomusicology Review.
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