LAist reported that Union Rescue Mission found that 87% of women living at the shelter were not up to date on breast cancer or cervical cancer screenings. “We couldn’t just ignore it anymore,” said Mary Marfisee, the shelter’s family medical services director and a UCLA faculty physician. “We can't refer them out. It’s been harder and harder to get women's health services, so we just sat down and said, ‘No, we gotta do it ourselves.’” See more about UCLA in NPR, CalMatters and other outlets.
More highlights from UCLA in the News: Feb. 27, 2026
Wonderful Company owners gift UCLA $100M for mental health | City News Service
UCLA Health has received the largest donation to advance mental health care in its history — a $100 million gift from global philanthropists Stewart and Lynda Resnick, the university announced Thursday. The Resnicks‘ gift, made possible through their foundation, will help fund the expansion of mental and behavioral health services at UCLA Health and support completion of a new neuropsychiatric hospital and a comprehensive mental health campus. (UCLA Chancellor Julio Frenk was quoted. Also: Forbes, KTLA-TV and LAist.)
As the U.S. marks its 250th birthday, Latinos wonder if they belong | NPR
The economy is one area where Latino contributions stand out. According to a recent UCLA report, Latinos provide about 70 percent of the growth in the national GDP and the labor force.
74% of Altadena rental units show no rebuilding activity | iHeartRadio
More than a year after the devastating Eaton Fire tore through Altadena, most fire-damaged rental housing shows little to no sign of recovery. A new policy brief from UCLA's Latino Policy and Politics Institute (LPPI) finds that 74% of rental units within the Eaton Fire perimeter remain on properties with no public record of rebuilding permits, property sales or active listings. (UCLA’s Gabriella Carmona was quoted. Also: KTTV-TV.)
State AI education standards coincide with fourth grade scandal | CalMatters
Julie Flapan, director of the Computer Science Equity Project at UCLA’s Center X, said that the Pippi Longstocking incident called to mind a 2024 study that found young Black and Latino people are more likely to use generative AI than young white people. That data, in tandem with the historical disparity in access to computer science education, means, she said, that some parents and students will need help to think critically about AI.
Some Dems seek to bar ICE employees from civil service jobs | The Guardian
Commenting on the Melt Ice act, Joseph Fishkin, a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law, said the proposal “presents some novel issues that no court has yet addressed,” though whether it can overcome federal supremacy over state law remains to be seen.
Accelerated brain stimulation eases depression in 5 days | HealthDay News
A brain stimulation therapy for depression can show results in as little as a workweek, a new study says. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) typically requires daily clinic visits over six to eight weeks, a rather rigorous schedule for people grappling with depression. But patients can see benefits in as little as five days if they undergo five sessions per day, researchers will report in the June issue of the Journal of Affective Disorders. (UCLA’s Michael Apostol and Dr. Andrew Leuchter were quoted.)
Young viewers want more ‘vulnerable’ men in TV, movies | City News Service
Young viewers of movies and television shows want to see male characters moving away from "isolation and other masculine stereotypes and towards vulnerability and connection,'' according to a UCLA study released today. The university's Center for Scholars & Storytellers inserted "targeted questions'' into its annual 2025 Teens & Screens survey, which questioned 1,500 adolescents nationwide ages 10 to 24. (UCLA’s Yalda Uhls was quoted. Also: KTLA-TV.)
Bird decline in the US is accelerating, new study finds | New York Times
Morgan Tingley, an ornithologist and quantitative ecologist at UCLA, praised the study’s use of sophisticated statistical modeling, particularly in finding the accelerating declines. “While this study is not definitive of the causes why,” Dr. Tingley said, “it at least suggests, pretty convincingly, that it’s not just one thing.”
The birthrate is plunging. Why some say it’s a good thing | New York Times
Martha Bailey, an economist at UCLA, found that, among college-educated women ages 20 to 24, the birthrate dropped by 20 percent between 2007 and 2024. But for women with only a high school diploma, the rate dropped by a full 50 percent.
Transgender Kansans sue after driver’s licenses canceled | New York Times
Transgender people age 13 and older account for about 1 percent of the U.S. population, according to the Williams Institute, a demographic research center at UCLA.
