Arnold School of Public Health

2021 News Archive

Researchers across South Carolina partner with AARP SC to produce report on health disparities among older Black adults

The report, Health Disparities: South Carolina Non-Hispanic Black People Aged 50+, was produced by a team of researchers from across the state, including HPEB associate professor Lucy Ingram.

Ph.D. in Exercise Science graduate to pursue academic career focusing on female athlete triad, eating disorder risk, and body image dissatisfaction

During her program, Norman J. Arnold Doctoral Fellow Allison Smith developed research expertise in the female athlete triad, eating disorder risk in understudied populations and body image dissatisfaction.

Faculty establish fellowship to recruit, support underrepresented students studying speech-language pathology

In an effort to address the field's lack of diversity, the COMD department has established a fellowship to recruit and support students from underrepresented backgrounds in communication sciences and disorders.

Staff Spotlight: Mike Young, Director of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion for the Center for Community Health Alignment and PASOs

Over the years, Young has worked to strengthen South Carolina's Latino communities by overseeing and supporting a statewide team of Community Health Workers/Promotores and strengthening networks.

Study finds state vaccine mandates for child care centers effectively increase proportion of young children up to date with vaccines

Research led by Nicole Hair has found that states that adopt child care mandates for the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine see a corresponding increase in the proportion of children who are up to date on their pneumococcal vaccines.

I Am Public Health: Anja Derry

Master's student pursues career as speech-language pathologist to support children with communication disorders, particularly those who have limited resources to access healthcare/rehabilitation services.

Postdoctoral fellow Oluwafemi Adeagbo selected as affiliate member of African Academy of Sciences

Oluwafemi (Femi) Adeagbo, a postdoctoral fellow with the Center for Healthcare Quality and Department of Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior, has been selected as an affiliate member of the African Academy of Sciences.

Register today for the UofSC Nutrition Research Symposium held April 9

The University of South Carolina’s Nutrition Consortium Mini Symposium, “UofSC Nutrition Research Symposium: Share, Discover, Connect" will be held online Friday, April 9, 2021 from 1:00-4:00PM.

Facility ownership matters in the provision of suicide prevention programs, study shows

Researchers at the Arnold School's Rural and Minority Health Research Center have completed a study on the differences of facility ownership in suicide prevention programs in outpatient mental healthcare settings across the United States.

Ciaran Fairman brings exercise oncology expertise to Department of Exercise Science as assistant professor

Originally from Ireland, Fairman has studied in the United States and Australia. He is applying his resulting expertise to researching how exercise and nutritional interventions can target the side effects of cancer/treatment.

Resilience, ingenuity define UofSC's COVID response

Surveillance and monitoring are key components in protecting public health during a pandemic. See how environmental health sciences associate professor Sean Norman and his team are playing their part with this video from UofSC.

GeoMat one year later. The start-up wins innovative technology award, additional funding to apply oil remediation technique in Alaska

As evidenced by GeoMat's selection to receive the Innovative Technology Award from the USC/Columbia Technology Incubator and their recent SBIR grant from NSF, the start-up is quickly growing and accomplishing its goals.

Sigfus Kristinsson wins second scholarship to support dissertation research focused on aphasia

Ph.D. in COMD candidate Sigfus Kristinsson has secured a $10,000 New Century Scholars Doctoral Scholarship from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Foundation - bringing his total amount of dissertation funding to $35,000.

'A beacon for public service': USC student finalist for national Truman Scholarship

The Daily Gamecock features Truman finalist Laura-Louise Rice, whose goal is to advance maternal health for Black women. Learn how Rice is using the BARSC program to create her own curriculum in public health, social work, legal studies, and public policy.

Researchers to help LGBTQIA+ populations navigate barriers to health information

Over the next two years, a team of researchers from the School of Information Science and Arnold School of Public Health will collaborate to recruit, learn from and develop specialized training for LGBTQIA+ community health workers.

Staff Spotlight: Debra Brown, Business Manager for the Department Health Services Policy and Management

Brown marked her 30-year anniversary at UofSC in 2020. Over the years, she has held positions with the School of Medicine, Associate Vice Provost for Research Office, Faculty Senate, and College of Mass Communications and Information Sciences.

Jennifer Mandelbaum wins Dr. Rick Foster Leadership Award from Alliance for a Healthier South Carolina

Ph.D. in Health, Promotion, Education, and Behavior candidate Jennifer Mandelbaum was among only three awardees that the Alliance for a Healthier South Carolina recognized at the organization's third Annual Live Healthy SC Meeting.

Rural and Minority Health Research Center partners with Sisters of Charity Foundation to produce report on poverty in South Carolina

When Melinda Merrell, a research assistant professor with the Rural and Minority Health Research Center, was invited to help lead a study on the structural factors associated with poverty in South Carolina, she gladly accepted.

I Am Public Health: Tina B. Leonard

Tina Leonard, a Court Liaison for the UofSC School of Law Children's Law Center, pursues Online MPH in HPEB - Professional Program degree to complement her background in social work and more than a decade of professional experience helping others.

Daniela Friedman named editor for the Journal of Women & Aging

After years of contributing to the Journal of Women & Aging as associate editor, editorial board member, guest editor and manuscript reviewer, HPEB professor/chair Daniela Friedman has been selected to lead the journal as editor.

Lynsey Keator awarded New Century Scholars Doctoral Scholarship from American Speech-Language-Hearing Foundation

Keator, a Ph.D. in COMD student, is one of just a dozen or so individuals from across the country to receive a $10,000 New Century Scholars Doctoral Scholarship from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Foundation.

Jamie Lead partners with Mote Marine Labs to tackle harmful algal blooms using nanotechnology

The collaboration will explore the feasibility of using CENR's patented nanotechnology approach to remove Karenia brevis cells and brevetoxin (also known as Red Tide) from estuarine and marine waters.

Master of Health Administration student wins scholarship from Commission on Accreditation for Healthcare Management Education

Only one semester into program, Haley Kirby was notified that she had been selected as one of just two recipients nationwide to receive the Tim Campbell Scholarship from the Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education.

Nominate an exceptional Arnold School faculty member for one of three 2021 Arnold School faculty awards

The Arnold School of Public Health is seeking nominations to recognize outstanding faculty with one of three 2021 awards in the areas of teaching, research, and service. Recipients will be honored at the 2021 Hooding Ceremony.

Trendy does not equal healthy. Researchers find significant differences in nutritional quality among popular diets

Research led by HPEB associate professor Brie Turner-McGrievy has revealed that popular diets are not necessarily the most healthy. Her team compared 40 diets rated by physicians and nutritionists for U.S. News & World Report.

2020-2021 SPARC Graduate Research Grants awarded to 9 Arnold School graduate students

Graduate students from across the Arnold School have earned 2020-2021 SPARC Graduate Research Grants from the UofSC Office of the Vice President for Research to fund individual scholarship initiatives.

Center for Community Health Alignment wins Community Health Care Leadership Award

The South Carolina Primary Health Care Association recognized the Arnold School's Center for Community Health Alignment (CCHA) with its Community Health Care Leadership Award during their virtual State Policy & Issue Forum in January.

Staff Spotlight: Andrenette Hudley, Business Manager/Administrative Coordinator for the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders

Everyday, Andrenette Hudley puts years of executive leadership experience to work - managing, monitoring and maintaining the accounting of the COMD budgets and serving as the business/human resources contact and purchasing card/supplier liaison.

Doctoral students Kelsey Day and Qian Huang selected as inaugural Health GIS Scholars by Big Data Health Science Center

The Big Data Health Science Center's Geospatial Core engages in cutting-edge geospatial research and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) science. They recently launched the Health GIS Scholars Program.

Nominate outstanding Arnold School graduates for one of two 2021 Arnold School alumni awards

The Arnold School of Public Health is seeking nominations to recognize outstanding alumni with 2021 awards in two categories: those who graduated prior to 2011 and those who graduated in 2011 or later.

Research shows Office for the Study of Aging's Dementia Dialogues® program works

After remodeling the curriculum for Dementia Dialogues® in 2019, researchers in the Office for the Study of Aging evaluated the program's effectiveness, finding that participants increased their knowledge and were highly satisfied with the trainings.

Nominate extraordinary Arnold School students for master's and doctoral achievement awards

The Arnold School is full of outstanding students. Help us recognize one master's and one doctoral student with our achievement awards by submitting your nomination through March 1.

I Am Public Health: Zac Hart

Environmental health sciences student earns Ph.D. to combine passion for protecting the environment with the science of environmental health communication in educating the public on the importance of healthy coasts and oceans.

Gabriel Benavidez awarded funding to conduct COVID and Anti-Racism Pilot Project

Ph.D. in Epidemiology student Gabriel Benavidez is collaborating with three other members from his cohort to lead a Health Policy Research Scholars COVID and Anti-Racism Pilot Project with support from a $35K grant from the program.

Three Arnold School doctoral students win 2021 Breakthrough Graduate Scholar Awards

Jacob Barber (EXSC), Jennifer Mandelbaum (HPEB) and Gabriella Reynolds (COMD) were chosen from nominations across the university for their classroom excellence, research/scholarship contributions and potential for future success.

Assistant professors Elizabeth Crouch (HSPM), Bankole Olatosi (HSPM) and Glenn Weaver (EXSC) named 2021 Breakthrough Stars

They are among just 12 faculty members across the university to receive 2021 Breakthrough Star Awards for exceeding expectations in their fields, demonstrating exceptional potential and making outstanding contributions to research and scholarship.

Office of Research honors 2021 Breakthrough Award recipients

The UofSC Office for the Vice President of Research has announced the 2021 Breakthrough Awards winners. Seven of the 30 faculty and student recipients claim the Arnold School as their home.

Xiaoming Li wins 2021 Breakthrough Leadership in Research Award from the Office of the Vice President for Research

Health promotion, education, and behavior professor Xiaoming Li is one of just five faculty from across UofSC to receive a 2021 Breakthrough Leadership in Research Award from the Office of the Vice President for Research.

Can periodontal antibodies predict Alzheimer's disease? Anwar Merchant investigates with new NIH-funded project

Professor of epidemiology Anwar Merchant has been awarded $400K from the National Institute on Aging. He will use the grant to examine the relationship between four groups of antibodies against periodontal microorganisms and Alzheimer's disease.

Lab offers resources and services for analytical and research support

Need analytical or technical resources to support your research? Led by environmental health sciences associate professor Mohammed Baalousha, the Environmental Nanoscience and Analytics Laboratory offers one-of-a-kind facilities and services.

Doctoral candidate Karlen Correa Vélez wins international award for Vibrio bacteria research

Karlen Correa Vélez, a doctoral candidate in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences, won the Aleksandr Savchuk Foundation Award at the 2020 International Symposium on Human Health and the Ocean in a Changing World.

Public health graduate wins 2021 Social Justice Award

Inspired by the #BlackLivesMatter protests, Jay Urich (a December graduate of the B.S. in Public Health program and a student-athlete) carried a sign with "Matter is the Minimum" and started a non-profit for underprivileged children.

Roozbeh Behroozmand receives $3.6 million from NIH to enhance research on brain damage and speech impairment

With renewed support from the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, associate professor Roozbeh Behroozmand will continue his study on how brain damage causes speech impairment in stroke survivors with aphasia.

Register now for the 2021 Virtual Big Data Health Science Conference February 5-6

This year's theme will focus on Unlocking the Power of Big Data: Bringing Innovation into Improved Care and Prevention. Learn about the conference schedule, speakers, student competition (January 29-31), registration (only $25), and more.

Staff Spotlight: Christy Smith, Director of Graduate Student Services

Smith's team is responsible for recruitment, admissions and student services for all Arnold School graduate students. They work closely with the academic units, UofSC Graduate School and Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health.

Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior Professor Emerita Ruth Saunders wins alumni award for lifetime achievement

Ruth Saunders as been awarded the Psychology Department Distinguished Lifetime Achievement Award at her undergraduate alma mater, Clemson University, for her 30-plus-year career of exemplary research and practice.

Biostatistics assistant professor Feifei Xiao wins grant to examine lung cancer at the genetic level

The National Human Genome Research Institute has awarded $426K to Feifei Xiao to examine the links (e.g., disease risk and mechanisms) between copy number variation and lung cancer.

I Am Public Health: Xizhi Luo

Biostatistics student pursues Ph.D. to advance the fields of cancer genomics (i.e., the genetic basis for cancer development) and clinical trial design for research that examines the impact of drugs/treatment.

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