PROSPECTIVE STUDENT INFORMATION

Current Students Introduce Themselves

Name: Himal C. Dhotre
dhotre@mailbox.sc.edu
From: Born in India, grew up in Florida and now reside in Atlanta, GA.
Current degree: Master in Public Health in International Health, Emory University
Research interests: Infectious Diseases, Cancer, Nutrition
I am working on my Doctoral degree in Epidemiology and USC has a growing program. There is great faculty-to-student interaction available at USC. Also, the class sizes are small for a more productive learning environment. I also wanted to stay in the southeast and USC has the whole package. I'm fortunate to be attending the epidemiology program at the Arnold School of Public Health.

Name: Mike Smith
smithmg5@mailbox.sc.edu
From: Simpsonville SC
Current degree: BS in mathematics from Presbyterian College
Research interests: Competing risks in survival analysis
I chose USC because of the strength and commitment of the department and because of its location. Columbia is a great place with tons of opportunities.

Name: Anna L. Cass
cassa@mailbox.sc.edu
From: I grew up in Franklin, TN and now live in Greenville, SC
Current degree: MPH in Epidemiology and Biostatistics
Research Interests and why I chose USC: I chose USC because it had a well-established, quality public health program that I could be a part of while commuting from another city. Since beginning the doctoral program in Epidemiology at USC, I have begun to work at a hospital in Greenville. Consequently, my research interests have shifted to how epidemiology and biostatistics can be used to improve the quality of care in a hospital setting. Though I began as a full-time student in the program at USC, I appreciate how the program has allowed me to transition to part-time coursework.

Name: Kamala Swayampakala
kswayampakala@gmail.com
From: India
Current degree: Bachelor’s degree in Homoeopathic Medicine and Surgery
Research interests: Cancer Epidemiology and Nutritional epidemiology
Arnold School of Public Health (ASPH) was very grateful in offering me a seat after being displaced by the hurricane “Katrina”. The faculty members at ASPH are very helpful and supportive; the staff at the Department of Epidemiology is very cooperative. The students are very warm and friendly. Even though, I was an international student, joined here in the middle of the semester, I never had any difficulty in following the curriculum, courses and exams as the Faculty allocated their free time to explain the classes I missed so far. In summary, I have met great people, great faculty, and everyone has been so open and so helpful. It's been a really good experience at ASPH. There is diverse and extensive research going on in several different fields of Epidemiology at ASPH. I am particularly fascinated by the research works going on in Cancer epidemiology, Nutritional epidemiology and related projects that are under study by the faculty in India. The Master’s curriculum is very rigorous at ASPH and not only tests your subjective knowledge in each subject, but also tests the student’s knowledge and caliber in depth through progressive and comprehensive exams.
I am very happy for this opportunity of studying at this school.

Name: Deborah Hurley
hurleydm@dhec.sc.gov
From: Dayton, OH
Current degree: BS in Mathematics from Campbell University and  MSPH in Biostatistics from USC
Research interests: Epidemiological and Biostatistical Methods, Pediatric Epi, Psychological Epi and Cancer Epi
Why USC? Quality of the Program, Quality of the Faculty, Friendliness and Involvement of Faculty/Staff, Location, and Cocky [who wouldn't love this mascot?]

Name: Kristina Weis
weis@sc.edu
From: I grew up in Wauchula, FL, a small rural community
Current degree: MPH in Epidemiology from Emory University in 2003
Research interests: My interests are in infectious diseases and I hope to work internationally one day
I am just beginning my third year of my PhD, and I am just starting my dissertation work on HIV/AIDS. The program at USC is very strong in nutrition and chronic diseases and is currently expanding into other disciplines, which has encouraged me to explore other Epi fields. One of the main things that I like about the program at USC is that the faculty and staff are actively involved with students and their education.