Goals

• Promote early exposure of graduate students from across various colleges and schools at the University of South Carolina to advanced research training.
• Enhance students’ essential experiences in education, research, and professional development.
• Cultivate students’ research interests in healthcare and population health.
• Increase interdisciplinary collaboration at the University of South Carolina.

Benefits

• One-on-one mentoring relationship with a CHQ faculty member.
• Hands-on research experience.
• Close interaction with other pre-doctoral and post-doctoral trainees at the CHQ.
• A supplementary stipend of $1,500 per semester (i.e., a total of $3,000 per year).
• Additional funds upon request (up to $1,500 per person per year) to help defray travel expenses for participating in a scientific conference or publishing research findings.

* The stipends are disbursed upon an evaluation of Junior Scholars’ milestones as declared in their contracts.

Responsibilities and Expectations of Junior Scholars

Education

• Maintain good academic standing in home department/program (i.e., GPA ≥ 3.5).
• Establish a mentoring team consisting of the scholar’s CHQ faculty mentor and other scholars to create individualized research goals.
• Actively participate in ASPH and CHQ training activities (e.g., seminars, colloquia, workshops).

Research

• Engage in an area of research mutually determined by the CHQ faculty mentor and junior scholar.
• Contribute as a leading author on at least one publishable manuscript developed in collaboration with the mentoring team.
• Present research findings at the annual CHQ Junior Scholar Symposium.
• Make at least one local, state, national, or international scientific presentation during the year.
• Improve grant writing skills through CHQ training and opportunities.

Professional Development

• Meet with CHQ faculty mentor each semester to review progress.
• Attend Junior Scholar professional development presentations (e.g., CHQ weekly seminar).
• Attend professional development presentations offered by ASPH and other university units.
• Collaborate with other pre-doctoral and post-doctoral trainees at CHQ.
• Network with experts in the field through CHQ’s network of researchers and community partners.

Areas of Interest

Junior Scholars will work closely with assigned CHQ faculty mentors to determine research areas under the program. Applicants are encouraged to identify research topics aligned with CHQ faculty mentors’ research agendas but may also propose their own. Below are CHQ’s research interest areas:

Clinical/Health-Specific Themes

• Community resilience/organizational resilience/stigma in the context of HIV and/or COVID.
• Clinical outcomes and comorbidities of people living with HIV during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Social media intervention for substance use and misuse, including prescription opioids.
• Biopsychosocial influences on substance use/misuse.
• Systematic and structural factors (e.g., transportation, housing vulnerability) affecting vulnerable populations (e.g., people living with HIV, perinatal individuals).
• COVID-19 testing, vaccine uptake, and effectiveness among people living with HIV.
• Clinical outcomes and prognosis of COVID-19.
• Psychosocial factors associated with HIV and aging.
• Challenges and strategies in the HIV treatment cascade (e.g., retention in care, viral suppression).
• Transition from pediatric-to-adult HIV care and its barriers and facilitators.
• Telehealth policy and maternal health outcomes.

Methodology Themes

• Harnessing geospatial (big) data for infectious diseases (Prerequisite: Basic GIS and statistical skills; Programming skills such as Python and a data science background are a plus).
• Spatial accessibility of healthcare and patient outcomes.
• Electronic Health Records (EHR) based data mining.
• Social media data for public surveillance and health-related analysis.
• Emerging technologies (e.g., ChatGPT, generative AI) for health studies.

Admission Criteria

The CHQ Junior Scholar Program is open to full-time doctoral students enrolled in any department/program at the USC-Columbia campus with research interests related to healthcare and population health. Qualified applicants must demonstrate:

• Enrollment as a full-time doctoral student.
• Strong academic record in coursework (GPA ≥ 3.5).
• Multidisciplinary research interests relevant to ASPH and CHQ research missions.
• Research experience and productivity.
• Compatibility of research interests with a CHQ faculty member.
• Strong scientific writing skills.

Application Procedure

Interested students should submit applications via the CHQ Webpage or via email to Dr. Cheuk Chi (George) Tam by March 15, 2025. The application package must include:

• Cover letter stating research interests and long-term career goals.
• Curriculum vitae.
• Academic graduate transcripts (student copies accepted).
• Letter of support/recommendation from the current doctoral program advisor.
• One sample of scientific writing (e.g., publication, class paper, etc.).

All completed applications will be evaluated based on admission criteria. Accepted Junior Scholars will begin enrollment on May 16, 2025. Students previously named CHQ Junior Scholars may reapply but are not guaranteed automatic renewal.

For additional inquiries, please contact Dr. Cheuk Chi (George) Tam.