Author: CHQ

Joi Anderson, Ph.D., LMSW
Dr. Joi Anderson earned her Ph.D. in Social Work research at the University of South Carolina, and received her Master’s Degree in Social Work (MSW) from Youngstown State University.  Her research interest is in the area of trauma-related cognitions and discontinuity of self as a response to trauma; and, how these factors influence future oriented behavior. Her current research interest is in development, implementation and evaluation of resilience based interventions to address trauma in populations living with HIV/AIDS and made vulnerable by parental HIV/AIDS.

Dr. Xiaoming Li (PI) and Dr. Bankole Olatosi (PI), in collaboration with Dr. Jianjun Hu, Dr. Sharon Weissman, and Dr. Jiajia Zhang, have secured an NIH project titled, “Big Data Analytics of HIV Treatment Gaps in South Carolina: Identification and Prediction” which is funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). The purpose of this study is to use novel machine learning techniques such as deep learning using neural networks to further explore, identify, characterize, and explain predictors of missed opportunities for HIV medical care utilization among all living HIV+ individuals in South Carolina.  Continue reading “New Funded Project: Big Data Analytics of HIV Treatment Gaps in South Carolina” →

Each year CHQ invites applicants to participant in its Junior Scholar Program, which is designed to promote early exposure of graduate students across various colleges and schools at the University of South Carolina. The purpose of the program is to advance research training and cultivate research interests for full-time doctoral students. Accepted students develop a one-on-one mentoring relationship with a CHQ faculty member and receive a supplementary stipend to participate in a scientific conference or to publish research findings. Two Junior Scholars from the 2016-2017 cohort, Keith Brazendale (pictured left) and Queenie Li (pictured right), were recently recognized for their research. Keith presented his project titled, “Physical Activity Counseling in Pediatric Primary Care: A Narrative Review” during the 2017 Childhood Obesity Conference in San Diego, CA. Queenie’s project titled, “Changing minds through communications: Utilization of theory to enhance village doctors’ willingness to treat people living with HIV/AIDS in rural China” was recently accepted for presentation at the 2017 Annual Meeting of the American Public Health Association (APHA) held in November.

Dr. Sayward Harrison will be presenting two posters at the 2017 Annual Meeting of the American Public Health Association (APHA), which will be held in Atlanta, Georgia in November. The first poster, “Improving Resilience for Children affected by HIV in China: School-based outcomes of the ChildCARE Intervention at 24-, 30-, and 36-months“, will provide results from an NIH-funded study of a resilience-based intervention for children affected by parental HIV. The second poster, “Implementing Diet and Nutrition Recommendations in Pediatric Primary Care: Challenges and Opportunities” is from a project funded by an ASPIRE grant from the University of South Carolina and seeks to understand how primary care providers are integrating obesity prevention into their practices.

Dr. LaDrea Ingram is a social behavioral scientist and community health educator. She earned her doctoral degree in Health Education & Behavioral Studies from Columbia University, Teachers College. She received a Master of Arts in Government with a concentration in social policy from Johns Hopkins University and a Master of Science in Health and Medical Policy from George Mason University. Her primary research interests include psychosocial determinates of health and health disparities. While at CHQ, LaDrea will focus her research on the cultural and social manifestations of HIV stigma in the Deep South.