Fanghui Shi (Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior)
Fanghui Shi is a Ph.D. student at the Department of Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior. And she is working under the supervision of Dr. Xiaoming Li. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Preventive medicine from Shanghai JiaoTong University, China. Her research interest is leveraging advanced epidemiological designs and methods to investigate the structural barriers (e.g., structural racism and transportation barriers) to optimal health outcomes among people with HIV (PWH) at the population level. Additionally, she is interested in linking the electronic health records data, publicly available geospatial data, and questionnaire survey data and leveraging data mining methods to better understand social determinants of health disparities among PWH.
Sarah Miller (Psychology)
Sarah Miller is a fourth year PhD student in Psychology with a concentration in School Psychology and a minor in Quantitative Psychology. Her research focuses on supporting the physical and mental health needs of young people with stigmatized health conditions including HIV and Opioid Use Disorder (OUD). Her work emphasizes improving prevention efforts, stigma reduction, and increasing care access and engagement for these populations. Within CHQ, Sarah is working with Drs. George Tam and Xueying Yang on a project investigating the perspectives of men living with HIV on whether their sexual partners should use pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV prevention.
Wendy Chu (Psychology)
Wendy is a PhD Candidate in Clinical-Community Psychology. She uses qualitative and quantitative methods to understand the lived experiences of marginalized communities and the systems in which they are embedded. Her research draws from theories/frameworks from community psychology, clinical psychology, and dissemination and implementation science. Through community-engaged research, Wendy aims to improve the access to and quality of culturally responsive mental health services. As a CHQ Scholar, Wendy is mentored by Dr. Sayward Harrison and Dr. Cheuk Chi (George) Tam.
Yunqing Ma (Epidemiology and Biostatistics)
Yunqing Ma is a third-year PhD candidate from Biostatistics. He is working under the supervision of Dr. Jiajia Zhang. Yunqing’s research interests include missing data imputation, functional data analysis, modern machine learning, natural language processing, and longitudinal data analysis. Yunqing also focuses on the statistical applications regarding HIV prevention and intervention and racial discriminations. As a CHQ junior scholar, he is mentored by Drs. Jiajia Zhang and Peiyin Hung.
Camyrn Garrett(Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior)
Camryn Garrett is a third-year doctoral student in the department of Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior. She previously earned her master’s in public health and bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia. Her research interests focus on the health of sexual and gender minorities, people living with HIV, and those living in rural settings. Additionally, she is interested in the role of technology and social media in the lived experiences of these populations. As a CHQ junior scholar, under the mentorship of Dr. Zhenlong Li and Dr. Shan Qiao, Camryn is investigating regional sentiments and health outcomes, as associated with substance use, using data extracted from social media.
Haoyuan Gao (Epidemiology and Biostatistics)
Haoyuan Gao is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics. Haoyuan’s research interests including survival analysis and longitudinal analysis. She applies statistical methods to electronic health record data, longitudinal data, survey data, or other aggregate-level data to address real world questions and suggesting clinical decisions, health promotion actions, and health policy. Her application interests focus on chronic diseases, people living with HIV (PLWH) and COVID-19. Specifically, her recent projects focus on the COVID-19 vaccine and cardiovascular diseases among PLWH. As a CHQ Scholar, Haoyuan is working with Drs. Xueying Yang and Banky Olatosi.
Julisa Tindall (Social Work)
Julisa Tindall is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and third-year PhD candidate at the University
of South Carolina College of Social Work. She received her BA in Psychology with a minor in Coaching and Spanish from the College of Charleston in Charleston, SC, and earned her MSW with a Family Practice Certificate at Tulane University in New Orleans, LA. Prior to starting her Ph.D. studies, Julisa worked mainly in the behavioral health and substance use realm. She worked as an Addiction Patient Navigator and Social Worker within the Psychiatry Department at Ochsner Health System in New Orleans, LA, and then as a Clinical Counselor at Rock Hill Treatment Center, a methadone clinic in Rock Hill, SC. Julisa’s research interest focuses on the health disparities African American women experience and their impact on African American women’s maternal and mental health.
Mariajosé Paton (Psychology)
Mariajosé J. Paton, M.A. is a Ph.D. Candidate in Clinical-Community Psychology at the University of South Carolina, currently completing an APPIC predoctoral internship in HIV & LGBTQ Health Disparities at the Medical College of Georgia (MCG) at Augusta University. Her research aims to advance health equity for marginalized populations, particularly racial and ethnic minorities (REMs), sexual and gender minorities (SGMs), and youth. Rooted in developmental, empowerment, and feminist theories, her primary line of research seeks to address the social determinants of health impacting HIV treatment and prevention. Her CHQ Junior Scholar Program project examines the mediating role of psychological flexibility, sense of community, and identity on the relationship between gender minority stress and depression for transgender individuals.