Graduate Student Scholar in Aging

Kiani Jacobs is a doctoral student in Exercise Science. Her research in the Foundations of Lipids and Exercise (FLEX) laboratory focuses on the effects of exercise training on cardiometabolic traits and aging-related diseases. Her research goal is to contribute to the implementation of exercise as a standard form of medicine through her work that has the power to inform clinical practices, enhance population health, and reduce age-related health disparities. Ms. Jacobs obtained a bachelor’s degree in Exercise Science from Simmons University. She is a trainee in the USC’s Behavioral-Biomedical Interface Program (BBIP), a NIH T32 pre-doctoral research training program, and received the Presidential Fellowship, the most prestigious graduate student award at the USC.

Cara Vandergriff
Cara Vandergriff, MA, MS, CCC-SLP is a PhD candidate in Communication Sciences and Disorders at the University of South Carolina. She holds a Master of Arts in Writing and Linguistics from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville (2013) and a Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology from Western Kentucky University (2018). After obtaining the Certificate of Clinical Competence in Speech-Language Pathology (CCC-SLP), Cara gained over 5 years of experience working as a medical SLP across a range of sub-acute settings in her home state of Tennessee, as well as in Georgia and Oregon. Cara’s clinical interest in techniques and tools to promote independence and connection among clients with cognitive-linguistic disorders intersects with current research projects in the Arnold School of Public Health’s Aging Gracefully Lab, under the direction of ASHA Fellow Dr. Jean Neils-Strunjas. These include inquiries into optimizing health literacy, building age-distributed networks, and enhancing evidence-based interventions for individuals with neurocognitive disorders. When not in the lab or classroom, Cara can often be found at the Lourie Senior Resource Center, where she volunteers as a line dance instructor. An avid fly angler, she also enjoys fishing the rivers of Southern Appalachia in her free time.

Eric Mishio Bawa
Eric Mishio Bawa is a PhD student in Epidemiology at the Arnold School of Public Health. He is a Field Epidemiologist, with training from the Ghana Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Training Program (GFELTP). He is also a AHPC licensed Medical Laboratory Scientist. His core competencies as a field epidemiologist are surveillance system design and evaluation, surveillance data analysis, outbreak investigations, and manuscript writing. As a laboratory scientist, his responsibilities are testing, quality control and laboratory management. Currently, Eric is a Graduate Assistant (GA) at the Office of the Study of Aging (OSA).

Ally Hucek is a Ph.D. student in Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior, and the Certificate of Graduate Study in Aging program. Her research focuses on screening for social isolation among older adults and working with primary providers to address social isolation among older adults. In addition, her research interests further include preventive screenings for cancer by working as a Graduate Assistant for the Cancer Prevention and Control Research Network (CPCRN). Ms. Hucek attended the University of Kentucky, where she obtained a Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Public Health. She was awarded the Arnold School of Public Health Fellowship for the academic years 2021 – 2023 for her academic achievements and dedication to public health research.

Daniel Amobtiwon Amoatika is an epidemiology doctoral student in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics. Following the completion of his undergraduate degree in Nursing, Daniel pursued a master’s degree in Epidemiology and Disease control. He was actively involved in outbreak investigations, especially re-occurring infections among the aged, in Ghana.  Findings from the study on HIV diagnosis in the Upper West region of Ghana further brought to light the unique challenges associated with HIV diagnoses and aging, and deepened his interest in HIV and aging research. Daniel’s current focus is to understand the coping strategies associated with higher antiretroviral adherence among older living with HIV; to better understand the relationship between race/ethnicity and gender; the antiretroviral adherence among older adults living with HIV; and how best we can improve the prognosis and life expectancy of older adults living with HIV.

Mr. Prasun Kumar Dev started his undergraduate studies in the field of computer science. His inclination towards the application of computational analysis in real-world problems inspired him to pursue a master’s degree in bioinformatics. After concluding his masters, Mr. Dev worked in the field of cancer genomics, where he further developed interest in prevention research; and now, his primary focus is to understand the molecular aspect of exercise and aging. Mr. Dev enjoys playing cricket and badminton and learning photography.

Katherine is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Exercise Science.  She is interested in behavioral interventions targeting physical activity, sedentary behavior and weight loss. Katherine was awarded the Graduate Scholar in Aging Award in 2020 to support her research on examining the agreement between accelerometers used to measure sedentary behavior and physical activity among older adults who have had knee replacement surgery.

Samenah Nemati

Radhika Ranganathan is an MSPH student (Epidemiology). Her role in perioperative cardiac care as a physician assistant has driven her interest pursuing an advanced graduate degree at the University of South Carolina. She is interested in examining the “Variations in Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) constructs by rural-urban status in elderly population with a cardiac/cerebrovascular event”, using the nationally representative behavioral risk factor surveillance system.

Kelsey Day