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Nine Arnold School graduate students earn 2015-2016 SPARC Graduate Research Grants to fund individual scholarship initiatives
February 3, 2016
Arnold School graduate students from the Departments of Exercise Science, Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior, Communication Sciences and Disorders, Epidemiology and Biostatistics, and Environmental Health Sciences have earned nine of the 2015-2016 SPARC Graduate Research Grants from the USC Office of the Vice President for Research. These students have 15 months to complete SPARC-funded projects (up to $5,000 each) that support the completion or promotion of their research, creative or other meritorious scholarship. Previous SPARC awards have been used by Arnold School students to fund projects, such as maximizing physical activity for children in after school programs and molecular diagnostic testing in lung cancer.
Upon completion, the students will present their findings at Graduate Student Day and are encouraged to develop articles and papers based on their projects for publication in scholarly journals. Before the actual projects even begin, however, the students have already learned about the competitive research proposal process that will continue throughout many of their careers. The Office of the Vice President for Research designs SPARC application materials to simulate the experience of applying for nationally competitive grants, helping applicants develop their skills in these areas. Students must supply the standard components of a comprehensive grant proposal package, such as a detailed research narrative, budget and other supporting documentation.
Congratulations to the following Arnold School graduate students who have earned 2015-2016 SPARC awards.
| Recipient Name | Department or Program | Project Title |
| Keith Brazendale | Exercise Science | A Pilot Study Investigating the Etiologyof Accelerated Weight Gain of ChildrenDuring Summer vs. School Year |
| Deeonna Farr | Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior | The Impact of False Positive Mammography Results on Breast Cancer Screening Intention in Black Women |
| Victoria Henbest | Communication Sciences and Disorders | Is a systematic analysis of spelling a valid measure of orthographic and phonological awareness skills in 1st grade students? |
| Junxiu Liu | Epidemiology and Biostatistics | Body Mass Index Trajectories in the First Year and Its Association with the Risk of Being Overweight or Obese at Six Years of Age in Children |
| Xiaonan Ma | Epidemiology and Biostatistics | Food Shopping Patterns and Associations with Obesity |
| Seyyedali Mirshahghassemi | Environmental Health Sciences | Evaluation of Polymer-Coated Magnetic Nanoparticles for Oil Separation from Oil-Water Mixture in Natural Waters |
| Ligia Reyes | Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior |
Understanding Mothers’ Food Choices on Behalf of Children Under Five in Rural Panama |
| Maria Sevoyan | Epidemiology and Biostatistics | Causal Effect of Colchicine Therapy on Renal Amyloidosis in Patients with Familial Mediterranean Fever |
| Jie Zhou | Epidemiology & Biostatistics | Joint Model of the CVD Mortality and Nonlinear Longitudinal Effect of Physical Activity |
