May 24, 2021 | Erin Bluvas, bluvase@sc.edu
The Arnold School’s Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Catalyst Program partnered with Discover UofSC 2021 to host two MCH-focused contests for participants in the annual university-wide research event. Students planning to submit an abstract and/or iPoster presentation to Discover UofSC were invited to submit their work to the MCH competitions if their research focused on the health and well-being of mothers, infants, children and/or adolescents.
Three undergraduate students and three graduate students were selected as winners of the iPoster presentation contest. These individuals won cash prizes of $150, $100 and $75 for first, second and third place, respectively.
iPoster Presentation Competition
Undergraduate Winners
|
Award |
Student |
Title |
Mentor |
|
First Place |
Samantha A. Johnson |
Are First-Time Mothers of ‘Advanced Maternal Age’ Actually ‘High Risk’?: A Systematic Examination of Clinical Research |
Emily S. Mann |
|
Second Place |
Brooke Wilson |
Gestational Weight Gain Not Associated with Arterial Stiffness in Post-Partum Women |
Abbi Lane-Cordova |
|
Third Place |
William Tucker |
Associations of Sodium Consumption and Endothelial Function in Women 6 months – 3 years After Delivery |
Abbi Lane-Cordova |
Graduate Winners
|
Award |
Student |
Title |
Mentor |
|
First Place |
Agnes G. Bucko |
Sleep and physical activity in 6-month-old children |
Russell Pate |
|
Second Place |
Amanda L. Elmore |
Prescription Opioid Use and Use of Medications for Opioid Use Disorder Among Women of Reproductive Age in the United States: NHANES, 2003-2018 |
Jihong Liu |
|
Third Place |
Maria McClam |
SC DHEC Maternal and Child Health Needs Assessment |
Lauren Workman |
Abstract Competition
Three undergraduate students and seven graduate students were selected as winners of the abstract contest. These individuals won cash prizes of $50 each.
Undergraduate Winners
|
Student |
Title |
Mentor |
|
Olivia Cancian |
Post-Pregnancy Weight Retention and Endothelial Function |
Abbi Lane-Cordova |
|
William Tucker |
Associations of Sodium Consumption and Endothelial Function in Women 6 months – 3 years After Delivery |
Abbi Lane-Cordova |
|
Brooke Wilson |
Gestational Weight Gain Not Associated with Arterial Stiffness in Post-Partum Women |
Abbi Lane-Cordova |
Graduate Winners
|
Student |
Title |
Mentor |
|
Ellie Cooper |
The Impact of Childhood Hearing Loss Diagnosis on Maternal Health Literacy and Well-Being |
Krystal Werfel |
|
Amanda L. Elmore |
Prescription Opioid Use and Use of Medications for Opioid Use Disorder Among Women of Reproductive Age in the United States: NHANES, 2003-2018 |
Jihong Liu |
|
Rongjie Huang |
Associations Between Food Insecurity and Pregnancy Outcomes in a Low-Income Population |
Stella Self |
|
Erin Kishman |
Sedentary and Physical Activity Time in Women During the First Year Postpartum |
Xuewen Wang |
|
Kaji Tamanna Keya-Korotki |
Quality of Maternal Health Care Services in Rural Bangladesh: A Quasi-experimental Study to Measure the Quality of Delivery Care Before and After the Introduction of a Maternal Health Voucher Scheme |
Mahmud Khan |
|
Katie Lynn |
Clinical, Molecular, and Epidemiologic Investigations of COVID-19 Transmission in the Peripartum/Postpartum and Perinatal/Postnatal Setting |
Melissa Nolan |
|
Chelsea Richard |
Maternal Longstanding Physical Disability and Increased Risk for Small for Gestational Age Infants: Is Prescription Opioid Use on the Causal Pathway? |
Suzanne McDermott |
The Arnold School’s MCH Catalyst Program was launched in 2020 with a five-year, $450K award from the Health Resources and Services Administration’s parent program. Led by epidemiology professor Jihong Liu, with support from epidemiology clinical associate professor Linda Hazlett, this program works with approximately 40 maternal and child health experts from across the Arnold School to bolster programming and training opportunities in this area.
In the fall semester of 2020, the MCH Catalyst Program announced its inaugural Maternal and Child Health Graduate Scholars. The call for proposals was permanently moved to Spring semester to provide Graduate Scholars with more time (12 months rather than nine) for project completion. In late spring 2021, the program selected another four students as graduate scholars:
An alumna of the Master of Public Health (MPH) in Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior (HPEB) program, Tiffany Byrd is now an HPEB doctoral student. Since graduating with an MPH in 2015, Byrd has worked on the New Morning Foundation‘s Choose Well Initiative, where as senior program manager, she collaborates with other organizations to reduce unintended pregnancies in South Carolina. As an MCH Graduate Scholar, she will examine the effects of COVID-19 on perceived social support among African American women during pregnancy and childbirth in the state.
Tianyue Mi is a Ph.D. in HPEB student who has a background in psychological and cognitive sciences from Peking University. Mi is a graduate assistant for the South Carolina SmartState Center for Healthcare Quality where she constructs models, analyzes statistical data, and develops manuscripts/presentations exploring the pathway from multiple coping mechanisms and physical/mental well-being. For her MCH Graduate Scholar project, Mi will conduct a longitudinal analysis of COVID-19 pandemic and postpartum care using electronic health records.
After studying experimental psychology at UofSC, Carly Moser conducted research in neurodevelopmental disorders full-time before enrolling in the Ph.D. in Communication Sciences and Disorders program. She currently serves as a graduate research assistant in the SC Family Experiences Lab, which aims to understand how communication features associated with autism and fragile X syndrome are shaped by genetic and physiological factors. As an MCH Graduate Scholar, Moser will examine the physiological linkage of mothers and their children with autism spectrum disorder.
Xingpei Zhao is a graduate of the Master of Science in Biostatistics program and a current student in her department’s doctoral program in the field. Working with the Rural and Minority Health Research Center, she builds and manages data systems for use in reducing disparities in infant mortality and adverse pregnancy outcomes for Prisma Health Midlands Heathy Start Program. For her MCH Graduate Scholar project, Zhao will research intimate partner violence and its association with antenatal depressive symptoms among pregnant women served by the Midlands Healthy Start Program.
Related:
Jihong Liu wins grant to advance Arnold School training and curriculum in maternal and child health