On Monday, April 17, 2017, nine distinguished USC Ph.D. candidates across various programs were honored at the Academic Honors Convocation for their superior research, dissertations, academic teaching abilities and strengthening the Trojan community.

Thomas Sapsford
Candidate: Ph.D., Classics
USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

The Mellon/ACLS Dissertation Completion Fellowship supports outstanding graduate students in the humanities and social sciences in finishing the final year of work on their Ph.D. dissertations. The highly competitive program is funded by a grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and recognizes only 65 scholars annually.

Thomas Sapsford, Candidate: Ph.D., Classics, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

A dedicated classicist and scholar, Thomas Sapsford analyzes performance in both Green and Roman contexts. His dissertation, “The Life of the Kinaidoi,“ considers the kinaidos/cinaedus, a figure in classical literature noted for effeminacy and the breaking of social taboos. Studying its cultural significance across Greek, Roman, and Greco-Roman Egyptian settings, he has unearthed a popular performance tradition associated with this archetype, which impacts on discussions of ancient sexuality and notions of sexual orientation in the classical world.

Before entering academia, Thomas earned acclaim as a professional dancer and choreographer.

Stephanie Canizales
Candidate: Ph.D., Sociology
USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

The Ford Foundation Dissertation Fellowship honors doctoral candidates committed to a future of outstanding teaching and research, while embracing diversity as a resource for enriching the education of all students. A coveted distinction, this fellowship is awarded to just 35 recipients each year.

Stephanie Canizales, Candidate: Ph.D., Sociology, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

Stephanie Canizales possess a passion for community outreach, as evinced by her impressive body of work as a social scientist and researcher. Her dissertation focuses on the experiences of Central American and Mexican youth who arrive to Los Angeles as unaccompanied minors, and examines their transition into adulthood in changing social, cultural, economic, and political contexts. Throughout her academic career, she has sought to broaden our understanding of youth migration and immigrant integration, as she helps define social membership for future generations.

Founded in 1897, Phi Kappa Phi is the oldest interdisciplinary honor society at USC. It recognizes scholarship and awards prizes annually to graduate and undergraduate students for creative and scholarly achievements.

Jotheeswari Kothandaraman, Candidate: Ph.D., Chemistry, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

Article: “Conversion of Carbon Dioxide from Air into Methanol Using a Polyamine and Homogeneous Ruthenium Catalyst”

Jotheeswari Kothandaraman is helping advance humanity’s response to climate change – a phenomenon driven by the increase of carbon dioxide concentration in Earth’s atmosphere due to emissions from fossil fuels – as evidenced by her role as first author of a scholarly article published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society. Co-sponsored by a team at the USC Loker Hydrocarbon Research Institute that included the late Nobel laureate George Olah, as well as her mentor, G.K. Surya Prakash, she described a system for the production of methanol fuel from carbon dioxide in various sources. For the first time, she and her colleagues demonstrated that carbon dioxide captured from the air can be directly converted to methanol in a 79 percent yield using a homogenous catalytic system.

Brian Pak Yan Leung, Candidate: Ph.D., Neuroscience, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

Project:“High Dimensional Analysis of the Myeloid Landscape in Neurodegenerative Diseases”

Aided by a grant from the National Science Foundation, Brian Pak Yan Leung’s innovative research in computation immunology has resulted in the application of exciting new methods for identifying and treating diseases. Working in Professor Terrence Town’s laboratory at USC, Brian collaborated with Professor Burkhard Becher of the Institute of Experimental Immunology at the University of Zurich. He utilized a process called mass cytometry to identify the specific cell types responsible for creating inflammatory lesions leading to chronic, progressive disabilities in patients with multiple sclerosis. This process combines a mass spectrophotometer with fluorescence-activated cell sorter analysis (FACS analysis), enabling scientists to compare up to 100 different probes at a single cell level and resolve cellular subtypes in human blood samples more effectively than any previous technique.

Darshana Sreedhar Mini
Ph.D. student, Cinema and Media Studies
USC School of Cinematic Arts

Darshana Sreedhar Mini, Ph.D. student, Cinema and Media Studies, USC School of Cinematic Arts

Article: “Public Interest Television and Social Responsibility:The Search for the Missing Person in Indian Television”

In a paper published in the International Journal of Digital Television, Darshana Sreedhar Mini examines an Indian television show, Pravasalokam (The World of Expatriates), which focuses on the plight of poor migrant workers from the south Indian state of Kerala who travel to the Middle East and subsequently go missing. While stories of Indian nationals working overseas usually focus on highly educated medical professionals or technical experts, Darshana’s work reveals the potential of televisual media to illuminate social issues and mobilize humanitarian efforts. She illustrates how the show blends elements of reality television programs with investigative journalism, and how it invites its audience to actively participate in locating migrant workers and reuniting them with their families – leading to the creation of the nonprofit organization dedicated to this mission.

Fiona Wang palaces her stellar academic work with a staunch commitment to community outreach as she pursues her doctorate in the USC Leventhal School of Accounting. During the first year of her program, she co-founded Team SixThirty, a nonprofit organization that works with civic and government leaders to build better cities through data analytics. As a part of this groups, she spearheaded a citywide conference that attracted more than 150 professionals and students to discuss the future of open data, analytics, and sustainable urban design.

Since she arrived on campus in 2009, Fiona has impressed the USC community with her outstanding academic achievements. She earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in four years, graduating with distinction as a USC Discovery Scholar. Above all, Fiona is proud to call herself a “loyal Trojan,” while envisioning her future as an advocate for students, in the same way that her professors and mentors inspired her own successes.

Jenna Ross, Candidate: Ph.D., History, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

Jenna Ross models professionalism, accessibility, and empathy as a teaching assistant in the USC Dornsife College. A natural teacher, she has shown exemplary initiative and resourcefulness in the classroom and beyond. She combines a keen intellect and solid command of her field with an extraordinarily warm and approachable personality, as well as a playful sense of humor. By breaking down and communicating complex topics with helpful visual aids and stimulating small group discussions, Jenna fosters a stable and organized atmosphere built on crystal-clear expectation and a genuine sense of eager anticipation. Her approach enhances productivity while retaining a high academic standard, allowing students to worry less about logistics and focus more on learning.

Kamia Smith, Candidate: Ph.D., Materials Science and Engineering, USC Viterbi School of Engineering

Kamia Smith is a beloved figure among materials science students and faculty at the Viterbi School – a friendly, relatable, and guiding presence in an especially demanding discipline. Lauded by her graduate advisor as the best teaching assistant he has encountered in his entire three-decade career, Kamia maintains an extraordinary patience that facilitates effective and uplifting classroom interactions. This unique ability to connect with students on a personal level garners extremely favorable reviews of her teaching style. Her conscientious instruction and helpful demeanor are frequently noted on her highly positive end-of-semester evaluations, including one that offered this particularly impassioned assessment other performance: “Don’t change a thing!”

Saurov Syed
Candidate: Ph.D., Linguistics
USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Science

Saurov Syed, Candidate: Ph.D., Linguistics, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Science

A tremendously versatile and energetic teacher, Saurov Syed possess a special gift for inspiring students from a broad range of academic backgrounds. Thrice he has earned perfect evaluations spanning multiple courses and professors, proving himself a resourceful and widely admired classroom leader. His students applaud his thorough explanations of complex course material, a practice that ensures a deep and meaningful retention of the information presented in lectures and reading assignments. They extol his presentations as “amazing” and “mesmerizing,” while uniformly praising his exemplary work ethic. As they see it, he “expands the parameters of what someone in his position should be expected to do.”

Doctoral student Nicholas Goldenson conducts research as a member of the University of Southern California Health, Emotion, and Addiction Laboratory (USC-HEAL) and is a trainee in the USC Tobacco Center of Regulatory Science (USC TCORS).  His research is focused on understanding the determinants of e-cigarette appeal and dependence to provide the federal government with comprehensive data that will inform regulatory policies.

Creating comprehensive regulatory policy can be a fraught process in government, especially in response to new technology and products. Politics, private business, consumers, and media all seek to influence legislative outcomes, resulting in a murky and less than ideal decision making environment. Where does government turn for cutting-edge research and vetted information?

USC TCORS is one of 14 tobacco regulatory science centers nationwide doing their part to ensure government regulators and decision-makers have comprehensive data on which to build evidentiary-based policies to protect the health and well-being of the American people. Third-year PhD student, Nicholas Goldenson, is a member of the USC team working to ensure that the Federal Food and Drug Administration has the critical information to inform their activities regarding a new regulatory challenge, e-cigarettes.

With the guidance of his adviser Dr. Adam Leventhal, Assistant Professor of Preventive Medicine and Psychology, and faculty in the Department of Preventive Medicine, Goldenson is exploring the role flavorings play in e-cigarettes and how they influence consumer appeal of the product. E-cigarettes are often touted as a “safer” alternative to cigarettes given that users are not inhaling smoke or tar. However, e-cigarettes are still a fairly new phenomenon and the long-term effects of inhaling nicotine-filled vapor are unclear. Goldenson and TCORS are using their research to look at the broader context of addiction and how this new product, particularly the use of flavorings, may enhance their appeal.

“I’ve always been fascinated by people and wanting to understand their behavior,” Goldenson states. This curiosity led him to earn a bachelor of arts in psychology from the University of California, Los Angeles in 2009. Post-graduation, he continued using his psychology and research skills for the benefit of other vulnerable populations, including as a health scientist specialist at the Veterans’ Administration West Los Angeles Healthcare System. Working with a multidisciplinary team, his work at the VA focused on research studies to provide better services for veterans with mental illnesses.

Goldenson loves doing research and wishes to continue in post-doctoral research after completing his PhD. But what Goldenson really appreciates both about his work experience and his research at USC TCORS is that it’s clear how his work is linked to implementation – one can understand the context in which the research will be used. “TCORS allows for a lot of great training and collaboration opportunities,” Goldenson and several of his colleagues have attended conferences in Washington, D.C. where they shared the results of their work. The center is interdisciplinary and while his research focuses specifically on the user experience of the product, another research team is examining how the use of social media advertising may influence product popularity.

Ultimately, TCORS and Goldenson understand that behavior, decisions, addiction, and human outcomes do not occur in a vacuum. Providing comprehensive data means viewing the details and finding the linkages in the big picture to provide better solutions for overall public health.

The Graduate School hosted a Research and Fellowships Week panel on the applying for international research fellowships and opportunities. Current USC PhD students working on dissertations that require travel and research abroad offered this advice on applying:

Victoria Montrose is a current Fulbright Graduate Fellow 2015-16. She has also been offered a Japan Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship 2015-16 (declined for Fulbright) and was a Blakemore Freeman Fellow for Advance Language Study 2014-15.

I want to dispel the myth that you have to have the perfect proposal. The reviewers of your application know your research will morph.

Carolyn Choi dissertation project examines the expansion of global English education in Asia by comparing the experiences of adult South Korean educational migrants studying abroad in the developed country of United States and the developing country of the Philippines.

Utilize or organize writing groups within your department and workshop your application with your peers.

April Hovav is a PhD candidate in Sociology and Gender Studies. She was awarded the Social Science Research Council International Dissertation Research Fellowship.

Have non-academics review your application to ensure that it is readable by everyone.

Sandra So Hee Chi Kim is a Ph.D. candidate in Comparative Literature with research specializations in critical ethnic studies and transcultural Korean/American studies.

Writing fellowship applications is not separate from your research project. They are mutually reinforcing and mutually beneficial.

For more Research and Fellowships Week activities, find the schedule at: http://ahf.usc.edu/rfw

The USC Graduate School has a lot of resources for students looking for fellowships. A Fellowships and Awards database was recently launched at http://awardsdatabase.usc.edu/.

The Graduate School hosted a Research and Fellowships Week panel on the National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship program. Current USC NSF PhD students and Graduate School staff offered this advice on why and how apply for this prestigious fellowship:

Ignacio Cruz, 2nd year, Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism, NSF Graduate Research Fellow.

Illustrate in your application an interdisciplinary approach to your research.

Kate Tegmeyer
Assistant Director – USC the Graduate School

Remember the NSF is funding the researcher, so there is some flexibility in the topic and evolution of your research.

Rebecca Gotlieb is a PhD student in USC’s Rossier School of Education and affiliated with the USC Brain and Creativity Institute

Get a lot of feedback on your application and focus on telling a cohesive story that connects your research to your personal statement.

Wilka Carvalho received a National Science Foundation Fellowship in Neuroscience

Explain how you give the research community a new perspective to influence and view to their own and future research.

Laura Corrales-Diaz Pomatto is a fifth-year PhD Candidate at the USC Davis School of Gerontology.

The NSF has opened new doors and given me credibility to get further funding for postdoc research opportunities.

 

 

 

Meredith Drake Reitan
Associate Dean – USC the Graduate School

 

In August, we host an intensive fellowship writing Boot Camp, this is followed in October with faculty led proposal review clinics and a networking event in January for all students who applied for external funds.  We are also happy to put applicants in touch with awardees and we often visit programs and schools to talk about funding options.

The National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program supports outstanding graduate students in STEM and Social Sciences who are pursuing research-based Master’s and doctoral degrees at accredited U.S. Institutions.

The USC Graduate School has a lot of resources for students looking for fellowships. A Fellowships and Awards database was recently launched at http://awardsdatabase.usc.edu/.

On April 21st, 2016, the USC Graduate School hosted the eighth annual USC Annenberg Graduate Fellowship Research & Creative Project Symposium. Students from Annenberg, Viterbi, and Cinematic Arts all came together to showcase their research for all to see! Check out some of the photos from this awesome event and remember to join us next year!