Faculty
Raina Pang, PhD
Associate Professor of Research Population and Public Health Sciences
About Raina Pang, PhD
Dr. Pang’s research interest lies in understanding sex/gender differences and women-specific factors in substance use and other health risk behaviors (e.g., eating). Dr. Pang completed a postdoctoral fellowship for mentored training in behavioral pharmacology and laboratory-based menstrual cycle studies and mentored K01 with training in Ecological Momentary Assessment. Currently, Dr. Pang is PI on projects investigating perinatal tobacco use, adolescent eating behavior, and alcohol use across the menstrual cycle.
Raina Pang, Ph.D.
Director
Associate Professor of Research
- rpang@usc.edu
- 323-442-7251
- Soto Street Building 312E
Dr. Pang is an Assistant Professor of Research in the Department of Preventive Medicine in the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California and a member of the USC Norris Cancer Center. She earned her B.S. in Psychology at the University of Oregon, PhD in Neuroscience at the University of Southern California, and completed a TRDRP postdoctoral fellowship at the Health, Emotion, and Addiction Laboratory at the University of Southern California.
Dr. Pang’s interdisciplinary psychosocialbiology research program utilizes human behavioral pharmacology and ecological momentary assessment (EMA) methods to investigate mechanisms underlying tobacco related health disparities (e.g., sex/gender differences, female-specific factors, psychiatric comorbidity). This interdisciplinary research carries direct clinical relevance because it will improve our understanding of tobacco addiction in females and individuals with co-morbid psychiatric disorders, and also bears translational relevance to the development of neuroendocrine-based pharmacotherapies to reduce smoking.
Staff & Volunteers
Project Specialist
About Hannah Ruck
Hannah Ruck graduated from the University of Texas at Austin where she earned her Bachelor of Arts in Spanish and a certificate in pre-medicine. Her undergraduate research includes studying the Latino Health Paradox and its outcomes on women’s health for Latina populations in Texas. She is passionate about women’s health and health equity. Her lifetime goal is to become a licensed physician. In her free time, she loves to read, go to the beach, watch sports, and spend time with family and friends.
Project Assistant
About Nicole St. Denis
Nicole St. Denis graduated from the University of Portland with a B.S. in Integrative Health & Wellness. At the University of Portland, Nicole was a research assistant on an Integrative Review identifying and describing current definitions and instruments used to measure nurse well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic. Her research interests include women’s health, biopsychosocial model of chronic disease, and the vagus nerve. Nicole’s future goals include receiving an MPH in Epidemiology. Outside of research, she enjoys camping, pottery, road trips, and spending time with family and friends.
Research Coordinator
About Mikayla Ragsdale
Mikayla Ragsdale graduated from Temple University earning a B.S in Public Health and a Master of Public Health in Social and Behavioral Sciences. She completed her graduate fieldwork investigating the effects of tobacco use, prevention, and control measures which expanded her passion in research, advocacy, and community-based outreach. Her professional background includes contributing to the COVID-19 Containment Division, where she focused on supporting, educating, and implementing disease prevention and control plans during and after the COVID-19 outbreak. Her research interests include child and adolescent health, health behavior, disease prevention and maternal health. In her free time, she enjoys working out, traveling, watching sports, and spending time with family and friends.
Volunteer Research Assistant
alagoz@usc.edu
About Jasmine Alagoz
Jasmine Alagoz is an undergraduate at the University of Southern California studying Health Promotion and Disease Prevention. Her research interests include socioeconomic disparities in women’s health, infertility, and healthcare accessibility in Los Angeles. In her free time, Jasmine loves to spend time with her family and friends, travel, cook, and write. In the future, Jasmine hopes to become a physician and work in underserved communities.
Volunteer Research Assistant
korkowsk@usc.edu
About Skyler Korkowski
Skyler Korkowski is an undergraduate student at the University of Southern California studying Cognitive Science and International Relations. Her research interests include women’s cognitive and emotional health, healthcare policy, and global health security. In her free time, Skyler loves to travel, paint, explore the outdoors, and cook with her friends. She hopes to attend graduate school and work in the global health and legal fields.
Frequent Collaborators
Matthew Kirkpatrick, PhD mgkirkpa@usc.edu
Associate Professor of Research Population and Public Health Sciences
Casey Guillot, PhD
Casey.Guillot@unt.edu
Assistant Professor
