Preventive Pros

Jane K. Steinberg, PhD, MPH is an Associate Professor in the Department of Population Sciences and Public Health in the Keck School of Medicine at USC. Trained as a behavioral scientist, her research focuses on determinants of multiple risk behaviors (alcohol/drug use, tobacco and cannabis use) among youth, and the development of effective programs and policy responses to reduce health risks and achieve health equity. Dr. Steinberg also serves as the Director of Public Health Practice for the department. She is currently a co-investigator on a HRSA workforce development grant to develop a career pipeline for MPH students into public health sector careers through scholarships, workforce training, mentorship and career placement opportunities. Dr. Steinberg received her B.A. in Psychology from the University of California, Davis, and her MPH and PhD in Community Health Sciences from the University California, Los Angeles.
Learn more about Trojan Scholars for Advancement in Public Health
More than a typical scholarship, Trojan Scholars for Advancement in Public Health is a merit-based scholarship and mentorship program that is aimed at training Master of Public Health students to attain knowledge and competencies that will enable them to secure positions in public health organizations that address health disparities and inequities among residents of Los Angeles County.

The program will provide full scholarship to select recipients that covers up to 42 units of tuition required to complete MPH training. Scholarship recipients will participate in an academic and career building mentorship program focused on core public health functions and social determinants of health.

As part of their training, MPH students will complete an applied practice experience (practicum) in one of the partner organizations that serve areas of Los Angeles County with high proportions of health disparities and underserved residents.

Learn more about the Master of Public Health Program

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Marlena Schoenberg Fejzo, PhD is a medical scientist whose research focuses on conditions and diseases that primarily affect women. As part of a team of researchers from the United States, United Kingdom and Sri Lanka, she has collected extensive evidence showing the cause of pregnancy sickness: a hormone known as GDF15.
Fejzo received a PhD in Genetics from Harvard University in 1995. Currently she works in the Center for Genetic Epidemiology at the University of Southern California and Materna Biosciences, Inc. She has published peer-reviewed scientific articles on ovarian cancer, breast cancer, multiple sclerosis, and discovered the first genes associated with uterine fibroids, nausea and vomiting of pregnancy, and hyperemesis gravidarum.
Fejzo is a science advisor and board member for the Hyperemesis Education and Research Foundation, an extensive resource for patients and providers.

• Resources for mothers
• Resources for friends and family
• Resources for providers

Read the press release
Fejzo has been named one of Time magazine's 2024 'Women of the Year'

Support Dr. Fejzo's research

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Ans Irfan, MD, EdD, DrPH, ScD MPH, MRPL, associate professor of population and public health sciences in the Department of Population and Public Health Sciences at Keck School of Medicine of USC, examines the role society and policies play in climate change, the need to confront the big questions, and how we might adjust our approach to improve humanity's outcome.

Irfan’s research questions things that are normalized within neoliberalized academy by applying the decolonial lens to re-think existing global environmental research, teaching, and practice paradigms; especially within the climate justice context. Irfan developed and teaches PM 599: Social Dimensions of Climate Change in a Sustainable World, which introduces students to a wide range of climate health areas, including the foundations of climate science, climate justice, climate coloniality, climate vulnerability, politics of climate change, geoengineering, and climate ethics, and climate communications. His mission is for students to actively contribute to social mobilization around climate change by developing climate and science communications skills and generating public scholarship to raise awareness and mobilize climate action.

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The late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was known for her profound influence on rulings around gender equality, anti-discrimination, healthcare access and policy, and other issues impacting the health of individuals and communities. In this two-part episode, we’re invited to attend class with Professor Michael Cousineau to hear from a panel of knowledgeable guests discussing her legacy. Part one features a moving tribute and Professor Ariela Gross from USC Gould School of Law on Justice Ginsburg’s iconic career and key cases she was involved in.

Monika Howe is a double alumnus of USC, earning a BA in Health Promotion and Disease Prevention in 2018, and a Master of Public Health in 2020. She has been involved in many projects in the Department of Preventive Medicine, and her background has focused on harm reduction practices, opioid drug use research, syringe exchange access and health education.