University of Sourthern California

MASTER OF PUBLIC HEALTH (MPH) ONLINE

Meet the MPH Online Faculty

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MPH Program Director

Mellissa Withers

Amie E. Hwang, PhD, MPH

Dr. Hwang is a public health researcher and cancer epidemiologist with research focus on utilizing innovative, population-based strategies to address burden of cancer among young people. She is actively involved in multiple national initiatives on pediatric cancer research. She has been at the forefront of the development of NCI National Childhood Cancer Registry (NCCR), a major public health surveillance resource for pediatric cancer. She co-leads Children’s Oncology Group (COG) Long Term Follow-Up Center, COG’s longest survivorship protocol. She also has an extensive experience in conducting population-based cancer surveillance.

MPH Program Associate Director

Mellissa Withers

Farzana Choudhury – PhD, MBBS

Dr. Choudhury is a trained epidemiologist with more than 10 years of knowledge and experience from clinical, statistical, and epidemiologic backgrounds. Her research interest includes general and ocular epidemiology. More specifically, Dr. Choudhury is interested in assessing patient-reported outcomes of ocular conditions across population groups with different access to health care, globally and locally. During her PhD, she performed her research on age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in Latinos, focusing on the risk factors associated with this potentially irreversible condition and understanding the impact of the disease on quality of life. Dr. Choudhury’s past work experience includes working as an obstetrician and a public health care physician in South Asia and a biostatistician in the United States.

Message from the Director

Welcome to USC public health community. Whether you're just starting your journey or returning to continue your studies, this is a community to learn and grow together. Public health is one of the most powerful ways to create real, lasting change locally and globally. It’s about improving lives—sometimes in big, visible ways, and often in quieter, behind-the-scenes work that helps entire communities thrive. The challenges are real, but so is the impact. USC MPH Program equips students not just with facts and figures, but with a way of seeing the world—critically, compassionately, and with a systems-level understanding of how health is shaped by biology, behavior, environment, and society. This program is more than just coursework. It’s a space to grow, to ask hard questions, to connect with others who care deeply about making a difference. You’ll learn from faculty who are not only experts in their fields, but who care deeply about your development. You’ll be encouraged to think critically, act ethically, and lead with empathy. Take advantage of every opportunity—inside the classroom and out. Collaborate, volunteer, explore research, and lean on each other. The field of public health thrives on collaboration, and the connections you build here will carry you far.

Meet the MPH Online Program Faculty

Photo of Theresa Bastain, PhD, MPH

Theresa Bastain, PhD, MPH

Assistant Professor of Clinical Preventive Medicine Core Courses

Photo of Rita Velikina Burke, PhD

Rita Velikina Burke, PhD

Assistant Professor of Research Surgery & Preventive Medicine Core Courses

Photo of Farzana Choudhury, PhD, MPH

Farzana Choudhury, PhD, MPH

Assistant Professor of Research Ophthalmology Core Courses

Photo of Victoria Cortessis, PhD

Victoria Cortessis, PhD

Associate Professor of Clinical Preventive Medicine

Photo of Sue Ingles, DrPH

Sue Ingles, DrPH

Associate Professor of Preventive Medicine Biostatistics/Epidemiology Concentration

Photo of Roksana Karim, MD, PhD

Roksana Karim, MD, PhD

Associate Professor of Clinical Preventive Medicine Core Courses Biostatistics/Epidemiology Concentration

Photo of Sue Kim, PhD, MPH

Sue Kim, PhD, MPH

Assistant Professor of Clinical Preventive Medicine Core Courses Health Services and Policy Concentration

Photo of Shubha Kumar, PhD, MPH

Shubha Kumar, PhD, MPH

Director, Master of Public Health Online Program

Photo of Eunjung Lee, PhD

Eunjung Lee, PhD

Assistant Professor Research Preventive Medicine

Photo of Jane Steinberg, PhD, MPH

Jane Steinberg, PhD, MPH

Assistant Professor of Clinical Preventive Medicine Community Health Promotion Concentration Core Courses

Photo of Daniel Soto, Ed.D, MPH

Daniel Soto, Ed.D, MPH

Assistant Professor Of Clinical Population and Public Health Sciences

Photo of Melissa Wilson, PhD, MPH

Melissa Wilson, PhD, MPH

Assistant Professor of Research Preventive Medicine Core Courses

Photo of Mellissa Withers, PhD, MHS

Mellissa Withers, PhD, MHS

Associate Professor, Core Courses, Global Health Concentration

Photo of Thomas William Valente, PhD

Thomas William Valente, PhD

Professor of Population and Public Health Sciences

Our faculty do more than work in public health.
They lead it.

The faculty who lead our online MPH program are among the most highly regarded educators and public health professionals in the world. Not only are they vocal participants in the dialogue regarding disease control, they are also committed to modernizing preventive care measures and invested in implementing health care practices and promoting health care education that creates healthier communities. Researchers in the Department of Preventive Medicine have been recognized worldwide for their studies in biostatistics, bioinformatics, epidemiology, environmental health, health behavior and prevention, detection and treatment methods.

They are widely sought for peer review and advisory activities and participate in diverse committees of:

The National Institutes of Health

The Institute of Medicine and the National Research Council

The World Health Organization

The Environmental Protection Agency and the Food and Drug Administration

In addition to the groundbreaking research within each division, many faculty members are affiliated with the USC Institute for Global Health and the Institute for Health Promotion & Disease Prevention.