Population and Public Health Sciences professors receive 2020 USC Mentoring Awards

Professors from the Department of Population and Public Health Sciences recently received 2020 USC Mentoring Awards. Raina Pang, PhD, Jessica Barrington-Trimis, PhD and Michael Cousineau, DPH were recognized for Faculty Mentoring Undergraduate Students, Faculty Mentoring Graduate Students, and Faculty Mentoring Faculty respectively.
Raina Pang’s research interest lies in understanding sex/gender differences and women specific factors in addiction. As part of these efforts, she has completed a postdoctoral fellowship investigating the interactive role of menstrual cycle and nicotine on response inhibition and smoking behavior using laboratory based behavioral pharmacology. Currently, she is Principle Investigator on a five year study aimed at understanding within and between subject effects of ovarian hormones on mood and smoking behavior across the menstrual cycle using ecological momentary assessment.
Jessica Barrington-Trimis is an epidemiologist and Assistant Professor in the Department of Population and Public Health Sciences at the University of Southern California, and faculty in the USC Health, Emotion, and Addiction Laboratory, and the USC Institute for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Research (USC-IPR). Dr. Barrington-Trimis completed her postdoctoral training at USC within the USC Tobacco Center of Regulatory Science prior to beginning her faculty position. She co-leads Project 3 of the USC TCORS with Dr. Rob McConnell. Dr. Barrington-Trimis’ research focuses on identifying behavioral and psychological factors associated with tobacco product use (including e-cigarette use) in adolescence and early adulthood, and the biobehavioral consequences of adolescent tobacco use.
Michael R. Cousineau is currently Clinical Professor in the Department of Population and Public Health Sciences and Family Medicine at USC. He has a joint appointment in the Sol Price School of Public Policy. He teaches in both the Masters in Public Health program and in the Professionalism and the Practice of Medicine. He attended U.C. Berkeley with an undergraduate degree in genetics and has a masters and a doctorate from the UCLA School of Public Health. His work focuses on health policy and health services and evaluation research, access to care for the low income uninsured, governance and operation of safety-net providers including public hospitals, community-based clinics and health centers; and health needs of vulnerable populations including homeless people. His work includes studying the impact of initiatives designed to expand health insurance to adults and children, the dynamics of insurance coverage decisions by small businesses, alternative governance of safety net hospitals, and the health and mental health needs of the homeless. He is an expert on the Patient Protection Affordable Care Act, having given over 30 talks on the new law to community and professional groups. He has been funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, The Center for Medicaid and Medicare Services, the U.S. Health Services and Services Administration, The California Endowment, the Office of Minority Health, Blue Shield Foundation, the California Healthcare Foundation, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He has published in Health Affairs, Medical Care, Public Health Reports, the American Journal of Public Health, Academic Medicine, and Health Services Research.