
Arnold School of Public HealthAt a Glance
The University of South Carolina Arnold School of Public Health is educating the next generation of public health practitioners, educators and researchers dedicated to improving community health and advancing disease prevention.
The Arnold School — one of the nation’s first schools of public health — is the only school of public health in South Carolina that meets comprehensive accreditation requirements. For 50 years, it has been South Carolina’s go-to resource, partner and leader in public health research and education. What’s more, the Arnold School has earned recognition as one of the nation’s leading research institutions, ranking in the top 5 among all public universities in funding from the National Institutes of Health.
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USC professor advocates for better maternal, postpartum health care
USC researchers are tackling the issues that underlie the women’s health care gap. Jihong Liu, professor of epidemiology in the Arnold School of Public Health, studies the impact of maternal health care for women and their children. While one branch of her research focuses on developmental origins of disease, Liu also examines how a woman’s experiences during pregnancy can affect her own health for a lifetime.
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USC exercise scientist strives to make health research more inclusive
USC researchers are tackling the issues that underlie the women’s health care gap. In the Arnold School of Public Health, assistant professor Katie Hirsch is working to address the research shortage. Traditionally, scientific research took findings based on the ‘typical’ male body and extrapolated the results to apply to all people, including women. The problem, Hirsch says, is that “women are not small men.”
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Most of your actions are driven by habit, not thought
A new study shows that the majority of actions people take in a day are carried out on autopilot. Habitual behavior is made up of the things that we do without thinking, prompted by our environment and learned through repeated enactment. Public Health professor Amanda Rebar writes for The Conversation about the power of habits on our behavior.
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A Sharper Image: At USC, better brain health outcomes begin with cutting-edge neuroimaging equipment
The McCausland Center’s MRI scanner is a 3 Tesla, twice the strength of typical MRIs. Access to equipment of that caliber has enabled the center to bring in tens of millions in grant funding and has led to an explosion in research studies that have advanced our understanding of aphasia, stroke treatment and brain aging.

From Aphasia to Rural Health
The Arnold School houses and partners with a wide array of centers, institutes and programs that conduct research, translate and disseminate data, and connect with the public through clinical and other services. Its outreach impacts countless populations in South Carolina and the world. The Arnold School is home to the nation’s oldest Alzheimer’s Disease Registry, which began gathering data in 1988 — a full 20 years before the next oldest registry of its kind.
CENTERS AND PROGRAMS