Mary Ann Pentz, PhD
Mary Ann Pentz, PhD, a clinical psychologist and researcher by training, focuses on MHRB prevention research with adolescents and young adults in large NIH funded randomized clinical trials involving whole communities and schools. The emphasis is on behavioral translation and the use of diffusion of innovation and RE-AIM models to develop and evaluate preventive interventions from the stage of pre-adoption to adoption, to implementation, to sustainability, and to large scale dissemination. All her trials have included diverse populations, particularly from low-income communities and schools. She was awarded the USC Provost Associates Award for Creativity in Research and Scholarship for 2021, which is awarded to only two faculty among the 4,700 full time faculty at USC.
Dr. Pentz holds the Sydney Garfield Chair in Health Sciences, which was awarded in 2012 when she was appointed as IPR Director by the KSOM Dean and an internal search committee. The Chair is focused on promoting research on the prevention of multiple health risk behaviors in youth that are related to chronic diseases of behavioral lifestyle, and more recently, including infectious diseases. Prevention research on MHRBs encompasses substance use, stress, physical activity and eating behavior, and influences of media and peers. Prevention approaches include community, school, health service, and policy change interventions. The Garfield chair and IPR represent the most comprehensive focus on MHRB prevention intervention research at USC.
Sohini Deva graduated from Tulane University with a Bachelor of Public Health. Soon after, she continued her education at Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine with a master’s degree in international health and development. As an LA native, Sohini was eager to make a difference in her community, where she worked at USC and UCLA conducting various research studies in substance use, tobacco-control and COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness and hesitancy. She now works as a Project Specialist for USC IPR, focusing on developing and expanding several health equity research initiatives within the department.