Ashish A. Deshmukh, PhD, MPH, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Public Health Sciences and a Co-leader of the Cancer Control Program at MUSC Hollings Cancer Center. Dr. Deshmukh is a decision scientist and health economist. His research focuses on the development and evaluation of simulation models that have the potential to improve clinical decision-making and inform health policies. He also has interests in health technology assessment and the design and analysis of economic evaluation studies using observational data or as part of clinical trials. He utilizes large databases and epidemiology-driven mathematical models to identify optimal prevention policies for HPV and associated cancers. He also leads registry, survey, and claims database studies focusing on the epidemiology of HPV infection and HPV-related cancers, and clinical and economic outcomes of HPV-associated cancer prevention and treatment. For his work, he received several prestigious awards, including the Lee B. Lusted award from the Society for Medical Decision Making, and Outstanding Postdoctoral Trainee from MD Anderson Cancer Center.

Dr. Damgacioglu is a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Public Health Sciences at the Medical University of South Carolina and an affiliated member of the Hollings Cancer Center. His research intersects health outcomes and epidemiology, utilizing his extensive expertise in mathematical modeling and machine learning to address complex health policy issues related to HPV and associated cancers, as well as HIV. His strong methodological focus and expertise allow him to explore individual and geographic risk factors in cancer prevention and disparities, significantly improving the understanding of disease natural history and the alignment of epidemiologic data with simulation models. Specializing in studying HPV and its associated cancers, Dr. Damgacioglu developed comprehensive models for oropharyngeal, cervical, and anal cancers by integrating a wide array of epidemiologic tools and data from national surveys, surveillance, and cancer registries. His work has made significant contributions to our understanding of the impacts of HPV vaccination, cancer incidence trends, the effectiveness of screening, and the overall cancer continuum. His findings have been published in prestigious journals, showcasing his commitment to advancing cancer care and prevention. Dr. Damgacioglu is keen to collaborate with cancer researchers and work with trainees and students, exemplifying the power of decision science and data analytics in improving cancer care and prevention.

Ketki Borse is a Senior Research Associate in the Department of Public Health Sciences at the Medical University of South Carolina and Clinical Analytics and Decision Science Lab at MUSC Hollings Cancer Center. She is trained in analyzing large databases (National Surveys, Healthcare Claims data), to investigate health disparities and trends in healthcare utilization. She also specializes in crafting impactful visual representations of data and is currently engaged in developing Catchment Area Data Visualizations for SC-SPOT. Ketki holds an MPH degree in Epidemiology from the Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina. While pursuing her degree, she worked as a Statistical Research Analyst at the Central Cancer Registry at SCDOH. She also holds a bachelor's degree in Indian Medicine & Surgery and has experience working as an Assistant Physician. Ketki aims to advance her skills in epidemiological data analysis to deliver insights that support evidence-based interventions for addressing health disparities.

Ashvita Garg is an HCC Abney Postdoctoral Fellow at Hollings Cancer Center and the Department of Public Health Sciences at the Medical University of South Carolina. She received her Ph.D. in Epidemiology from the University of North Texas Health Science Center and her MPH in Health Promotion from the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Her current fellowship project is focused on examining the uptake of Human Papillomavirus (HPV)-related cancer prevention methods in persons living with HIV and understanding patient perspectives and attitudes towards various prevention methods, including HPV vaccination, cervical cancer screening, and anal cancer screening. Her overarching research focuses on the prevention of HPV and HPV-related malignancies in minority and vulnerable populations, with a primary interest in health disparities, health equity, and the application of implementation science to enhance uptake and adherence to vaccination, screening, and treatment interventions. Her research has led to several peer-reviewed publications and award-winning presentations at conferences. She aims to submit a career development award and transition into a successful independent cancer epidemiology and implementation science researcher.

Todd is a fourth-year PhD student in biostatistics at MUSC. He earned a dual Bachelor's degree in mathematics and statistics from the South Carolina Honors College and a Master's degree in statistics from North Carolina State University. His research interests are in longitudinal and spatial models for multivariate non-normal data, mostly through the Bayesian paradigm.

Kalyani Sonawane, PhD is an Associate Professor in the Department of Public Health Sciences and a member of the Hollings Cancer Center. Her expertise is in performing population health analytics using high-dimensional healthcare data to inform clinical practice and policy. She has conducted several real-world studies using health insurance claims, nationwide surveys, electronic medical records, and patient registries to study prevention and treatment strategies and to evaluate their downstream impact on population health outcomes. Her primary interest is in examining the landscape of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and its prevention in the United States, particularly understanding the drivers of HPV infection rates, barriers to HPV vaccination, and the epidemiology of HPV- associated cancers among diverse groups.  Dr. Sonawane has also worked in several clinical areas, covering various aspects of health and healthcare interventions such as the incidence and prevalence of diseases, costs, effectiveness, survival, quality of life outcomes, drug and treatment adherence, and adverse events.

Dr. Amboree is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Public Health Sciences at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) and a member of the Hollings Cancer Center. Her research expertise is in health disparities, access to and utilization of preventive healthcare services among minoritized and medically underserved populations, and epidemiological methods to access hard-to-reach populations. Much of Dr. Amboree’s research has focused on elucidating and addressing racial/ethnic and socioeconomic disparities in access to preventive health services mostly pertaining to cervical cancer prevention. She completed her postdoctoral fellowship training at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center under the Prospective Evaluation of Self-Testing to Increase Screening (PrESTIS) trial which focused on community-engaged research to uncover disparities in access to preventive women’s health services specifically pertaining to cervical cancer prevention in an urban safety-net health setting. Additionally, her doctoral work focused on human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) bio-behavioral surveillance and prevention in high-risk urban populations, as well as racial/ethnic health disparities related to cancer prevention, specifically human papillomavirus (HPV) and HPV vaccination. Her research aims to improve cancer outcomes and mitigate disparities for the communities served in the MUSC catchment area and beyond, as well as to increase access to and utilization of cancer preventive services in vulnerable, hard-to-reach populations.

Poria Dorali is a Postdoctoral Research Scholar in the Clinical Analytics and Decision Science Lab at the Medical University of South Carolina's (MUSC) Hollings Cancer Center Cancer Control Program. His research at MUSC specializes in epidemiological data analysis and the creation of disease simulation models for health policy development and evaluation. Before joining the CADS Lab, Poria received his PhD and BS in Industrial Engineering from the University of Houston. His research experience focuses on medical decision making with expertise in disease simulation, mathematical modeling and machine learning approaches to develop and benchmark routine and personalized screening policies.

Talia Wahl is a Program Coordinator II in the Department of Public Health Sciences at the Medical University of South Carolina and Clinical Analytics and Decision Science Lab at MUSC Hollings Cancer Center. She has tailored her skills in project management, policy development, and statistical analysis. Talia holds an MPH degree in Health Policy and Management from the Gillings School of Global Public Health at the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill. She is dedicated to enhancing research and data collection since she believes these elements are crucial for improving project outcomes and legislative response.