Loretta Cain

Third-year Public Health Sciences doctoral student.

Advisor: Anoop Shankar, M.D., Ph.D.

Student Research Profile

Hometown: McComb, Mississippi

What year are you in your program? I’m in my second year.

Where did you obtain your undergraduate degree? I did my undergrad at Tougaloo College where I received a BS in Chemistry and then I went to Jackson State University for my MPH in Epidemiology.

Why did you choose WVU? There are similar health disparities in West Virginia as in Mississippi.

What are your career ambitions? I hopefully will begin at the National Centers for Health Statistics for Disease Control and Prevention and I plan to retire in the federal government.

Who do you hope to help? I hope to help minorities and rural and low-income populations.

Do you have any awards or accomplishments? I have had several works published and I have presented my research numerous times.

What is your favorite part of your program? My favorite part is the research. It gives me a chance to really develop my quantitative skills. I enjoy the quantitative portion of epidemiology the most.

Do you have any hobbies? I enjoy writing poetry, singing, liturgical dancing and public speaking.