Josh Mercadel

Biographical information:
I am from New Orleans, Louisiana and my hobbies include video games, watching sports and cooking/grilling. I choose USC as my place of education long ago. I completed my undergraduate and master’s degree at this university. USC is home for me, and I love the faculty and opportunities this department has to offer. A fun fact about me is that I have aspirations to become an EIS fellow with the CDC post-graduation. I’m always willing to discuss epidemiology questions and thoughts or answers any questions someone has regarding life as a graduate student or life in Columbia, SC. We all have experiences to share that can help us grow and I’m willing to share my experiences should it benefit another.

Research interests:
I am interested in cardiovascular disease risk factors, racial disparities in overall health and how culture can play a role in overall health.

Thesis/Dissertation:
Thesis: My thesis topic involved a clinical trial that trained individuals to take control of their autonomic nervous system through paced breathing. My outcome in this study was how sleep can be improved based on receiving this intervention. We found that individuals improved perceived overall sleep quality as well as their total amount of sleep per night.
Dissertation: I am a 1st year PhD student and have not begun work on my project. However I am considering some of my research interest as a possible avenue of exploration.