Fellows

Current Fellows

Qilin Zhang, PhD
Visiting Scholar

Qilin Zhang holds a doctorate in management from Wuhan University in China. He has been a professor in public management at the Wuhan University Center for Social Security Studies since 2007. His research interests include: international comparative research on health care policies, social welfare and philanthropy. At the Roybal Institute, his research focuses on models and strategies in the United States that may be applicable for supporting human services to meet the needs of vulnerable populations in China.

Seok In Nam, PhD, MSW
Postdoctoral Fellow

Seok In Nam holds a master's and doctorate in social work from Yonsei University in Seoul, Korea. He worked as a medical social worker from 2001 to 2006 and joined the faculty of The Cyber University of Korea as an Assistant Professor in 2006. His research interests include: the adjustment of elderly people in retirement, neurobiological perspectives for social work practice, medical social work in health and mental health, and intimate partner violence among the aging. At the Roybal Institute, he is preparing comparative research on Korean and Korean-American older adults.

Roybal Institute Fellowship Award Recipients

Marissa Hansen, PhD, MSW

Marissa Hansen is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the USC School of Social Work. She holds a master's and doctorate in social work from USC. Her research addresses the influence of sociocultural factors on service utilization, treatment adherence, and functional outcomes in depression treatment for minority older adults, specifically Latinos. She has participated in several studies using quantitative and qualitative methods to assess disparities in mental health service use and to adapt therapeutic interventions for depression in minority and older adult populations.

Dahlia Fuentes, MSW, MPH

Dahlia Fuentes is a doctoral candidate in social work at the USC School of Social Work and a SAMHSA-funded fellow with the Council for Social Work Education. Her research in mental health services addresses disparities in access and mental health among racial and ethnic minority older adults. She is a recipient of a Pre-Dissertation Award in Geriatric Social Work from The John A. Hartford Foundation and has co-authored journal articles on the mental health needs and service utilization of Latino and Asian older adults in San Diego, California.

Min-Kyoung Rhee, MSW

Min-Kyoung Rhee is a doctoral candidate in social work at the USC School of Social Work. She holds a master's degree in social work from Yonsei University in Seoul, South Korea. Her research interests include the long-term impact of unemployment on older adults' physical and mental health, employment disparities and barriers for ethnic minority older immigrants, and workforce diversity management and cultural competency in global workplaces. She has conducted a mixed method research project exploring employment barriers of Korean-American older immigrants living in Los Angeles, and now she is currently working on her dissertation focusing on the dynamic mechanisms in the relationship between unemployment and the physical/mental health of older Americans using longitudinal data.

Past Fellows

2011

Zachary D. Gassoumis
Predoctoral Fellow

Zachary D. Gassoumis is a doctoral candidate in gerontology at the USC Davis School of Gerontology. His research investigates varying aspects of quality of life for older adults, with a focus on the economics of aging and elder abuse. His work at the Royal Institute concentrated specifically on economic security among minority and low-income elders.

2010

Dennis T. Kao, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow

Dennis T. Kao completed his doctorate at the USC School of Social Work in 2010. His research focuses on health and healthcare disparities affecting immigrant populations, with a specific focus on Asian Americans and older adults. He joined the faculty at the University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work as an Assistant Professor in January 2011.