Ms. C’iana Cooper, a doctoral student in the Arnold School of Public Health’s Department of Exercise Science, is the recipient of a dissertation research award from the UNCF Merck Science Initiative.

The UNCF-MERCK Science Initiative (UMSI) is a partnership of UNCF (the United Negro College Fund) and global health care industry leader Merck. The 2014 scholarships have been awarded to 37 of the country’s most accomplished and promising African-American undergraduate, graduate, and post-doctoral students of biological science and engineering.

Ms. Cooper is one of only 12 graduate students in the nation to receive a dissertation fellowship through this program. The award enables graduate students to receive up to $53,500, which includes both a stipend and funds for the research needs of the student.

Visit http://sph.sc.edu/news/PublicHealth-Cooper.html to know more.