Curriculum Vita

Degree and year in the program
Third Year Ph.D. Student

Advisors
Dr. Christina Falci and Dr. Seulki Kim

Areas of Specialization
Health, Health disparities, Demography, and Quantitative Research Methods

About Me
My academic journey began at the University of Zambia (UNZA), where I graduated with a BA in Demography with a minor in Economics in 2015. I furthered my studies at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL), earning an MA in Sociology in 2022. My MA thesis focused on factors associated with racial differences in health care access, a topic that I am deeply passionate about. I am currently working on two manuscripts for publication using the data from my MA thesis, aiming to contribute to the understanding and reduction of health disparities.

I have previous experience working as a Graduate Research Assistant. In the summer of 2022, I worked as a research assistant at the Bureau of Sociological Research (BOSR) at UNL. My responsibilities at BOSR included survey design, data collection, cleaning, entry, and reporting. Additionally, I served as a research assistant and trainee under the Fogarty Aids Malignancies Training and Research International Program (AMTRIP) from 2018 to 2021. Through the AMTRIP, I received training in social network analyses, network-based study design, and instrument development for a research project on barriers to health service utilization among Kaposi’s sarcoma-infected individuals in Zambia under the mentorship of Dr. Kirk Dombrowski. Currently, I am a research assistant in the Department of Sociology, being mentored by Dr. Seulki Kim.

My research interests include health, health disparities, demography, and quantitative research methods. I have participated in several research projects conducted in Zambia. My role in most of these projects was to collect, enter, and analyze data. From March 2019 to July 2019, I completed a study in Zambia on barriers to early diagnosis and treatment of Kaposi’s sarcoma.

As a student in the Department of Sociology, I have been fortunate to receive significant support from the faculty and students, both academically and socially. The department provides a nurturing environment that encourages students to grow and excel in the program. For instance, the department actively encourages students to present their research at various conferences at least once a year. It provides departmental research and teaching fellowships/awards, fostering a sense of community and collaboration.

Courses Taught:

Instructor of Record

SOCI 252 700: Health, Medicine, and Society

I was the instructor of record for the asynchronous online course SOCI 252 for the spring 2023 and summer 2024 semester.

Presentations:

Memory Manda. 2021. Socioeconomic and Demographic Factors Associated with Obstacles in Seeking Early Treatment: A Study of Kaposi’s sarcoma patients. Paper presented at the Midwest Sociological Society’s annual meeting, March 2021, Virtual Conference.