Phd Student Profile

Oliver I. Eya is a PhD student and Graduate Research Assistant in the College of Social Work at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. His research focuses on intimate partner violence (IPV), faith-based responses to IPV, and help-seeking behaviors among survivors. He is particularly interested in how community and religious leaders can serve as key facilitators…

Ilana Shtivelman is a second year international PhD student at the College of Social Work at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Her research interests primarily encompass moral injury at the intersection of identity and ideology formation, military mental health, global social work (particularly concerning culture and ethics), and Jewish identity/history. In 2016, Ilana completed her…

Jong Sung Kim is a PhD student in the College of Social Work at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. His research centers on trauma-informed education and equity for adolescents from socio-economically disadvantaged communities in the U.S. and globally. He investigates how family, school, and neighborhood environments influence academic outcomes, executive function, sleep, and mental health—leveraging large-scale…

Melissa is from St. Petersburg, Florida and earned her bachelor’s in social work from the University of South Florida, St. Pete and her master’s in social work from the University of South Florida, Tampa. Melissa has experience in community mental health, medical social work, juvenile justice, and spent the majority of her career in school…

Zakary (Zak) Amen is a 4th-year PhD Candidate at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, College of Social Work. His research focuses on homelessness and reproductive healthcare; specific projects and studies have focused on these issues within Appalachia. Other research interests include mixed-methods research, teaching research methods and statistics in the MSW program, and program evaluation.…

Santhosh Raj Srinivasan, a seasoned professional social worker and accomplished researcher hailing from India, has significantly contributed to the field of social welfare and research from 2019 to 2023. His professional journey has been marked by pivotal roles, including Research Assistant at Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) in Mumbai, Project Coordinator at The Banyan…

Before dedicating myself to social work, I was a physical therapist for children and juveniles with disabilities for five years in Korea. After I received my masters in social work in Korea in 2015, I volunteered to work in international communities for people with developmental disabilities in Ireland and Germany for a period of four…

Kiki Kline is a licensed social worker (LSW) in the State of Colorado, specializing in clinical research and social work with individuals experiencing disordered eating and related populations. She most enjoys collaborating with others to instill social justice efforts in mental health and eating disorder systems of care through research, clinical, and advocacy work. In…

Sangmi Kim is a PhD candidate in Social Work at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, with a minor in Intercollegiate Graduate Statistics and Data Science Program (IGSDSP). She earned her MSW from Ewha Womans University (Seoul, Korea) in 2013 and holds Korea’s highest-level national social worker license. She has professional experience providing mental health support…