Nikita Viswasam is a PhD Candidate in the Sociology Department specializing in race, immigration and family demography via multimethod research, with expertise in both qualitative and quantitative methods.  

Prior to UMD, Nikita worked as research staff at the Center for Public Health and Human Rights at the Johns Hopkins School of of Public Health, working on data capacity-building, implementation science and research studies with governmental, NGO and community stakeholders on HIV health outcomes and its social determinants at the individual, community, and policy-level among marginalized populations globally, with a regional focus in Southern Africa.

Nikita got her Bachelors of Science in Neuroscience and Global Health at Trinity University in San Antonio, TX, and her Masters of Science in Public Health in International Health at Johns Hopkins School of Public Health. Passionate about making research and data accessible to all, she has also worked as a public health information designer translating data and technical policy information to visual graphics, and as a printmaking artist. Nikita grew up mostly in Houston, TX but has spent the last eight years living in Baltimore, MD.

Areas of Interest

  • Immigration
  • Social determinants of health
  • Qualitative methods
  • Race and ethnicity

Degrees

  • BS
    Neuroscience and Global Health, Trinity University, San Antonio TX
  • MSPH
    International Health, Johns Hopkins University, School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD

Awards

  • 2024 Form Fellowship, Department of Sociology, University of Maryland, College Park
  • 2024 Poster Award - Population Association of America (PAA) Conference, April 2024, Columbus, Ohio
  • 2022-2023 Dean's Fellowship, College of Behavioral and Social Sciences, University of Maryland, College Park
  • 2017 Global Health Established Field Placement Grant, Center for Global Health, Johns Hopkins School of Public Health
  • 2015 ASIANetwork Student-Faculty Fellowship, Freeman Foundation
Campus
Department of Sociology Graduate Student Forum Co-President, 2023 - 2024
portrait of South Asian American woman with black glasses and blazer
Art-Sociology Building
Department of Sociology
Email
nviswasa [at] umd.edu