Bachelor of Science in Biology, University of South Carolina Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship Paul W. Zuccaire Intern at Institut Pasteur, Paris Carolina Scholars Scholarship
Rita Czako graduated with a major in Biology and a minor in Health Promotion, Education and Behavior from the University of South Carolina. While in school, she received a variety of accolades, including the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and the Paul W. Zuccaire Internship (an 11-week research internship at the Institut Pasteur in Paris), and she earned Dean’s List all semesters. She completed a two-week long Tropical Disease Workshop in Ecuador through a study abroad program, where she gained first-hand insight into the nature of health care services in a tropical, developing country. She has also had a variety of lab experience gained through several internships she held during her undergraduate schooling. United States, first generation Hungarian-American Global Disease Epidemiology and Control To embark on a biomedical research career within an organization committed to achieving and promoting global health. Rita Czako volunteered at a local free medical clinic in her hometown during her undergraduate years, and the sad medical histories she witnessed there motivated her to pursue a career “with the potential to affect the lives of those in need to access better health technologies.” A summer spent in rural Equador as part of a Tropical Disease Workshop cemented her interest in public and global health. Czako believes “that the translation of scientific advances into effective international interventions and public health policy is equally as important as scientific progress to improving the overall health of the world’s population. My desire is to be able to facilitate this process by lending the expertise my scientific background will grant me to provide assistance in the design, development, and implementation of effective and feasible infectious disease prevention and control programs.” | 
