Christine Khosropour was fascinated by viruses and bacteria as an undergraduate. "I had a love for the bugs – they're brainless but they're so smart," says Khosropour, a third-year PhD student in epidemiology at the University of Washington School of Public Health.

Khosropour majored in medical microbiology and immunology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, but wasn't like most of the others in her classes, she says. They were pre-med and wanted to treat patients. She was more interested in preventing diseases on a larger scale.

"Epidemiology is what I love – how diseases can move in populations, and understanding that certain people bear the burden of certain diseases, whether it's from genetic predisposition or socioeconomic status," she says. After earning her BS degree, she earned an MPH in epidemiology at the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University.

Today, Khosropour conducts research at the Public Health STD Clinic at Harborview Medical Center, where she is trying to better understand sexual behavior strategies for HIV prevention among men who have sex with men. She's also leading other studies, including ones on the effectiveness of various treatments for sexually transmitted diseases. For her academic merit and outstanding potential, she was named the School's prestigious Magnuson Scholar for 2014-15.

"It's such an incredible honor," Khosropour says. "It never crossed my mind I'd win. I'm overwhelmed with gratitude to my mentors and the committee who honored me in Senator Magnuson's name."

Khosropour is one of six students in UW Health Sciences who will receive $30,000 each to support their studies. The award is named in memory of Senator Warren G. Magnuson and his health-care legacy.

Khosropour's mentors, Lisa Manhart and Matthew Golden, describe her as an original thinker and one of the most productive students they've ever encountered. She already has 18 publications, seven as first author. "Her academic merit is beyond compare, and she is poised to become a leader in the STD/HIV community," Manhart and Golden wrote in their nominating letter.

For her PhD thesis, Khosropour is studying seroadaptive behaviors – "where people make decisions about whom they'll have sex with and how based on their partner's HIV status." There are many nuanced behaviors, she says, including when a condom is used and what position a partner assumes. "We'd like to be able to develop some sort of messaging around those behaviors so we can give people a better idea of the risk and benefits," she adds.

Khosropour is a research assistant in the Departments of Epidemiology and Medicine and is a Teaching Assistant for the undergraduate course, Introduction to Epidemiology. After earning her PhD, she hopes to combine academic and clinical work.

In her spare time, Khosropour likes gardening and hiking with her husband, Brian Schmidt, an anesthesiology resident at Virginia Mason Medical Center. "We love Seattle," she says. "It's the most beautiful city in the country – when it's not raining."