May 5, 2025 | Erin Bluvas, [email protected]

Ph.D. in Epidemiology student Sean Sweeney is the recipient of the first fellowship supported by the Steven N. Blair Horse Collar Knight Endowed Fellowship Fund. Created in honor of Epidemiology and Exercise Science Distinguished Professor Emeritus Steven Blair, who passed away in 2023, the Fund’s name is a nod to the Honorary Order of the Horse Collar Knights.

Joining the ranks of some of the most distinguished exercise scientists in the world, Blair was named an honorary member of this elite organization in 2001. The Order was established by exercise science faculty at the University of Kuopio in Finland and is a reflection of the efforts put forth by pioneering leaders in the field of public health (a metaphor for how foundational leadership clears the way for progress, much like a horse collar enables a plow to turn soil and prepare the ground for future growth).

“Because Steve believed fiercely that the way to improve humankind was by advances in public health, of all the health disciplines, he felt that public health was the most important," says Blair’s wife of 58 years, psychologist Jane M. Blair, who established the fund along with their daughter, Ann Blair Kennedy, a faculty member at USC’s School of Medicine Greenville. 

During his six-decade career, Blair taught and mentored several generations of public health practitioners and researchers. He was devoted to their professional and scientific development, which is why this Fund provides support to doctoral students.

The Steven N. Blair Horse Collar Knight Endowed Fellowship Fund provides annual fellowships to doctoral students in Blair’s two home departments: Epidemiology and Biostatistics and Exercise Science. Sweeney was selected as the inaugural recipient for his dedication to and aptitude for addressing public health challenges.

“Sean is a triple threat,” says Sweeney’s advisor, Melissa Nolan. “He’s incredibly smart, hardworking and, yet still very compassionate and always finds time to help his fellow colleagues. He truly embodies the spirit of Dr. Steven Blair.”

An emerging expert in infectious diseases, Sweeney began his studies with a degree in biology from the College of Charleston. He gained lab experience with the South Carolina Department of Public Health testing patient samples for COVID-19 during the pandemic and then checked human food and animal feed for pathogens in another lab. He impressed his supervisors so much that they invited him to learn high-consequence pathogen testing in the BSL-3 facility, a unique honor only provided to the top molecular diagnosticians.

“I’ve always been interested in cells, parasites, and viruses, so infectious disease research felt like a natural territory for me to explore,” Sweeney says. “I really believe that my time with the Department of Public Health was when I fell in love with public health and epidemiology. Knowing that I could use my love of microbes to help people and have a real-world impact was inspiring.”

While still working in the state’s food microbiology laboratory, the Fort Mill native enrolled in the Arnold School’s M.S. in Epidemiology program so he could improve his research skills. He loved the experience so much that he decided to pursue a Ph.D. in the department. 

As a full-time doctoral student, Sweeney has immersed himself in research – primarily working alongside Nolan, an epidemiology associate professor and director for the Laboratory of Vector-borne and Zoonotic Diseases. The team, which includes entomologists, medical doctors, veterinarians, computer scientists, community health workers, and other professions/disciplines, works together to conduct surveillance and research related to preventing the spread of pathogens (from COVID to Rocky Mountain spotted fever) and protecting public health in the state and beyond.

Sweeney has even received his own funding from the Joshua Tree National Park Association to study Chagas disease – one of the lab’s specialty areas. This early-career grant will allow him to lead his first independent research project, spending this summer in Southern California collecting triatomines (the primary insect vector for Chagas), educating local residents, and providing free disease testing.

“Working with disease outbreaks and emerging infections, especially in zoonotic and vector-borne spillover events, is what I’d like to do for the rest of my career,” Sweeney says. “I am incredibly honored to be the inaugural fellow for the Steven N. Blair Horse Collar Knight Fellowship, which I know will help me achieve this goal. Being able to represent such an esteemed and prolific member of the Arnold School of Public Health is extraordinary. I am very excited to continue my work at USC with the support of this award.”

“Although dad wasn’t an infectious disease researcher, he would be thrilled to have Sean as the first recipient of this fellowship given his commitment to the health of the general public,” Kennedy says. “He has already shown so much promise, and we are so excited to be able support his education and his career progression in this way.”

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