ERIC RICE joined the USC School of Social Work faculty in 2009. He is an expert in social network theory, social network analysis, and the application of social network methods to HIV prevention research.

Rice is committed to community-based participatory research. Rice has an interest in conducting work on HIV prevention with high risk adolescent populations. He has worked closely with many community-based organizations over the past seven years, working primarily on issues of HIV prevention for homeless youth and impoverished families affected by HIV/AIDS. Rice has served as an external reviewer for Los Angeles County's Office of AIDS Programs and Policy and has conducted program evaluation and consultation with organizations working with homeless youth and high risk adolescents. His closest community collaborators are My Friend's Place, a drop-in center for homeless youth in Hollywood, and The Division of Adolescent Medicine at Children's Hospital LA.

Rice's current work focuses on developing an online social networking, HIV prevention program for homeless youth funded through a grant from National Institute of Mental Health. It brings social network theories and models to bear on the social problems faced by homeless youth and families affected by HIV/AIDS.