A symposium on the "Pros and Cons of Prostate Cancer Screening" Thursday, Sept. 15, at the University of South Carolina will feature two of the nation's leading experts on prostate cancer.    Read more.    Hide

      Prakash Nagarkatti, an internationally known researcher who has directed a highly successful research enterprise at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine, has been named to become USC's vice president for research.     Read more.    Hide

      This issue of Breakthrough features the 2011 Rising Stars. Email vpresearch at sc.edu to request a copy.    Read more.    Hide

      Stephen Kresovich, USC's SmartState Endowed Chair in Genomics, is the PI for one of 10 projects selected by the USDA and the DOE to conduct research that will facilitate and accelerate the use of woody plant tissue for bioenergy and biofuel.    Read more.    Hide

      Michael Rouse, a graduate student from the USC School of Medicine was honored with an invitation to the 61st meeting of Nobel Laureates in Lindau, Germany last month.     Read more.    Hide

      CarboNix LLC, a USC Columbia-based technology startup company, has been awarded its second Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Award for $128,819 to support its project "Allergens and Induced Asthma: Eradicating Indoor Allergens and Dust Mites."    Read more.    Hide

      A group of University of South Carolina researchers in the Arnold School of Public Health has found that incorporating armband technology into weight-loss interventions can help sedentary and overweight individuals shed those unwanted pounds.    Read more.    Hide

      The Office of Research and Graduate Education recently recognized promising young faculty at USC."    Read more.    Hide

      The First World Congress on Ultrasound in Medical Education brings together physicians, medical students, educators and healthcare professionals from around the world to learn more about the technology known as the "stethoscope of the future."    Read more.    Hide

      A century-old method used to convert carbohydrates into coal is getting a second look as a sustainable technique for dealing with municipal solid waste.    Read more.    Hide

      Representatives of Fluor Corporation and Savannah River Nuclear Solutions announced a $1.5 million gift Monday (Feb. 28) to the University of South Carolina for the Center of Economic Excellence for the Hydrogen Economy.    Read more.    Hide

      A technology developed at the University of South Carolina that measures chemical concentrations in solids, liquids and gases has been sold to Halliburton Energy Services Inc. Halliburton will apply the technology exclusively in the energy industry sector and has licensed USC to use and develop the technology for other fields such as agriculture, pharmaceuticals, and food and beverage testing.    Read more.    Hide

      Dr. Brian Helmuth, a professor of biological sciences at the University of South Carolina's College of Arts and Sciences, has been named a Google Science Communication fellow.    Read more.    Hide

      The Southeastern Universities Research Association (SURA) announced Friday (Feb. 18) that Richard D. Adams, Carolina Distinguished Professor at the University of South Carolina, will receive its 2011 Distinguished Scientist Award.    Read more.    Hide

      The Center for Research in Nutrition and Health Disparities sponsored a symposium entitled "Healthy Eating in Context: The Role of the Political, Physical, Economic and Social Structures in Nutrition" on March 18, 2011.    Read more.    Hide

      The S.C. College of Pharmacy faculty is one of the most productive in the country, judging by the success of its research faculty in getting National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding.    Read more.    Hide

      Did you know that the Civil War was captured with 3-D photography? Or that at the Battle of Bull Run more than 8,000 bullets were fired for each man killed? That a good surgeon could amputate a limb in 10 minutes?    Read more.    Hide

      Birds living near the site of the Chernobyl nuclear accident have on average 5 percent smaller brains, according to research led by a University of South Carolina scientist.    Read more.    Hide

      Dr. Hildy Teegen, dean of the Darla Moore School of Business at the University of South Carolina, is among the authors of a groundbreaking report that addresses the current wave of globalization and the changes and challenges it poses for business schools.    Read more.    Hide

      Dr. Rob Ployhart, an associate professor of management at the Darla Moore School of Business at the University of South Carolina, has been named a fellow of the Society of Industrial and Organizational Psychology.    Read more.    Hide

      If you think your family talks too loud at times, just consider what the noise level would be if you could hear what the bacteria around you are saying.
Arnold School of Public Health researcher Alan Decho, in collaboration with colleagues Rebecca L. Frey and John L. Ferry of the University of South Carolina's Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, conducted an extensive review of emerging information on bacterial communication within natural environments.     Read more.    Hide

      The University of South Carolina will make sustainability research one of its top target areas as part of a new initiative to identify, unite and promote research across the university.    Read more.    Hide

      It's been called the stethoscope for the 21st century. Ultrasound is a valuable tool that allows doctors to diagnose and treat patients quickly and accurately. It's been around for decades, but there has been revolutionary change in the technology in recent years, making the machines smaller, cheaper and smarter.    Read more.    Hide

      Six professors at the University of South Carolina have been named fellows in the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the world's largest general scientific society.    Read more.    Hide

      The University of South Carolina's McKissick Museum will host the exhibit, "From Snapshot to Civic Action: Creating Healthy Environments through Community Engagement," a display of photos about life in some of Columbia's oldest public housing communities.    Read more.    Hide

      Dr. Shauna Cooper, an assistant professor in the Department of Psychology, will receive the first award of the Andrew Billingsley African American Families Pilot Research Program at 3 p.m. on January 11.    Read more.    Hide

      Listen up self-improvement enthusiasts: Resolve to set personal goals for the new year.
Dr. Bruce Meglino, an expert in work values and organizational behavior at the Darla Moore School of Business at the University of South Carolina, says resolutions are often ineffective and quickly forgotten, gathering dust like unused exercise equipment.    Read more.    Hide

      USC's College of Nursing is one of 10 nursing education programs across the country chosen by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) to participate in a landmark, multi-site study of simulation use in prelicensure nursing programs.    Read more.    Hide

      University of South Carolina distinguished-poet-in-residence Dr. Kwame Dawes, who won an Emmy Award in 2009 for a project on HIV in Jamaica, is chronicling HIV in post-earthquake Haiti for the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, based in Washington D.C.    Read more.    Hide

      A University of South Carolina archaeologist has found the wreck of C.S.S. Peedee, a Confederate gunboat that was destroyed by Confederate forces so it would not be captured by Union forces, in the Pee Dee River.    Read more.    Hide

      USC No. 42 in February issue of Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine's Top 100 Best Values in Public Education ranking, which cites institutions that, despite shrinking budgets, deliver a stellar education at an affordable price.     Read more.    Hide

      Members of the South Carolina Centers of Economic Excellence (CoEE) Review Board delivered a holiday present Tuesday (Dec. 14) to the General Assembly and the people of South Carolina: According to the latest program totals, the CoEE program has resulted in $363 million in non-state investment into the South Carolina economy and created 4,717 new jobs.     Read more.    Hide

      Larrell L. Wilkinson, a doctoral candidate in the Arnold School's Department of Health Services Policy and Management, is the recipient of a $25,000 grant to support his dissertation research in patient-reported outcomes.     Read more.    Hide

      Performing a combination of aerobic exercise and resistance training has been found to improve glycemic levels among patients with type 2 diabetes, compared to patients who did not exercise, according to a study in the Nov. 24 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.    Read more.    Hide

      Chemists at the University of South Carolina have developed a camera with the ability to see the invisible - and more.
      The new technology, called multimode imaging in the thermal infrared, could eventually be used in crime-scene investigations, since it can capture blood stains that the human eye can't see.    Read more.    Hide

      The Duke Energy Foundation is giving $500,000 to the University of South Carolina to establish the Duke Scholars and Fellows Endowment in USC's College of Engineering and Computing.    Read more.    Hide

      Local leaders Wednesday (Nov. 17) embarked on a new era of cooperation to secure Columbia's energy and economic futures by signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that solidifies the partnership between the City of Columbia, the University of South Carolina and Midlands Technical College.    Read more.    Hide

      Under one of the highest natural tree canopies in the world, University of South Carolina geographer Dr. John Kupfer can be found checking the vital signs of the floodplain that is the Congaree National Park.    Read more.    Hide

      A neuroscientist at the University of South Carolina is conducting research on a compound found in liquorice root that could prevent or slow down the cell death associated with neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases.    Read more.    Hide

      Dr. Caryn E. Outten, an assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry in the University of South Carolina's College of Arts and Sciences, has been named a recipient of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers.    Read more.    Hide

      The University of South Carolina has reached an agreement with DuPont Intellectual Assets & Licensing (DuPont) pertaining to the development of new materials utilizing a breakthrough technique in preparing polymers and polymer nanocomposites. The technique employs Reversible Addition Fragmentation Chain Transfer polymerization (RAFT technology).    Read more.    Hide

      Faculty members in USC's Research Consortium on Children and Families have landed more than $12 million in research funding in the past year, including several first-time grants for junior faculty.    Read more.    Hide

      Researchers receive an additional $5 million from U.S. Department of Energy to determine feasibility of storing carbon dioxide deep underground to curb increase in greenhouse gas emissions.    Read more.    Hide

      USC's strength in environmental sciences research has been growing for the past several years, and in the latest report by the National Science Foundation the University ranks in the top 20 nationwide.    Read more.    Hide

      A little-known order by Civil War Gen. Ulysses S. Grant remains the most notorious anti-Jewish official order in American history. This order and a broader discussion of human rights during the American Civil War will be the subject of this year's Solomon-Tenenbaum Lectureship, to be held Tuesday, Oct. 26, at the University of South Carolina.    Read more.    Hide

      An innovative telemedicine project in South Carolina could point the way toward improved outcomes for patients with mental illness who seek treatment in emergency rooms.    Read more.    Hide

      University of South Carolina President Harris Pastides has been named to the Steering Committee of the Manufacturing Competitiveness Initiative formed by the Council on Competitiveness in Washington, D.C.    Read more.    Hide

      A USC psychology professor is looking for behavioral and physiological markers in infants that could allow autism to be diagnosed at much earlier ages.    Read more.    Hide

      A national report issued Tuesday (Sept. 28) shows that the University of South Carolina is home to some of the South's best doctoral programs in engineering and arts and sciences, with several programs earning national recognition.    Read more.    Hide

      Antibiotics bound with nanoparticles might be just what the doctor orders one day to treat drug-resistant infections.
      A $500,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to researchers at the University of South Carolina will fund a study on how nanoparticles can be used to change the way that antibiotics are delivered to cells.    Read more.    Hide

      The world's largest study using neuroimaging of stroke patients struggling to regain ability to communicate finds that brain cells outside the damaged area can take on new roles.    Read more.    Hide

      Just months after it opened its Ernest F. Hollings Special Collections Library, the University of South Carolina has acquired a rare medieval Bible, the first complete Bible of its kind in South Carolina.    Read more.    Hide

      It's been 41 years since Hurricane Camille slammed the Mississippi coast, killed more than 130 people, and earned the title of most powerful storm ever to hit the U.S. mainland.    Read more.    Hide

      Researchers from the University of South Carolina's Arnold School of Public Health are collaborating with scientists throughout the United States on a national study of community programs aimed at reducing childhood obesity.    Read more.    Hide

      Steven Blair, a professor of exercise science, epidemiology, and biostatistics at the University of South Carolina's Arnold School of Public Health, has been awarded the 2010 Folksam Prize in Epidemiological Research.    Read more.    Hide

      The recently produced docudrama, "Edgewood: Stage of Southern History," will air on S.C. ETV's Southern Lens program Sept. 16 at 10 p.m.    Read more.    Hide

      Marlene Wilson, a professor and chair of the Department of Pharmacology, Physiology, and Neuroscience in the School of Medicine, has been appointed faculty associate for biomedical research in the Office of Research and Graduate Education.    Read more.    Hide

      Arnold School of Public Health researcher Jennifer Trilk is the recipient of a postdoctoral fellowship award from the National Institutes of Health to study non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in young people.
      The two-year, $106,010 award will enable her to study a growing public health concern that affects 8 percent of U.S. adolescents and has the potential for serious medical complications later in life.    Read more.    Hide

      While meteorologists are busy forecasting and tracking this year's crop of hurricanes using the latest satellite technology, Dr. Cary Mock is combing through 300-year-old British ship logs for weather data to detail hurricanes of the past.    Read more.    Hide

      The new SCRA USC Innovation Center is ready for business.
      The University of South Carolina, the South Carolina Research Authority and the City of Columbia opened the fully renovated facility Thursday (Aug. 19). It is a building designed to house knowledge-based companies emerging from research at USC and the general marketplace that are entering commercialization and advanced manufacturing stages.    Read more.    Hide

      A $6.7 million grant to the University of South Carolina's Arnold School of Public Health will support an established research program in health disparities.    Read more.    Hide

      A section titled "A Strong Focus on Student Success" singles out the nation's institutions with the best student-enrichment offerings and cites USC for having one of the nation's best programs for First-Year Experience, Learning Communities and Undergraduate Research/Creative Projects. A feature article, titled "The Care and Feeding of Freshmen," focuses on USC's first-year programs.    Read more.    Hide

      University faculty garnered $218.8 million in research awards in fiscal year 2010, a 4 percent increase over last year highlighted by hefty gains in grants from several federal funding agencies.    Read more.    Hide

      Edith Williams of the University of South Carolina's Arnold School of Public Health has been awarded the 2010 Pfizer Fellowship in Health Disparities.    Read more.    Hide

      Dr. Steven D. Smith, associate director of applied research in S.C. Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology, to begin two-year project this fall.    Read more.    Hide

      Francis Marion, South Carolina's legendary Swamp Fox who helped repel the British during the Revolutionary War, is a legend in American history.
   But when Mom and Dad are on their way to Florida, how do you get them to stop in the Palmetto State and tell Marion's story to their kids?    Read more.    Hide

      Men: Warning! Sitting too much may be harmful to your health - even if you do exercise regularly.    Read more.    Hide

      University of South Carolina geographers Dr. Kirstin Dow and Dr. Ed Carr are among 800 of the world's top scientists who will have key roles in compiling an international science report on global climate change.    Read more.    Hide

      Some areas in downtown Columbia have higher crime rates than other parts of the capital city.

Dr. Anthony "Tony" Ambler has been named dean of the College of Engineering and Computing at the University of South Carolina.     Read more.    Hide

      Some areas in downtown Columbia have higher crime rates than other parts of the capital city.

Researchers from the University of South Carolina are hoping to change that, with help from a $650,000, three-year grant from the Kresge Foundation. The grant will be used to help residents identify concerns, become more involved and create healthy spaces in their own neighborhoods.     Read more.    Hide

      Dr. Russell Pate says research underscores need for FIT Kids Act, a congressional proposal encouraging quality physical education and activity for all public-school children through grade 12.     Read more.    Hide

      Cancer and nanoscience scientists from the University of South Carolina will meet May 14 for a one-day retreat to discuss their research and explore ways to combine their interests to focus on the emerging field of nano-oncology.     Read more.    Hide

      Exercise science researchers in the University's Arnold School of Public Health made key contributions to a new National Physical Activity Plan aimed at getting Americans on the move to improve their health.     Read more about the plan.    Hide

      Dr. Gao Chunchang will present a lecture, "Slave Religion in Colonial North America from an Atlantic Perspective," at noon May 4 in Gambrell Hall, Room 431. Gao is the first visiting professor for the University's Institute of African American Research (IAAR), located within the Department of History. He is a professor in the Department of History and Society at Ludong University, and is director of its Center for American Studies.     Read more about Gao Chunchang    Hide

      Seventeen junior faculty members from the University system have been recognized as "rising stars" by the Office of Research and Graduate Education. Each of the faculty members will be profiled in the spring edition of Breakthrough, the University's research magazine.     Go to Rising Stars    Hide

      Dimitar Deliyski, associate professor, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, joins a select list of scientists shaping the worldwide communication sciences and disorders field with his award of the 2010 Manuel Garcia Prize by the International Association of Logopedics and Phoniatrics (IALP), a global association that includes the American Speech Language and Hearing Association.     Read Article    Hide

      The American Chemical Society's Award for Distinguished Service in the Advancement of Inorganic Chemistry was presented March 23 to Dr. Richard Adams, a Carolina Distinguished Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. Adams received the award, his second, in San Francisco at the Society's 239th national meeting and a decade after receiving his first ACS award.     Read Article    Hide

      USC researchers and their collaborators have drastically increased the toughness of a T-shirt, combining carbon in the cotton with boron to produce a lightweight garment reinforced with boron carbide (the same material used to protect tanks). Dr. Xiaodong (Chris) Li, CEC Distinguished Professor in Mech. Engr., said, "USC is playing a leading role in this ... breakthrough" and called the research "a conceptual change in fabricating lightweight, fuel-efficient, super-strong and ultra-tough materials [that]… opens up unprecedented opportunities."     Read Article    Hide

      School of Medicine Drs. Mitzi and Prakash Nagarkatti have been awarded a five-year $1.55 million R01 grant from the National Institute of Health to test their "fetal basis of adult disease" hypothesis developed following evidence that malnutrition or exposure to environmental stress during pregnancy, may have a lasting impact on the developing fetus and that a subsequent baby during its adult life would be more susceptible to a wide range of diseases including cardiovascular and autoimmune diseases such as hypertension and diabetes and cancer.     Read Article    Hide

      The South Carolina Film Commission's $107,500 award of its 2010-2011 Film Project Grant to Robert Richmond, Visiting Professor, Department of Theatre and Dance, will allow the director to produce a short narrative film from the screenplay, Dreadful Sorry, written by Dionne O'Dell. Only the fourth independent filmmaker/director to receive this prestigious award, Richmond successfully competed with 30 other filmmakers during this year's round of submissions.    Read Article    Hide

      Dr. Tom Burke, Associate Professor, Philosophy and Director of Graduate Studies, was awarded the Joseph L. Blau Prize by the Society for the Advancement of American Philosophy at its 2010 conference. His paper "Empiricism, Pragmatism, and the Settlement Movement" was judged to be the one making "the most significant contribution to the history of American Philosophy from colonial times to the recent present."    Read Article    Hide

      Dr. Charles Bennett, an international expert in his field, has been recruited as the CoEE Endowed Chair in Medication Safety and Efficacy and the Frank P. and Josie M. Fletcher Professor of Pharmacy at the University of South Carolina (USC) campus of the South Carolina College of Pharmacy.    Read Article    Hide

      Professor Marjorie Spruill, a U.S. history specialist and leading expert on women's rights advocates and the conservative women who challenged them for the right to speak for American women and influence policy, has been awarded "one of the most prestigious grants a historian can receive" from the National Endowment for the Humanities according to Dr. Lacy Ford, chairman of the USC History department.    Read Article    Hide

      The SIAM has named Carolina Distinguished Professor Jerrold Griggs, chair of the Math department, a Fellow for his contributions to combinatorics and graph theory. Combinatorics is a branch of discrete mathematics used frequently in computer science to obtain formulas and estimates in algorithmic analyses. Graph theory is one of combinatorics' oldest and most accessible parts. SIAM members seek to build cooperation between mathematics and the worlds of science and technology with publications, research, and community associations that focus on solving many real-world problems.    Hide

      One of the world's leading stroke experts, Dr. Souvik Sen, is USC's new endowed chair in translational neurology and will help lead the Stroke Center of Economic Excellence (CoEE) as well assemble a clinical and research team to provide advanced stroke care to patients in a state with one of the nation's highest rates of stroke deaths. Sen's team's work at the stroke center-- developing new stroke treatments such as drugs and biotechnology-based therapeutics-- will be included in national and international stroke research. Read Article    Hide

      USC's Magellan Scholar Program has hit the million dollar mark in research awards to students, with nearly 400 Magellan Scholars named since spring 2006 according to Julie Morris, director of the OUR, which administers the program. "We've hit this milestone quickly because the administration has been so supportive with funding (grants of up to $3,000 are competitively awarded to support faculty-mentored undergraduate research projects)," Morris said. "We also couldn't do it without faculty support and without the resources provided by the academic dept." Read Article    Hide

      Drs. Jeffrey Rojek and Geoff Alpert, Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice have been awarded a $250K grant from the NIJ for a two-year project (begun in January) aimed at identifying challenges and opportunities for partnerships to develop sustainable and innovative programs that meet the needs of communities. Rojek, an assist. professor, is an expert in policing and known for his studies on gangs and gang prevention. Alpert, a professor, is an expert on law-enforcement training and program evaluation and a leading authority on police use of force and pursuit driving. Read Article    Hide

      The Office of Research and Graduate Education, in cooperation with the Office of the Provost, announces the implementation of a new graduate fellowship program aimed at enhancing PhD education at USC. This program is effective February 15, 2010. Up to 30 merit-based fellowships will be awarded each year and are intended to improve USC's competitiveness for the recruitment of the highest ranked applicants to USC's research-intensive doctoral programs. Read Article    Hide

      A high level advisory council has been recruited by The RGE to improve response and support to faculty and contributions to strategic planning and operations. Initial committee members meeting monthly to provide leadership, vision, and feedback are: Ronald Benner, Biological & Marine Sciences; Susan Cutter, Geography ; Sandra Kelly, Psychology; Russell Pate, Exercise Science; Kenneth Reifsnider, Mechanical Engineering; Rita Snyder, Nursing; Robert Thunell, Marine Sciences Program; Thomas Vogt, NanoCenter; and Nic Ularu, Theatre & Dance.    Hide

      Six researchers in the USC's College of Arts and Sciences-- Ron Benner, biological sciences; Will Graf, geography; Austin Hughes, biological sciences; James Morris, Baruch Institute and biological sciences; Robert Thunell, earth and ocean sciences; and Hanno zur Loye, chemistry and biochemistry-- have achieved the distinction of "AAAS Fellow" conferred by the AAAS.Read Article    Hide

      Tim Mousseau, a biological sciences professor and associate dean for research and graduate education in the College of Arts and Sciences, has been named associate vice president for research and graduate education, effective Jan. 16. He joins Pam Benicewicz, who was named associate vice president for research and graduate education last fall. Read Article    Hide

      A study by Arnold School of Public Health researchers Drs. Heather Brandt and Saundra Glover (also director of the Institute for Partnerships to Eliminate Health Disparities) reports African-American (AA) women in South Carolina (SC) are 37 percent more likely to have cervical cancer than white women and have a death rate that is about 61 percent higher, The study also found that AA women in rural SC are among the least likely to get recommended screenings, including the Pap test, that are key to the early detection and treatment of cervical cancer. South Carolina ranks 14th in the nation in cervical cancer deaths. Read Article    Hide

      Dr. Bert Ely's SCienceLab, an inquiry-based program designed to boost middle and high schools' science curriculum by giving their students a college. Laboratory experience, has received a $536,000 National Institutes of Health Science Education Partnership Award (SEPA)-- one of only 17 in the nation. The two-year SEPA has enabled Ely to continue SCienceLab (established in 2003 with a $700,000 grant from the National Science Foundation) and expand the program to Furman University. Read Article    Hide

      Smith & Nephew, the Raleigh-Durham-based global medical technology company, has invested $5M in a new Center of Economic Excellence (CoEE) in Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Sciences according to Dr. Mike Matthews, its principal investigator (and chair of USC's chemical engineering department).
      The Center will bring together Smith & Nephew's Biologics & Spine division, USC, and the non-profit Orthopaedic Research Foundation of the Carolinas to research and develop cutting-edge new orthopeadic therapies and technologies, and translate these into solutions that will improve the lives of patients worldwide. The $5M investment matches the Center's $5M 2007state appropriation through the S.C. CoEE Program. Read Article    Hide

      A $4.9 million Department of Energy grant to USC-- one of only 11 such national awards-- will determine the feasibility of storing carbon dioxide underground in an effort to curb global climate change. Carolina's three-year grant will focus on the South Georgia Rift (SGR) basin, where deep saline aquifers exist in Colleton, Beaufort and Jasper counties, said Dr. John Shafer, ESRI-SC director and the grant's principal investigator.
      "Carbon dioxide is a major greenhouse gas," he said. "If we can find a viable way to capture ... and store it safely underground for centuries, then we can perhaps reduce the amount of CO2 in our atmosphere". Read Article    Hide

      USC's Parenting and Family Research Center (PFRC) is partnering with Oregon Research Institute on a $3.4 million NIH Grand Opportunity (GO) Grant aimed at creating the scientific infrastructure for the Promise Neighborhood Initiative.
      PFRC director Dr. Ron Prinz (a member of the initiative's steering committee) said that the Promise Neighborhood Research Consortium comprises 25 prevention scientists in collaboration with community leaders who will work with America's most impoverished neighborhoods to promote positive adjustment and academic achievement in children and youth. Read Article    Hide

      The Office of Research and Graduate Education (RGE) is pleased to announce the availability of institutional grant funds under the Promising Investigator Research Award (PIRA).
      "As Vice President for research and graduate education, I am excited to announce this new opportunity to encourage the development, expansion and enhancement of faculty research projects," said Dr. Steven Kresovich. "I have been really impressed with the breadth and comprehensive nature of South Carolina's research and graduate programs. For a comprehensive institution to be great, balance is important, and that means building pillars in disciplines such as English and history as well as the physical sciences and engineering."
      For more information about PIRA, please visit our website at: http://www.sc.edu/researchdev/pira.shtml. Hide

      Two USC researchers-Drs. Dan Dixon and Sacoby Wilson-have been awarded $1.5 million and $1.2 million, respectively from the National Institutes of Health and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. Dixon, an assistant professor in the Department of Biological Sciences and a researcher in the Center for Colorectal Cancer Research, is investigating genes involved with growth and inflammation that are overexpressed in colorectal cancer tumors and cells to identify targets for new cancer drugs, Wilson, a research assistant professor in the Institute for Families in Society and the Arnold School of Public Health, is working with the Lowcountry Alliance for Model Communities to identify air, water and soil pollutants and the impact of these on environmental public health and revitalization efforts in seven disadvantaged North Charleston neighborhoods. Hide

      Pam Benicewicz, a former senior physicist, project leader, and lab manager for General Electric in upstate New York and Greenville, S.C., has been named associate vice president for research and senior director of research advancement and outreach at Carolina. She first joined the University last year as director of industrial research relations. Read Article     Hide

      Three leading researchers will direct two USC Centers of Economic Excellence (CoEE) and co-direct a third collaborative Center-- all aimed at creating jobs and new opportunities for South Carolinians.
      Drs. Simon Hudson and Anton Jochen Lauterbach, will direct, respectively, new USC CoEEs in Tourism and Economic Development, and Strategic Approaches to the Production of Electricity from Coal. Dr Steve Blair will co-direct (with Dr. Carolyn Jenkins of MUSC's College of Nursing) the collaborative Technology Center to Enhance Healthful Lifestyles. Read Article     Hide

      Dr. John Van Zee is currently appearing in a Science Nation "Trailblazer" episode on the City of Columbia's transformation into a hotbed of hydrogen research--thanks in large part to the Industry/University Cooperative Research Center for Fuel Cells at the University of South Carolina.
      Van Zee, director of the center, which is funded by the National Science Foundation, notes, "What we're focused on specifically in this center is how to make a better fuel cell, how to make the fuel cell less expensive, how to make the fuel cell more reliable." Read Article     Hide

      A $4.9 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to the University of South Carolina will determine the feasibility of storing carbon dioxide underground in an effort to curb global climate change.
      The funding, which will go to researchers from the university's Earth Sciences and Resources Institute (ESRI) and department of earth and ocean sciences, is one of only 11 national awards from DOE's National Energy Technology Laboratory. The grants are valued at $75.5 million and are aimed at understanding whether CO2 - a greenhouse gas believed to be a culprit in climate change - can be safely stored in geologic formations, including abandoned oil and gas reservoirs, coal beds and underground reservoirs of salt water, also called deep saline aquifers.
      Carolina's three-year grant will focus on the South Georgia Rift (SGR) basin, where deep saline aquifers exist in Colleton, Beaufort and Jasper counties, said Dr. John Shafer, ESRI-SC director and the grant's principal investigator.
      "Carbon dioxide is a major greenhouse gas," he said. "If we can find a viable way to capture carbon dioxide and store it safely underground for centuries, then we can perhaps reduce the amount of CO2 in our atmosphere".Hide

      The Arts and Humanities Grants program is a new pilot program, sponsored by the Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost, to support faculty development through scholarship and creative achievement in the Arts and Humanities. The purpose of this program is to provide funding to assist Arts and Humanities faculty in achieving their scholarship goals, with particular emphasis on those activities that support work needed for tenure, promotion, completion of an ongoing project, and/or in exploring new areas of scholarship or creative work. Hide

      Stephen Kresovich, vice provost for life sciences and professor at Cornell University, has been named vice president for research and graduate education at Carolina, effective Oct. 1.
      Kresovich succeeds Rose Booze, who served as interim vice president for research since last August and was associate vice president for research from 2006 to 2008. During Booze's tenure in the Vice President for Research and Economic Development research funding grew dramatically. Booze has been named founding director of a new University-wide Brain and Behavior Institute. Read Article     Hide

      The Office of Research and Graduate Education has awarded $394,729 to fund 31 of the 126 proposals received in response to the 2009 Research Opportunity Program (ROP) solicitation according to Dr. Rosemarie Booze. She also said a former ROP awardee, Dr. David Barbeau, who subsequently received significant NSF funding as a result, has acknowledged the program in a paper published on his research.
      "Dr. Barbeau's paper in Earth and Planetary Science Letters represents a significant forward step in understanding Antarctic climate controls," said Booze, "and acknowledges that his research and the $700,000 NSF International Polar Year grant that primarily funded it, were a direct result of the ROP seed grant he received.
      "So, we are quite pleased with the faculty response to our 2009 ROP solicitation (a total of $1,752,539 was requested) designed to encourage development of individual research projects we expect will attract funding by external sources and promote scholarly activities, " she said, adding that ROP funding is allocated in three categories.
      Category I funds, considered "seed" monies, are to enhance the competitiveness of a new or renewal proposal for external funding. "Researchers who‘ve received optimistic reviewers' comments from a federal sponsor get priority for this funding," said Dr. Amit Almor, Chair of the ROP Review Committee, "and any Junior faculty principal investigators (PIs) involved are mentored in their funding agency and program selection, as well as the preparing and submitting of their extramural grant application," Almor said. He also said co-PIs "familiar with" the targeted funding source and the external grant proposal process act as the mentors.

The 2009 Category I funded proposals are: "Understanding the Mobility of Prevalent Nanomaterials in Bioreactor Landfills" PI: Dr. Nicole Berge, Civil & Environmental Engineering Co-PIs: Drs. Navid Saleh and Joseph Flora
"Role of Genetic and Dietary Factors in Breast Cancer Risk: Study of a Population in Demographic Transition" PI: Dr. James Burch, Epidemiology & Biostatistics
"Asian American Youth Language in the South" PI: Dr. Elaine Chun, English Co-PI: Dr. Robin Morris
"Child Care Subsidy, Quality of Child Care, and Economic Outcomes of Low-Income Families in South Carolina" PI: Dr. Yoonsook Ha, Social Work Co-PI: Dr. Melinda Forthofer
"Creation of a Targeted Mutation in Mice for Transcription Factor Rfx2" PI: Dr. Stephen Kistler, Chemistry & Biochemistry
"Developmental Neurotoxicity of Prenatal Cocaine" PI: Dr. Charles Mactutus, Psychology
"Validation of Forensic Characterization and Chemical Identification of Dyes Extracted from Millimeter-length Fibers" PI: Dr. Stephen Morgan, Chemistry & Biochemistry
"Glutathione and Thiol Redox Control in the Mitochondrial Intermembrane Space" PI: Dr. Caryn Outten, Chemistry & Biochemistry Co-PI: Dr. John Dawson
"A 3-Dimensional Model of Vascularized Bone Development" PI: Dr. Jay Potts, Cell & Developmental Biology & Anatomy
"Towards the Discovery of Inhibitors of the p53-HIV Tat Complex and the Induction of Apoptosis of Cells Latently Infected by HIV" PI: Dr. David Reisman, Biological Sciences
"Testing the Reliability of the Silicon Isotope Proxy in Diatoms Using the Cariaco Basin Time Series" PI: Dr. Howard Scher, Geological Sciences Co-PI: Dr. Robert Thunell
"Neural Plasticity in Healthy Aging" PI: Dr. Peter Soros, Communication Sciences & Disorders Co-PI: Dr. Christopher Rorden
"Algorithm Development to Reconstruct Ancestral Genomes" PI: Dr. Jijun Tang, Computer Science & Engineering
"Enhancing Data Privacy and Availability in Wireless Sensor Networks" PI: Dr. Wenyuan Xu, Computer Science & Engineering Co-PI: Dr. Csilla Farkas

      Category 2 funds support the "general development, expansion or enhancement of faculty research and creative activity," Booze said. "These funds focus on research contributions that increase academic, intellectual and scholarly activity."
      The 2009 Category 2 funded proposals are: "The Misinformation Effect in Eyewitness Identifications: An Examination of Source, Plausibility, and Warning" PI: Dr. Jennifer Beaudry, USC Beaufort Co-PI: Dr. Charles Keith
"Parents' Perception of Promoting Healthful Dietary and Physical Activity Behaviors of Children with an Intellectual Disability: A Qualitative Study" PI: Dr. Michael Beets, Exercise Science Co-PI: Dr. Russ Pate
"Characterizing a Novel Antibiotic Compound from a Marine Bacterium Effective Against Antibiotic-Resistant Pathogens and Has Low Cytotoxicity to Mammalian Cells" PI: Dr. Alan Decho, Environmental Health Sciences
"This Far by Faith: Carolina Camp Meetings, An African-American Tradition" PI: Dr. Minuette Floyd, Art
"Between Business and Bureaucrats: Pingtan Storytelling in Maoist China" PI: Dr. Qiliang He, USC Upstate
"Schoenberg in Words: Program Notes and Analyses (1904-1951)" PI: Dr. John Daniel Jenkins, Music
"'Inca' Citizens: Ethnic Identity and Nation Building in Early Twentieth-Century Bolivia" PI: Dr. Gabrielle Kuenzli, History
"Mexican Immigrants in South Carolina: Responding to Social, Political and Economic Change" PI: Dr. Elaine Lacy, USC Aiken Co-PI: Dr. Myriam Torres
"The Arab Imago: The Social History of Indigenous Photography" PI: Dr. Stephen Sheehi, Languages, Literatures, and Cultures
"Snapshot Photography: A Global History" PI: Dr. Rachel Snow, USC Upstate
"Conjugating Victorians: Meditations on Grammar, Time, and Other Living Forms" PI: Dr. Rebecca Stern, English
"Child Music-Related Behaviors and Parent Music Activities Questionnaire - Expansion" PI: Dr. Wendy Valerio, Music

      Category 3 funds "support the creative and performing arts, said Booze, "and may include costs associated with creating an exhibit, a performance, or a musical work."
The 2009 Category 2 funded proposals are: "Benjamin Wilson, FRS: Painter and Electrical Scientist" PI: Dr. Andrew Graciano, Art
"Recording of Contemporary American Music for Bassoon" PI: Dr. Peter Kolkay, Music
"No Wonder People Think Martha Graham is a Snack Cracker: Pairing Eau Claire High School Ninth Grade Students as Proteges with University of South Carolina Dance Students as Mentors" PI: Dr. Susan Schramm, Instruction & Teacher Education
"Home Movies of Global Capital" PI: Dr. Simon Tarr, Art
"USC in New York: A Pilot Program in Co-Production and Collective Creation" PI: Professor Nic Ularu, Theatre & Dance
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      At a standing-room-only Russell House ceremony January 29, USC's GRANT (Gamecock Research Administrators Networking and Training) program added 34 new names to its graduates roster as Interim Provost Ted Moore and Vice Provost for Health Sciences Russ Pate offered praise and encouragement.
      Moore challenged those assembled to join their predecessors in supporting the university's mission. "We are all about teaching, research and service at USC and you are key contributors to successful outcomes in all three," he said prior to presenting certificates and providing personal congratulations to each graduate.
      Pate congratulated them on demonstrating their commitment "to providing researchers like me with unparalleled administrative support so we can spend more time working in the lab, confident that regulatory details are being handled."
       "GRANT has now trained more than 145 staff members to improve their understanding of research administration regulations, policies, and procedures," Research Development Director Wanda Hutto told the new graduates. "Many have opted to springboard from their GRANT certificate to national professional certification and, in the process, made Carolina one of the nation's Top 10 research universities for Certified Research Administrators (CRAs).
       "In addition to training 145 research administration staff, we've had more than 700 faculty members attend GRANT courses for information on NSF, NIH, Grants.gov submission, basic proposal writing, and the university's own USCERA system," she said. "I'm happy to see faculty here today showing support for their research administration staff," she continued, "and the tremendous amount of time and effort they expend to better support the university's research efforts. That's critical to our continued development as a top-tier research university."
      The GRANT program's nine core courses and two electives cover topics such as proposal development, research budgets, pre and post award administration, research compliance and intellectual property.
      More than 30 staff members and program graduates serve as instructors; they represent business and finance, human resources, research development, research compliance, intellectual property, contract and grant accounting and sponsored awards management.
      In addition to course-based certification, GRANT also offers a series of monthly workshops developed specifically for faculty and quarterly research administer network breakfasts for departmental business managers and research directors. To learn more visit http://grant.sc.edu/.     Hide

(Columbia, SC, January 26, 2009)-University of South Carolina researchers have received $2.24 million from the Duke Endowment Healthcare Division according to Interim Research Vice President Rose Booze.
      "This Duke grant will provide funding for a collection of outstanding pre-proposals submitted to the Office of Research and Health Sciences in cooperation with the Office of Development and Foundations "Booze said. She said all submissions were reviewed/ranked by a faculty peer-review panel.
      "The university has made every effort to develop proposals that meet the Duke Endowment's priority for collaborative proposals by including our Health Sciences South Carolina (HSSC) partners; Greenville Hospital System (GHS), Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), Palmetto Health, and Clemson University," said Booze.
      Funded submissions include:
      The Community Navigation for Colorectal Cancer Prevention and Control program proposed by Dr. Heather Brandt. Designed to raise awareness about colorectal cancer and cancer screening for those who have not been screened, Brandt's submission also provides support for individuals seeking colorectal cancer screening services.
      "The incidence and mortality of colorectal cancer in South Carolina is higher than the national average," said Brandt. "Palmetto Health cancer screening services will be an instrumental component of our program, as they offer free and reduced cost cancer screening and follow-up care for individuals who are uninsured and underinsured." Dr. Melinda Forthofer's "Best Processes in Community Engagement within a Health Sciences Research Network" program proposes to describe patterns of community engagement in the university's health sciences research portfolio and to identify best processes for, with, or by university researchers.
      "This will be accomplished by conducting a network analysis based on key informant surveys of academic, clinical and community partners," Forthofer said, "and includes consultation with an external advisory committee comprised of representatives from GHS and MUSC."
      The "Development of Ultrasonography in the Rural Primary Care Setting to Enhance the Quality and Safety of Patient Care" program proposed by Dr. Richard Hoppmann.
      "We will develop and sustain a training program primarily for rural primary care physicians in the use of ultrasonography in their office practices. While this proposal is uniquely a USC School of Medicine innovation; the nature of the project is such that we will be partnering extensively with health care practices across the state," said Hoppmann. Dr. Lillian Smith seeks to increase the competency of SC Department of Health and Environmental Control (SC DHEC) and non-SC DHEC practitioners through her proposed "Fundamentals in Public Health Program." This program will be delivered through distance education, and the partners will have the potential to market the program to other entities and states.
      "Partners will target various non-SCDHEC organizations that provide prevention programs," Smith said, "including the major medical providers in South Carolina-- MUSC, Greenville Hospital System, and Palmetto Health-- and the extension and health sciences programs offered through Clemson University." Hide

      During these difficult economic times as the university undergoes reduced state funding, the Office of Research and Graduate Education (ORED) remains committed to strategic investments in university faculty through the development of individual research projects and scholarly endeavors. We are pleased to announce the availability of institutional grant funds under the Research Opportunity Program (ROP). The awards program is divided into three categories.
      Click here for 2009 ROP Guidelines.
      Category I funds will be considered "seed" monies and will be awarded to faculty with the stated objective of enhancing the competitiveness of a subsequent submission for external funding. Priority will be given to researchers that have received optimistic reviewer comments from a federal sponsor.
      Category II funds support the general development, expansion or enhancement of faculty research and creative activity. These funds are focused on research contributions that increase academic, intellectual and scholarly activity.
      Category III funds support the creative and performing arts. Support may include costs associated with creating an exhibit, a performance, a musical work, etc.
      To enhance their success rate, ORED strongly suggests that faculty planning to submit proposals to the 2009 Research Opportunity Program attend a Question & Answer Session offered by the Office of Research Development. To register for a Question & Answer Session, please contact Melissa Mattison at mattison@mailbox.sc.edu. Hide