USC Office of Research

The Office of the Vice President for Research is pleased to announce the results of the 2013 ASPIRE I, II and III internal funding competitions.

A total of 226 proposals were submitted to the ASPIRE programs this year, representing a 15% increase over the inaugural competition in 2012. The proposals were reviewed by faculty review committees appointed by the Vice President for Research. While a large number of meritorious proposals were received, those that received the highest priority scores were selected for funding. Of the 226 proposals received a total of 67 were funded, for a total of $2,005,879, which represents a 29.7% funding rate. Prakash Nagarkatti, the Vice President for Research, notes, "ASPIRE awards have a significant impact on research and scholarly activities of our faculty across all disciplines - they are aimed to encourage interdisciplinary and creative collaborations with the goal towards enhancing scholarly publications and research funding."

ASPIRE-I (Advanced Support for Innovative Research Excellence-I) funding is provided by the Office of the Vice President for Research to encourage faculty to develop individual innovative research projects leading to the pursuit of external funding or to the promotion of scholarly activities. This program will have four tracks of funding

Track I funds are awarded to Junior Faculty (tenure-track Assistant Professors only) to encourage the development of research projects for further extramural funding or other scholarly pursuits.

Principal Investigator	Title	Department	College
Anderson, Jill	Adaptive evolution in the context of rapid climate change	Biological Sciences	Arts and Sciences, College of
Davis, Shannon	Generating novel zebrafish lines to study pituitary organogenesis	Biological Sciences	Arts and Sciences, College of
Greytak, Andrew	Aspire: Demonstration of ligand binding and release from single semiconductor nanowires	Chemistry & Biochemistry	Arts and Sciences, College of
Liu, Xinfeng	Mathematical modeling and computational studies for proliferation kinetics of tumor growth	Mathematics	Arts and Sciences, College of
Schwebel, Sara	Scott O'Dell's Island of the Blue Dolphins: An Annotated, Critical Edition	English	Arts and Sciences, College of
Irvin, Matthew	Understanding the Link between Substance Use and School Dropout among Rural Youth	Educational Studies, Department of	Education, College of
Niehaus, Sarah	How Social-Emotional Well-Being Contributes to the Academic Achievement of English Language Learners	Educational Studies, Department of	Education, College of
Alekseyev, Max	Varying-resolution synteny blocks construction for large-scale phylogenomics	Computer Science & Engineering	Engineering & Computing, College of
Berge, Nicole	Evaluating Nanomaterial Mobility in Realistic Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) Landfill Environments: Part 1 - Development of Geotechnical Centrifuge Testing Protocols	Civil & Environmental Engineering	Engineering & Computing, College of
Blanchette, James	Use of Ischemic Preconditioning to Enhance Islet Engraftment	Chemical Engineering	Engineering & Computing, College of
LIU, CHUNYANG	Comprehensive Study on the Coupling Effects between Mechanical and Hydraulic Behavior of Multiphase Porous Media by Using SPH and DEM	Civil & Environmental Engineering	Engineering & Computing, College of
Shazly, Tarek	Decoupling the active and passive mechanics of vascular tissue	Mechanical Engineering	Engineering & Computing, College of
Tarbutton, Joshua	Additive Manufacturing for Precision Engineering Applications	Mechanical Engineering	Engineering & Computing, College of
Uline, Mark	Molecular Modeling of Divalent Cation Interactions with Monolayers of Surface-Bound Single-Stranded DNA	Chemical Engineering	Engineering & Computing, College of
Wang, Xiaofeng	Condition-Based Control of Resilient Networked Systems	Electrical Engineering	Engineering & Computing, College of
Yu, Miao	Nano-Channel Enhanced Composite Membranes to Achieve a 20,000 GPU CO2 Permeance for Carbon Capture	Chemical Engineering	Engineering & Computing, College of
Gavigan, Karen	ASPIRE-ing to Prevent HIV/AIDS: A Graphic Novel Intervention for South Carolina Teens	Library & Information Sciences, School of	Mass Communications & Information Studies, College of
Ai, Walden	Adapting the pre-metastatic niche model to study asthma	Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology	Medicine, School of
Kelly, Michele	Intramolecular Signals Controlling Phosphodiesterase 11A (PDE11A) Function in Brain	Pharmacology, Physiology & Neuroscience	Medicine, School of
Robinson, Cory	AN INFANT MOUSE MODEL OF ELEVATED INTERLEUKIN-27 PRODUCTION	Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology	Medicine, School of
Lu, Kevin	Diabetes and Risk of Pancreatic Cancer: A Retrospective Cohort Study among the Veteran Affairs Population	Clinical Pharmacy and Outcomes Sciences	Pharmacy, SC College of
Zhu, Jun	Environmental enrichment and vulnerability to nicotine dependence	Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Sciences	Pharmacy, SC College of
Blake, Christine	Using a novel experimental approach with eye tracking to examine how different front-of-package labels influence parents selection of foods and beverages for their children	Health Promotion, Education & Behavior	Public Health, Arnold School of
CHATTERJEE, SAURABH	Epigenetic Modulations in Resveratrol-mediated Therapeutic Effects in Environmental Linked-Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis of Obesity	Environmental Health Sciences	Public Health, Arnold School of
Den Ouden, Dirk-Bart	Cortical stimulation of verb-argument-structure processing	Communication Sciences & Disorders	Public Health, Arnold School of
Kaczynski, Andrew	Neighborhood Physical and Social Environment and Residents' Physical Activity Patterns	Health Promotion, Education & Behavior	Public Health, Arnold School of
Newman-Norlund, Roger	Creation of a Web-Based Research Tool for Studying Social-Motor Impairments in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder	Exercise Science	Public Health, Arnold School of
Sui, Xuemei	A feasibility study of using automated feedback to enhance physical activity and dietary self-management behaviors to promote weight loss in a healthcare setting	Exercise Science	Public Health, Arnold School of
Andrews, Christina	Assessing the Impact of the Affordable Care Act on Access to Substance Abuse Treatment for Medicaid-Insured Americans	Social Work, College of	Social Work, College of
Boyd, Kate	Bringing the South Carolina Encyclopedia Online	University Libraries	University Libraries
Vieyra, Michelle	Getting Everyone Involved: Identifying the Obstacles to Participation of Minorities in Undergraduate Research Experiences	USC Aiken	USC Aiken
Cai, Li	Immuno-Targeting of Breast Cancer Cells with Human Natural Antibodies	USC Salkehatchie	USC Salkehatchie

Track II funds are awarded to research faculty (non-tenure track, Assistant Professor level and above, but not for Post-Doctoral Fellows) to encourage the development of research projects for further extramural funding.

Principal Investigator	Title	Department	College
Chen, Mengqian	Regulation of Androgen Receptor Function by Transcription Regulating Kinases CDK8 and CDK19	Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Sciences	Pharmacy, SC College of
Hegde, Venkatesh	Cannabidiol and immunosuppression: Studies on mechanism of induction and role of myeloid derived suppressor cells (MDSCs)	Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology	Medicine, School of
King, Adam	Refining the Middle Savannah River Valley Hollywood Phase Chronology Using Sequence Analysis	Archaeology & Anthropology, SC Institute of	Arts and Sciences, College of
Norris, Carol LeAnn	A Comparative Study of Rixutimab-associated Progressive Multifocal Leucoencephalopathy (PML)	Clinical Pharmacy and Outcomes Sciences	Pharmacy, SC College of

Track III funds are awarded as bridge funds to faculty (tenure-track, tenured or research faculty) who have not been able to renew their recent grants.

Principal Investigator	Title	Department	College
Carson, James	Cachexia in ApcMIN/+ mice: The role of IL-6 (ASPIRE I)	Exercise Science	Public Health, Arnold School of
Connolly, Erin	ASPIRE I (Track III) Proposal: Integrating Cellular Iron Homeostasis Mechanisms	Biological Sciences	Arts and Sciences, College of
Outten, Franklin	ASPIRE I: Characterization of an essential iron cofactor biosynthesis pathway from Mycobacterium tuberculosis	Chemistry & Biochemistry	Arts and Sciences, College of
Stratmann, Johannes	Negative regulation of MAP kinases in plant responses to herbivory	Biological Sciences	Arts and Sciences, College of
Zhang, Jiajia	Innovative Spatio-temporal Survival Models Allowing Crossing Survival	Epidemiology and Biostatistics	Public Health, Arnold School of

Track IV funds are awarded as innovative and exploratory grants for Senior Faculty (Tenure-Track or Tenured Associate and Full Professors) to expand or re-focus their research.

Principal Investigator	Title	Department	College
Hebert, Thomas	High-Achieving University Students from Low-Income Backgrounds	Educational Studies, Department of	Education, College of
Matthews, Michael	Interactions of Collagen Matrix Materials with Near- and Super-Critical Solvents	Chemical Engineering	Engineering & Computing, College of
Mueller, Agnes	Aspire I -- Track IV: Legacies of Despair and Hope (Book)	Languages, Literatures, and Cultures	Arts and Sciences, College of
Osokina, Elena	The Hammer and the Icon: Soviet Sales of Religious Art to the United States under Stalin	History	Arts and Sciences, College of
Patel, Rekha	Investigation of molecular mechanisms involved in dystonia 16	Biological Sciences	Arts and Sciences, College of
Petkov, Georgi	Physiological role of Kv channels in human urinary bladder smooth muscle	Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Sciences	Pharmacy, SC College of
Pittman, Douglas	Development of a novel high throughput in vivo assay to discover inhibitors that block protein-protein interactions	Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Sciences	Pharmacy, SC College of
Reisman, David	p53-HIV Tat interactions that inhibit p53 function	Biological Sciences	Arts and Sciences, College of
Waldman, Alan	The Influence of Progerin on DNA Transactions	Biological Sciences	Arts and Sciences, College of
Yankovsky, Alexander	Preliminary sampling and scaling of the buoyant plume originating from melting iceberg in the Labrador Sea	Earth and Ocean Sciences	Arts and Sciences, College of
Yoon, Yeomin	Preliminary Evaluation of Sonocatalytic Degradation Coupled with Carbon Nanotubes for Removal of Endocrine Disrupting Compounds, Pharmaceuticals, and Personal Care Products	Civil & Environmental Engineering	Engineering & Computing, College of

ASPIRE-I (Innovation) Guidelines

ASPIRE-II (Advanced Support Program for Integration of Research Excellence-II) funding is provided by the Vice President's Office for Research to support research involving at least two or more Colleges/Schools. This call is aimed to promote interdisciplinary collaborations between at least 3 or more faculty members to develop preliminary data to apply for targeted Program Projects, Centers of Excellence Grants or similar mechanisms of extramural funding. The goal of this internal grant is to seed new or support existing collaborative interdisciplinary research that is nationally and internationally competitive and has a strong potential to be supported and sustained by external finding agencies.

Principal Investigator	Title	Department	College
Dr. Angela Dorothea Liese	Positioning USC for National Prominence in Food Security and Food Access Research	Epidemiology & Biostatistics	Public Health, Arnold School of
Dr. Colin F Wilder	Dirty History Metacrawler	University Libraries	University Libraries
Dr. Fanglin Chen	ASPIRE-II: Design and Discovery of Novel Electrode Materials for Reversible Solid Oxide Cells	Mechanical Engineering	Engineering & Computing, College of
Dr. John R. Monnier	Design, preparation, and evaluation of improved catalysts for direct hydrochlorination of acetylene to vinyl chloride monomer	Chemical Engineering	Engineering & Computing, College of
Dr. Ronit Elk	A Community-Generated Palliative Care Telemedicine Consult Program for Rural Black Elders: A Feasibility Study	Clinical Pharmacy and Outcomes Sciences	Pharmacy, SC College of
Troy M Herter	Coupling Robotic Assessment with Gaze Tracking to Assess Action Selection Following Stroke - ASPIRE II	Exercise Science	Public Health, Arnold School of

ASPIRE-II (Integration) Guidelines

ASPIRE-III (Advanced Support Program for Infrastrucure in Research Excellence-III) funding is provided by the Office of the Vice President for Research to develop infrastructure such as multi-user equipment and facilities with cutting edge-technology that is critical to the growth and competitiveness of USC's research portfolio. To pursue interdisciplinary research, it is critical that we have a state-of-the-art research infrastructure that can be used to sustain existing and develop new interdisciplinary Centers of Excellence. This internal grant is aimed at providing support for such ventures. Funds may also be used to complement extramural support for purchase of major equipment.

Principal Investigator	Title	Department	College
Charles Bennett	Databases to Strengthen Pharmacovigilance Research and Teaching Efforts for Faculty in Pharmacy, Medicine, and Public Health	Pharmacy - (Dean)	Pharmacy, SC College of
Dr. Beth Allyn Krizek	Acquisition of Instrumentation for Quantitative Biomolecular Imaging	Biological Sciences	Arts and Sciences, College of
Dr. Campbell McInnes, PhD	Mass Directed Automated Preparative Scale HPLC Purification System Resubmission of ASPIRE III proposal from 2/12/2012	Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Sciences	Pharmacy, SC College of
Dr. Harry J Ploehn	Ferroelectric Characterization of Materials for Energy Storage, Radiation Detection, and Power Electronics	Chemical Engineering	Engineering & Computing, College of
Dr. John Gerdes, Jr.	3-D Modeling Service Bureau	Integrated Information Technology	Hospitality, Retail & Sport Management, College of
Dr. Mark Garrett Cooper	A Small-Gauge High-Resolution Film Scanner for Moving Image Research Collections	English	Arts and Sciences, College of
Dr. Prasun Kanti Majumdar	In-Situ Thermal Imaging of Manufacturing of Heterogeneous Materials and Their Multi-Physical Response	Mechanical Engineering	Engineering & Computing, College of
Professor Thomas Michael Makris	Acquisition of Applied Photophysics Stopped Flow Spectrometer	Chemistry & Biochemistry	Arts and Sciences, College of
Robert L Price and Jay Potts	Acquisition of a LI-COR Odyssey CLx Infrared Imaging System for the USC Instrumentation Resource Facility	Cell Biology & Anatomy	Medicine, School of

ASPIRE-III (Infrastructure) Guidelines

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