Stories for Alumni

Data from a computer screen is reflected in the eyeglasses of a researcher.

Big Data Health Science Center brings big minds, big ideas

April 22, 2024, Gregory Hardy

Because data will play such a large role in the future of health care, the University of South Carolina launched the Big Data Health Science Center in 2019. The center held its fifth annual Big Data Health Science Conference in February, which attracted almost 100 presenters from five countries and 269 attendees. Here’s the big picture for what’s next for the Big Data Health Science Center and its supporters to accelerate cutting-edge research and discovery.

Topics: Students, Faculty, Research, Health Sciences, Arnold School of Public Health

Icon of how an artificial intelligence brain connects to concepts of technology, transportation, vision, the brain, ideas and health care.

2024 artificial intelligence faculty experts list

April 03, 2024, Gregory Hardy

University of South Carolina researchers explore how artificial intelligence can be used for advancements in health care, education, manufacturing, energy, disaster management and transportation. They are also helping shape and inform the ethics and policies surrounding these emergent solutions.

Topics: Faculty, Research, Health Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences, College of Engineering and Computing, College of Information and Communications, Joseph F. Rice School of Law, Medicine (Columbia), Arnold School of Public Health

a person points at a scan on a computer screen

Improving care in the Stroke Belt

February 19, 2024, Communications and Marketing

As the state’s flagship institution, the University of South Carolina is well has many strengths in both research and treatment of stroke and aphasia — a common consequence of stroke characterized by difficulty speaking or understanding others’ speech. The research is critically important in the state with the seventh-highest incidence of stroke mortality in the U.S.

Topics: Faculty, Research, Initiatives, Health Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences, Medicine (Columbia), College of Nursing, Arnold School of Public Health

Cocky statue

USC again among nation's best in sport science

January 10, 2024, Allen Wallace

The annual Global Ranking of Sport Science Schools and Departments ranks USC No. 1 in the Southeastern Conference and No. 3 in the United States overall. South Carolina has ranked in the Top 5 in every edition of the U.S. sport science rankings, compiled by ShanghaiRanking Consultancy, finishing first six times.

Topics: Students, Academics, Recognition, Leadership, College of Hospitality, Retail and Sport Management, Arnold School of Public Health

ASPH award winner, Huda Falous

Public health student recognized for community engagement, research

December 21, 2023, Lauryn Jiles

Committed to advocacy, community engagement and research, public health senior Huda Falous is the recipient of the Arnold School’s 2023 Undergraduate Student Award in Excellence in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

Topics: Students, University Leadership, Academics, Research, Experiential Learning, Initiatives, Diversity, Recognition, Health Sciences, Leadership, Student Voices, Arnold School of Public Health, South Carolina Honors College

Graduation cap decorated with a Block C.

Class of 2023 December graduates

December 07, 2023, Megan Sexton

As the December Class of 2023 prepares to walk across the commencement stage, graduates leave the University of South Carolina with memories of enduring friendships, newfound passions, supportive mentors and life-changing experiences.

Topics: Students, Alumni, Recognition, Student Voices, College of Arts and Sciences, Darla Moore School of Business, College of Engineering and Computing, The Graduate School, College of Hospitality, Retail and Sport Management, College of Information and Communications, Arnold School of Public Health, South Carolina Honors College

woman in scrubs

USC faculty, alumni work to fill health care needs in rural areas

November 10, 2023

Living in a rural community brings lots of advantages: close-knit communities, easy access to nature, less noise and pollution, lower home prices. But a lack of population density also brings challenges, and access to health care is one of them. As daunting as the state’s health issues can seem, the University of South Carolina is well positioned to help.

Topics: Students, Alumni, Faculty, The Remarkable We, Health Sciences, Medicine (Columbia), Medicine (Greenville), College of Nursing, Arnold School of Public Health, University System

Photo of student walking on the Horseshoe

First-generation college students bring resilience, perspectives to USC campus

November 03, 2023, Megan Sexton

First-generation college students come from all sorts of backgrounds and bring a variety of perspectives to campus. At USC, about one-fifth of the student population identifies as first-generation college students, meaning their parents did not earn a four-year college degree.

Topics: Students, Alumni, Faculty, Academics, Experiential Learning, Scholarships, Undergraduate Admissions, Graduate Studies, Initiatives, Diversity, Leadership, Careers, Student Voices, College of Arts and Sciences, College of Education, College of Engineering and Computing, Arnold School of Public Health, South Carolina Honors College

woman stands next to a wall with a sign that reads community health

Reaching the most vulnerable

October 23, 2023, Chris Horn

Fifteen years ago, Julie Smithwick was a community health worker focused solely on new Latino mothers and families in South Carolina. Today, she directs a new center at the University of South Carolina that’s training hundreds of community health workers who assist vulnerable populations with health and social needs ranging from children with disabilities to adults with chronic diseases and more.

Topics: Initiatives, Health Sciences, Arnold School of Public Health

Tick in test tube

New institute puts USC on map for vector-borne illness research

October 16, 2023, Hannah Cambre

The Institute of Infectious Disease Translational Research will allow public health researcher Melissa Nolan to operate complementary studies at labs based in Columbia, El Salvador and Brazil, putting USC on the map as an international hub for maternal and infant health research.

Topics: Faculty, University Leadership, University President, Academics, Research, Experiential Learning, Initiatives, Partnerships, Health Sciences, Arnold School of Public Health

Students wear protective glasses while learning at camp

Carolina Master Scholars camps spark curiosity, forge connections

August 03, 2023, Alexis Watts

Summer camp memories don’t often include crime scene blood spatter analysis or creating culinary masterpieces, but the Carolina Master Scholars Adventure Series is not your typical summer camp.

Topics: Students, Alumni, Experiential Learning, Undergraduate Admissions, Initiatives, Diversity, Economic Engagement, Student Voices, College of Arts and Sciences, College of Education, Arnold School of Public Health, South Carolina Honors College

Sarah Davis poses with her son, Sam.

Sarah Davis blazes trail for mothers pursuing Ph.D.'s

May 11, 2023, Abbey Smith

Sarah Davis’s endometriosis diagnosis spurred the NIH-funded researcher to pursue motherhood while completing her Ph.D. in pharmaceutical sciences. As she prepares to celebrate her first Mother’s Day, Davis reflects on what it means to have a successful academic career while starting a family.

Topics: Students, Alumni, Faculty, Academics, Research, Recognition, Student Voices, Medicine (Columbia), Arnold School of Public Health, South Carolina Honors College

School girl hula-hooping in a gym setting with other classmates.

Public health researcher plays key role in project aimed at addressing K-12 fitness

April 27, 2023

Russell Pate, a public health professor and director of the Children's Physical Activity Research Group, played a key role in SC FitnessGram, a project led by the state Department of Health and Environmental Control that aims to evaluate and improve health-related fitness among public school students.

Topics: Faculty, Academics, Research, Health Sciences, Healthy Carolina, Arnold School of Public Health

A wi-fi symbol lights up green on a router.

Improving internet access and outcomes

March 22, 2023, Grace Farrar

An estimated 450,000 South Carolinians lack internet access, but the University of South Carolina is teaming up with the state Broadband Office to bridge that gap. Researchers from across the university have developed a survey to gauge broadband need statewide, a key step towards accessing federal broadband investments.

Topics: Faculty, University Leadership, College of Education, Medicine (Greenville), Arnold School of Public Health

Multiple black and white scans of a brain with red highlights.

USC's neuroscience research offers hope for a range of conditions

February 14, 2023

The University of South Carolina is focused on the brain. From autism and aphasia to Alzheimer’s and other related dementias, university researchers are working across several academic disciplines to better understand how the brain works and to develop solutions that will improve people’s health.

Topics: Faculty, Research, Initiatives, Health Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences, College of Engineering and Computing, Medicine (Columbia), Arnold School of Public Health

Photo of Jazmine Lara Guerrero, a first-gen student

First-generation college students add energy, resilience to USC campus

November 04, 2022, Megan Sexton

There is no typical first-generation college student. Some come from immigrant families, some from households where family members didn’t graduate from high school. But all add energy and variety to the University of South Carolina campus.

Topics: Students, Alumni, Faculty, Academics, Experiential Learning, Scholarships, Undergraduate Admissions, Graduate Studies, Initiatives, Diversity, Leadership, Careers, Student Voices, College of Arts and Sciences, College of Education, College of Engineering and Computing, Arnold School of Public Health, South Carolina Honors College

VPR Julius Fridriksson

New vice president for research aims to mentor junior faculty

October 03, 2022, Craig Brandhorst

Julius Fridriksson loves a challenge. After climbing to the top of his field — and building out a research team of more than 40 faculty, post docs and graduate students at the Arnold School of Public Health — the onetime first-generation college student from a small village in Iceland agreed to become USC’s interim vice president for research in 2021.

Topics: University Leadership, Research, Recognition, Health Sciences, Leadership, Careers, Arnold School of Public Health

Teen athlete drinks water out of gatorade tub

How to keep teen athletes safe from heat illness as sports practice begins amid a brutally hot summer

August 01, 2022, Susan Yeargin

There are good reasons that teen athletes start the first few weeks of preseason practice slowly. The body needs time to adapt when an athlete of any age begins to exercise or train for a sport in hot conditions. Athletic training professor Susan Yeargin writes for The Conversation on how to keep players safe from heat illness.

Topics: Faculty, Arnold School of Public Health, The Conversation

A young woman in hospital scrubs treats a patient

Students, alumni work to transform health care in rural Guatemala

May 20, 2022, Alexis Watts

Spring break normally means a time for University of South Carolina students to say goodbye to hard work and relax for a week, but for the past 10 years, hundreds of students from the Capstone Scholars program have chosen to challenge themselves culturally.

Topics: Students, Alumni, Faculty, Experiential Learning, Health Sciences, Service, Leadership, Student Voices, College of Nursing, Arnold School of Public Health

School of Music senior Madie Willard stands in front of the Koger Center wearing a gray jacket and pink top

Student organizes event to share joy of music with Deaf community

April 18, 2022, Carol J.G. Ward

An interactive, multisensory Music Field Day organized by School of Music senior Madie Willard will offer children who are deaf or hard of hearing and their families an opportunity to experience music through the senses. Headlining the event will be DEAFinitely Dope, an internationally recognized deaf hip hop (dip hop) artist based in the Atlanta area.

Topics: Students, Faculty, Experiential Learning, Diversity, Service, Student Voices, School of Music, Arnold School of Public Health

Kelly Adams on the UofSC Horseshoe

UofSC alumna guides employer's gift to Center for Civil Rights History and Research

April 12, 2022, Megan Sexton

Alumna Kelly Adams, managing director of state government and regulatory affairs for the energy infrastructure company Williams, was instrumental in her employer’s gift of $1.5 million to the university's Center for Civil Rights History and Research.

Topics: Alumni, Faculty, Research, Initiatives, Diversity, Collections, Philanthropy, Leadership, Careers, College of Arts and Sciences, Arnold School of Public Health, University Libraries

Dance Marathon students with Cocky

Dance Marathon raises $931,016

April 12, 2022, Allen Wallace

On April 9, nearly 2,000 University of South Carolina students spent the day dancing together, closing more than a year of work with a huge success as they raised $931,016 to support the Child Life program at Prisma Health Children's Hospital.

Topics: Students, Philanthropy, Service, Leadership, College of Arts and Sciences, College of Engineering and Computing, College of Hospitality, Retail and Sport Management, Arnold School of Public Health

UofSC Horseshoe

US News rankings: UofSC tops in International MBA, med school grads in underserved areas

March 28, 2022, Megan Sexton

The University of South Carolina’s international business program retained its spot as the best in the country, while the School of Medicine Columbia remained the best school for graduates practicing in underserved areas, according to the latest U.S. News & World Report’s Best Graduate School rankings.

Topics: Students, Academics, Graduate Studies, Recognition, Careers, Darla Moore School of Business, The Graduate School, Joseph F. Rice School of Law, Medicine (Columbia), College of Nursing, Arnold School of Public Health

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