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The Provost’s Advisory Committee on Women’s Issues and the Office of Research and Health Sciences presented the second-annual Research Forum Sept. 28. Approximately 75 faculty and staff members attended the breakfast meeting, which was held in the Campus Room of Capstone House.
Sonya Duhé, associate vice president in the Office of Research and Health Sciences, welcomed researchers to the meeting, which began with a panel discussion. Speakers were Liv Haselbach, assistant professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering; Jill Michels, clinical assistant professor at the College of Pharmacy and clinical pharmacist at the Palmetto Poison Center; and Jennifer Vendemia, research assistant professor in the Department of Psychology.
Haselbach told of her initial struggles with writing and applying for grants and stressed that it is important for beginning researchers to continue to apply for grants, despite multiple rejections. She also mentioned that research collaboration opportunities may come from unexpected areas and that it is important to explore all possibilities. Haselbach has been a professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering since 2002.
Michels talked about the beginnings of the Palmetto Poison Center and how teaming up with the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) was beneficial to both entities. The partnership allowed the Poison Center to create an electronic database of calls received, which DHEC then used to track health trends and risks across the state, county by county. Michels has been with the College of Pharmacy for almost six years.
Vendemia recounted how she secured her position at USC, how she manages her grants, and how it is important to meet with as many people who control funding dollars as possible. She also stressed that beginning researchers should attend as many meetings and workshops as possible in order to meet others in their fields of interest. Vendemia came to USC in 2000 and was recently awarded a $5 million dollar grant from the U.S. Department of Defense.
All three speakers emphasized that new researchers should participate in organizations relevant to their research in order to increase visibility and name recognition in their fields.
Provost Mark Becker also addressed the group, speaking about the importance of forming collaborative partnerships and being willing to venture into new research areas for continued success.
After the panelists spoke, participants broke into roundtable discussions, which were facilitated by members of the Provost’s Advisory Committee on Women’s Issues. This format encouraged researchers from all over campus to discuss mutual goals and also gave faculty and research staff an opportunity to share unique funding sources.
Representatives from Sponsored Awards Management, the Office of Undergraduate Research, the USC/Gateway Academy Child Development and Research Center, and the School of Medicine Library were available to answer questions and distribute relevant literature. Participants also received contact information for all registrants so that they may form partnerships for future research. Another research forum is planned for next fall.
10/05
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