Parker Huggins, Dorathea Lee, Caroline Rucker, Silas Scribner, Kim Tena, Rhoda Witmer and Christopher Wu are 2025 recipients of the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program scholarship, with 12 more USC students and alumni earning honorable mention distinction. The NSF GRFP provides three years of funding to support graduate-level study and
research. University of South Carolina students have earned the NSF GRFP for 29 consecutive
years. For the 2024 – 2025 application cycle, the NSF awarded approximately 1,500
scholarships and 2,500 honorable mentions.
Why it matters
The NSF GRFP provides $37,000 a year for three years, plus a $16,000 educational allowance,
to master's or Ph.D. students whose research projects have significant intellectual
merit and broad impacts. Students can choose their own research project and advisor,
and they may utilize the funding at any U.S. institution of higher education. USC’s
past recipients have made significant impacts in academia, the private sector and
their communities.
Who they are
Parker Huggins
Carolina scholar and 2025 South Carolina Honors College graduate Parker Huggins earned a degree in electrical engineering. His research with professor Alphan Sahin
focused on signal processing techniques for the physical layer of wireless communication
systems. This summer, he will build on his research interests with the Telecommunications
Signal Processing Group at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The NSF GRFP will fund
his Ph.D. studies at New York University, where he will pursue communication and information
theory.
Dorothea Lee
Dorathea Lee is a 2023 Honors College graduate. She earned a degree in biochemistry and molecular
biology from USC and is currently a Ph.D. student in bioanalytical chemistry at Colorado
State University. Lee’s research focuses on the molecular mechanisms of neurodegenerative
diseases, and she plans to use funding from the NSF GRFP to continue this work. Lee
is committed to destigmatizing mental health and wants to pursue a career as a research
professor, studying neuropsychiatric disease mechanisms and medications.
Caroline Rucker
2024 Goldwater scholar and 2025 Honors graduate Caroline Rucker earned a degree in biomedical engineering. With funding from the NSF GRFP, Rucker
plans to conduct research on novel biomaterial platforms for cancer immunotherapy.
Rucker has researched in professor Michael Gower’s lab since her first year at USC
and earned a Magellan Grant to support her work. She plans to attend the University
of Colorado Boulder and pursue a Ph.D. in biological engineering.
Silas Scribner
Horseshoe Scholar and 2023 South Carolina Honors College graduate Silas Scribner is a second-year Ph.D. student in chemistry at the University of California Irvine.
Scribner's research is focused on developing new methods for the synthesis of pharmaceutically
relevant phosphorus-containing molecules with the hope that his research will lead
not only to more sustainable methods for the synthesis of known pharmaceuticals but
also to the development of new therapies.
Kim Tena
Kim Tena is a second-year Ph.D. student in psychology and a trainee in the Carolina Autism
and Neurodevelopmental Research Center. Tena is dedicated to removing barriers to
disability identification, self-determination and meaningful education opportunities
for autistic individuals. The funding from the NSF GRFP will give her the flexibility
to continue pursuing interdisciplinary research at USC and with colleagues across
the United States.
Rhoda Witmer
Incoming Ph.D. student Rhoda Witmer will begin USC’s school psychology program in the fall. Her experiences working toward
the prevention of human trafficking in Cambodia sparked her interest in moral injury
in adolescence. Witmer hopes that her research will yield greater insight into human
trafficking and best practices for supporting survivors. She aspires to provide psychological
care to those who are unlikely to access it and would like to return to Cambodia to
help rebuild their educational and psychological care systems.
Christopher Wu
2019 Honors graduate Christopher Wu studied biomedical engineering and chemistry at USC. He is currently pursuing a Ph.D.
in biomedical engineering at Boston University. Wu develops self-replicating RNA platforms
and gene switches to control immune cell behavior for cancer treatment. The NSF GRFP
will allow him to focus on programmable RNA circuits to enhance the specificity and
safety of engineered T cell therapies. Wu’s professional goals include biotech entrepreneurship,
which will enable him to translate academic research into clinical applications.
Haleigh Brown, Olivia Clay, Anna Dickfoss, Lillian Doll, Shannon Henry, Emma Jackson,
Isak Jatoi, Amber Pospistle, Jessica Rodgers, Peyton Smalls, Caroline Toburen and Genevieve Triplett earned honorable mention recognition. This is a significant national achievement
that designates the strong merit of their applications.
In addition to support from national fellowships advisors, USC’s NSF GRFP candidates
can gain insight from a faculty committee. For the 2024 – 2025 academic year, Carol Boggs (committee chair), Kristen Booth, Leigh D’Amico, Ralf Gothe, Jochen Lauterbach, Eric LoPresti, Pamela Martin, Ramtin Mohammadizand, Tammi Richardson, Sheryl Wiskur and Lang Yuan served on the committee.
Students interested in learning more about applying for the NSF GRFP should contact USC’s national fellowships team.
