ASPIRE grants were initiated in 2012 to fund promising research and shared research infrastructure to help strengthen the University of South Carolina’s competitiveness for external grants and bolster scholarship throughout the USC System. Moreover, the ASPIRE II grants were aimed at promoting interdisciplinary research through faculty collaborations across different schools and colleges of USC. Faculty members who have received ASPIRE grants have generated more than $50 million in new research funding as a result.

The Office of the Vice President for Research is pleased to announce the results of the 2016 ASPIRE I, II and III internal funding competitions. USC Faculty researchers submitted a total of 182 proposals to the ASPIRE programs this year. The proposals were reviewed by faculty review committees appointed by the Vice President for Research, and 76 were selected for funding.

Prakash Nagarkatti, the Vice President for Research, notes, “Each year, we coordinate the ASPIRE grant program to boost the research and scholarship at USC across all disciplines, and all system campuses. The faculty who receive these grants continue to exceed expectations, and I feel certain that the same will be true of our 2016 ASPIRE recipients. Year after year, ASPIRE recipients use their funding to create strong foundations on which they can build, often with successful externally funded follow-up projects. In fact, 78 research proposals that started as ASPIRE projects have been funded by outside entities, with many more pending. These numbers are significant, and really show how faculty can translate internal investments into external funding success stories.”

The 2016 ASPIRE recipients are listed below, by funding track. It is the Office of Research’s pleasure to recognize this distinguished group. Complete details about the ASPIRE program, including criteria for each funding track and sub-track, are available on the program’s ASPIRE home page.

2016 ASPIRE-I: Innovation recipients

Sub-track I, junior faculty development

Principal Investigator	Title	Department	College
Brandt, Lydia	Mid-Century Architecture in America: Outside the Canon	Art	Arts and Sciences, College of
Brian, Ali	Project HOP: Health-enhancing Outcomes and Physical activity for individuals with visual impairments	Physical Education	Education, College of
Cozad, Melanie	Exploring the Use of Implicit and Explicit Methods to Elicit Individual Patient Preferences At Diagnosis to Inform Patient-Centered Care	Health Services Policy and Management	Public Health, Arnold School of
Cummings, Jason	The Black Middle Class Health Paradox and Racial Discrimination	Sociology	Arts and Sciences, College of
D'Antonio, Edward	Development of Biologically-Active Enzyme Inhibitors of the Pentose Phosphate Pathway Against Trypanosomatid Parasites	USC Beaufort - General	USC Beaufort
Davis, Rachel	Using tailored narratives to increase cross-racial empathy and reduce implicit racial bias: A preliminary study toward eliminating racial health disparities	Health Promotion, Education & Behavior	Public Health, Arnold School of
Drenowatz, Clemens	The Effects of Various Exercise Protocols on Energy Expenditure During and Following Exercise	Exercise Science	Public Health, Arnold School of
Eberth, John	Development and Evaluation of an In Vitro Calcium Chloride Mouse Model of Aortic Aneurysm	Cell Biology & Anatomy	Medicine, School of
Farouk, Tanvir	IN-SITU MODIFICATION OF LIQUID FUEL PROPERTIES FOR CONTROLLING COMBUSTION PROPERTIES IN PISTON ENGINE CONFIGURATIONS	Mechanical Engineering	Engineering & Computing, College of
Gore, DeAnna	The Motivations and Experiences of Childfree Black Women and Men	USC Aiken	USC Aiken
Harrison, Conor	Power Play: Examining low carbon energy transitions in the Caribbean	Geography	Arts and Sciences, College of
Hattrick-Simpers, Jason	Using In situ Measurements of Atomistic Fluxes and Energetics to Control Texturing in Sputtered Co3O4 Thin Films	Chemical Engineering	Engineering & Computing, College of
Henderson-Platt, Andrea	An Exploratory Study of Historical Trauma among African Americans in South Carolina.	Sociology	Arts and Sciences, College of
Hoque, Shamia	Integrated multi physics and statistical model of particle resuspension with application to environmental systems	Civil & Environmental Engineering	Engineering & Computing, College of
Kaczynski, Andrew	eCPAT: Advancement and feasibility testing of public park information and technology resources to support healthy communities	Prevention Research Center	Public Health, Arnold School of
Karami, Amir	Medical Case Reports Analytics (MCRA) in Neurology	Library & Information Sciences, School of	Mass Communications & Information Studies, College of
Li, Zhenlong	Developing a High Performance Query Analytical Platform to Support Large Scale Climate Data Analysis	Geography	Arts and Sciences, College of
Lizarraga, Sofia	chromatin regulatory mechanisms underlying neuronal circuitry defects in autism spectrum disorders	Biological Sciences	Arts and Sciences, College of
Murphy, Elizabeth	Maternal-Obesity-Induced Transgenerational Colorectal Cancer Risk	Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology	Medicine, School of
Qiao, Shan	Functional wellness among women living with HIV in South Carolina	Health Promotion, Education & Behavior	Public Health, Arnold School of
Ramstad, Kristina	Panmixia, promiscuity, and nest parasitism among wood storks (Mycteria americana)	USC Aiken	USC Aiken
Roth, Benjamin	An alternative to the "iron fist"? Interrupting Central American emigration through violence prevention and community development	Social Work, College of	Social Work, College of
Speiser, Daniel	Neurobiology of a dispersed visual system: How do chitons (Mollusca; Polyplacophora) process the images gathered by their hundreds of eyes?	Biological Sciences	Arts and Sciences, College of
Stolz, Nolan	ASPIRE - Recording of an Original Composition for Orchestra	USC Upstate	USC Upstate
Vannucci, Aaron	Development of a Photocatalytic System for the Renewable Production of Hydrogen Fuel	Chemistry & Biochemistry	Arts and Sciences, College of
Wang, Hui	ASPIRE-I Track I: Plasmonic Hot Electron-Driven Photocatalysis: a Case Study of para-Nitrothiophenol Dimerization	Chemistry & Biochemistry	Arts and Sciences, College of
White, Kellee	Multimorbidity, Depressive Symptoms Trajectories, and Mortality among Middle-Aged and Older US Adults	Epidemiology & Biostatistics	Public Health, Arnold School of
Wood, Susan	The anti-inflammatory properties of neuropeptide Y	Pharmacology, Physiology & Neuroscience	Medicine, School of
Ziolkowski, Lori	Are Alaskan supraglacial microbes consuming fossil fuel derived carbon?	Earth and Ocean Sciences	Arts and Sciences, College of

Sub-track IIA, research faculty development

Principal Investigator	Title	Department	College
Alexeev, Oleg	Fine tuning catalytic properties of supported metal sites on a single atom scale	Chemical Engineering	Engineering & Computing, College of
Banister, Carolyn	Germline Variants Associated with HPV Persistence and Cervical Cancer	Pharmacy - (Dean)	Pharmacy, SC College of
Chatzistamou, Ioulia	Assessment of the anticancer activity of a novel multi-chemokine antibody for breast cancer management.	Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology	Medicine, School of
Elk, Ronit	Culturally Tailored Conversations at EOL:  What African American Patients Want Physicians to Know	Nursing	Nursing, College of
Greenfield, Dianne	Using a novel molecular tool to rapidly detect, quantify, and predict harmful algal blooms associated with  fish kills and public health concerns	Baruch Institute	Arts and Sciences, College of
Sasmaz, Erdem	Instrumental Design of a High-throughput Gas Chromatography	Chemical Engineering	Engineering & Computing, College of

 

Sub-track IIB, postdoctoral scholar development

Principal Investigator	Title	Department	College
Bringue, Manuel	Calcareous dinoflagellates in the Cariaco Basin (Venezuela) and calibration of the oxygen isotope composition of Thoracosphaera heimii calcite for paleotemperature reconstructions	Earth and Ocean Sciences	Arts and Sciences, College of
Enos, Reilly	The role of PKC-Theta in obesity-induced hepatic insulin resistance	Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology	Medicine, School of
Ghate, Pankaj	Regulation of neuronal morphology and development by RAB11FIP5 through mTOR signalling pathway	Biological Sciences	Arts and Sciences, College of
Harrison, Sayward	First Line of Defense: An Evaluation of the Role of Primary Care in the Prevention of Childhood Obesity in South Carolina	Health Promotion, Education & Behavior	Public Health, Arnold School of
Hogan-Brown, Abigail	Social anxiety in younger siblings of children with autism spectrum disorder	Psychology	Arts and Sciences, College of
hong, jie	Evaluating the efficiency, safety and environmental effects of polymer-coated nano-Fe3O4 bioaccumulation in South Carolinian clams	Environmental Health Sciences	Public Health, Arnold School of
Klusek, Jessica	Biomarkers Markers for Cognitive-Linguistic Impairments in Women with the FMR1 Premutation	Psychology	Arts and Sciences, College of
Liu, Shou	IL6 enhances immunogenicity of breast cancer cells via inducing NKG2D Ligand	Biological Sciences	Arts and Sciences, College of
Londono, Berlin	Human - mosquito complement - like proteins cross talk in Flavivirus responses	Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology	Medicine, School of
Markoutsa, Eleni	Dual targeted nanoparticles for delivering temozolomide across the blood–brain barrier for the treatment of glioma	Drug Discovery and Biomedical Sciences	Pharmacy, SC College of
Ponton, Dominic	Uptake of isotopically-labelled three-layered Ag107@Au@Ag109 nanoparticles by the unicellular green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii and subsequent trophic transfer to the freshwater snail Lymnaea stagnalis	Environmental Health Sciences	Public Health, Arnold School of
Shi, Liang	Identifying factors that modulate Cdk5-dependent axonal transport	Biological Sciences	Arts and Sciences, College of
Singh, Priyanka	Defining Inhibin dependent paracrine mechanisms of tumor angiogenesis.	Chemistry & Biochemistry	Arts and Sciences, College of
Vaish, Vivek	Role of Notch ligand, Jagged-2, in colorectal cancer chemoresistance	Biological Sciences	Arts and Sciences, College of
Velazquez, Kandy	The Effects Of Ojeok-San On Neuro-Immune Interactions In Colon Cancer	Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology	Medicine, School of
Zhao, Jia	Modeling and Simulation of Multicellular Systems using Multiphase Complex Fluids Models	Mathematics	Arts and Sciences, College of

 

Sub-track III, bridge funding

Principal Investigator	Title	Department	College
Miller, David	Paragon	English	Arts and Sciences, College of
Baxter, Suzanne	Methodological research concerning accuracy of children's dietary recalls	Families in Society, Institute for	Social Work, College of

 

Sub-track IV, senior faculty exploration

Principal Investigator	Title	Department	College
Angel, Mike	Blue Light Emitting Diode Optically Encoded Source for Remote Raman Spectroscopy	Chemistry & Biochemistry	Arts and Sciences, College of
Coenen Snyder, Saskia	Aspire I Grant: "Diasporic Gems: Diamonds, Jews, and 19th Century Global Commerce"	History	Arts and Sciences, College of
DeWitte, Sharon	Plague, Famine, and Bedlam: Health and Survival in the Context of Historic Mortality Crises	Anthropology	Arts and Sciences, College of
Garashchuk, Sophya	First-principles simulations of the proton transport through atomically thin hexagonal boron nitrides	Chemistry & Biochemistry	Arts and Sciences, College of
Kelly, Kenneth	Archaeological Perspectives on Plantation Slavery Before and During the Haitian Revolution	Anthropology	Arts and Sciences, College of
Kiaris, Hippokratis	Analysis of the unfolded protein response in Peromyscus maniculatus populations adapted in high and low altitudes.	Drug Discovery and Biomedical Sciences	Pharmacy, SC College of
Krizek, Beth	Genetic Engineering of Camelina sativa	Biological Sciences	Arts and Sciences, College of
Lavoie, Holly	Validation of cumulus cell biomarkers reflecting oocyte quality and leading to live birth using IVF	Cell Biology & Anatomy	Medicine, School of
Mandal, Krishna	A New PbEuTe Semiconductor Detector for Nuclear Materials Accounting	Electrical Engineering	Engineering & Computing, College of
Matesic, Lydia	Establishing an Intestinal Organoid Culture Model to Examine the Role of the Ubiquitin Ligase ITCH in the Homeostasis of the Intestinal Epithelium	Biological Sciences	Arts and Sciences, College of
Myhrer, Fred	Neutrino interactions with matter	Physics & Astronomy	Arts and Sciences, College of
Outten, Franklin	Characterization of the SufR transcription factor regulating iron cofactor biogenesis in pathogenic Mycobacteria	Chemistry & Biochemistry	Arts and Sciences, College of
Simpson, Brent	How Inequality Shapes Perceptions of Merit and Mobility	Sociology	Arts and Sciences, College of
Snow, Rachel	Kodak Culture: Education, Marketing, and Brand Building for Photography's Global Market (Writing Chapter Two and Researching Chapter Five)	USC Upstate	USC Upstate
Spruill, Marjorie	Phase 2: Remembering International Women's Year 1977: An Oral History Preservation Project	History	Arts and Sciences, College of
Wade-Woolley, Lesly	How Children Spell Vowels in Long Words	Communication Sciences & Disorders	Public Health, Arnold School of

ASPIRE-II: Integration recipients

 

Principal Investigator	Title	Department	College
Boyd, Kate Herrick Brown, Biological Sciences Lana Burgess, McKissick Museum Nathan Saunders, University Libraries John Knox, History	Historic Southern Naturalists: Bringing USC's History and Natural History Together Online	University Libraries	University Libraries
Burgin, Watson Ashley Knox, University Libraries Christopher Judge, USC Lancaster	Native American SC Digital Archive	USC Lancaster	USC Lancaster
Hashemi, Parastoo Alyssa Robillard, Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior Rose Booze, Psychology	Unraveling the Fundamental Neurological Mechanisms Underlying Neurodegeneration Induced Depression During HIV	Chemistry & Biochemistry	Arts and Sciences, College of
Huang, Chin-Tser Seung Jang, School of Mass Communications and Journalism Jijun Tang, Computer Science and Engineering	Web Archaeology: Uncovering Hidden History on the Internet	Computer Science & Engineering	Engineering & Computing, College of
Huang, Xinyu Susan Richardson, Chemistry and Biochemistry Yeomin Yoon, Civil Engineering	Decentralized Desalination and Water Treatment with Direct Solar Membrane Distillation	Mechanical Engineering	Engineering & Computing, College of
Lavigne, John Susan Steck, Epidemiology and Biostatistics John Rose, Computer Science and Engineering	Synthetic lectin sensor arrays to assess prostate cancer associated glycosylation patterns: towards screening, staging and prognosis	Chemistry & Biochemistry	Arts and Sciences, College of
Patel, Rekha Norma Frizzell, Pharmacology, Physiology, and Neuroscience Jeff Dudycha, Biological Sciences	Influence of mitochondrial ND5 sequence on average lifespan of Daphnia pulex.	Biological Sciences	Arts and Sciences, College of

ASPIRE-III: Infrastructure recipients

Principal Investigator	Title	Department	College
Chruszcz, Maksymilian	Access to the 3rd generation synchrotron X-ray source through SER-CAT at the Advanced Photon Source - Renewal	Chemistry & Biochemistry	Arts and Sciences, College of
Potts, Jay	Enhancement of Imaging Capabilities in the USC Instrumentation Resource Facility	Cell Biology & Anatomy	Medicine, School of
Price, Robert	Acquisition of a JEOL Neoscope Scanning Electron Microscope for the USC Instrumentation Resource Facility	Cell Biology & Anatomy	Medicine, School of
Richardson, Susan	Acquisition of Purge-and-Trap-Gas Chromatograph-Triple Quadrupole Mass Spectrometer System	Chemistry & Biochemistry	Arts and Sciences, College of
Viparelli, Enrica	A rotating annular flume to perform interdisciplinary research on transport, erosion and resuspension of fine sediment, natural tracers and contaminants	Civil & Environmental Engineering	Engineering & Computing, College of
Ziolkowski, Lori	Acquisition of Equipment Required for Preparing Compound Specific Radiocarbon Samples	Earth and Ocean Sciences	Arts and Sciences, College of

25 April 2016