ASPIRE, the signature competitive internal grant program of the Office of the Vice President for Research, is a cornerstone of faculty research and scholarship at the University of South Carolina. Through ASPIRE, the office funds promising faculty research, shared infrastructure and cross-disciplinary research projects to help strengthen UofSC researchers’ competitiveness for external grants and increase scholarly activity throughout the UofSC system.
Since it began in 2012, ASPIRE has made investments that have resulted in an excellent return of about $203 million, as reported by the faculty recipients. This impressive figure is evidence of the program’s effectiveness, and of the positive impact it makes on the UofSC research community.
“We are so proud to announce a new round of ASPIRE investments for 2019,” said USC Vice President for Research, Prakash Nagarkatti. “The selected projects from our outstanding faculty represent a wide variety of subject areas, from art to engineering, helping us to fund important scholarship across disciplines and boosting research throughout the UofSC system. It is my pleasure to congratulate all of the 2019 ASPIRE grant awardees.”
UofSC faculty researchers submitted a total of 188 proposals to the 2019 ASPIRE competitions. The proposals were reviewed by faculty review committees appointed by the Vice President for Research, and 82 were selected for funding.
The 2019 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 home page.
2019 ASPIRE-I: Innovation recipients
Sub-track I, junior faculty development
| Principal Investigator | Title | Department | College |
| Ahmad, Iftikhar | Low-cost compact neutron detectors using thick BN layers over sapphire | Electrical Engineering | College of Engineering & Computing |
| Armstrong, Alissa | Examining the role of intracellular adipocyte amino acid transport in nutrient allocation to egg production using Drosophila melanogaster as a model organism | Biological Sciences | College of Arts and Sciences |
| Baumgarner, Bradley | Can exposure to the environmental endocrine disruptor tolylfluanid during cellular differentiation significantly reduce the glycolytic capacity of fully differentiated cardiomyocytes during hypoxic stress? | Upstate | University of SC Upstate |
| Bradshaw, Jessica | Infant Predictors of Social Communication | Psychology | College of Arts and Sciences |
| Cai, Guoshuai | Characterization of a Novel Methylation Signature in Breast Cancer Progression | Environmental Health Sciences | Arnold School of Public Health |
| Downey, Austin | Real-Time Surrogate Model Updating for Structures Experiencing High-Rate Dynamics | Mechanical Engineering | College of Engineering & Comp. |
| Fu, Zhengqing | Engineering Citrus Greening Resistant Rootstocks without Compromising Plant Growth Using uORF-Mediated Translation Control of the Arabidopsis NPR1 Gene | Biological Sciences | College of Arts and Sciences |
| Hair, Nicole | Evaluating State Collaborative and Legislative Policies Limiting Early-Term Elective Delivery | Health Services Policy & Mgmt | Arnold School of Public Health |
| Hung, Peiyin | Trend and consequences of physician-hospital consolidation for obstetric care in urban and rural South Carolina | Health Services Policy & Mgmt | Arnold School of Public Health |
| Jamshidi, Pooyan | Optimizing Energy Consumption of Deep Neural Networks for Intelligent Learning Systems | Computer Science & Engineering | College of Engineering & Computing |
| Kass, Jesse | COUNTING LINES ON SINGULAR CUBIC SURFACES ARITHMETICALLY | Mathematics | College of Arts and Sciences |
| Limberg-Ohrt, Dodie | Using Electronic Client Feedback to Improve Mental Health Outcomes of Children and Adolescents | Educational Studies | College of Education |
| Lohman, Matthew | Pilot Evaluation of an Early Memory Loss Lifestyle Intervention for Participants and Their Care Partners in South Carolina | Epidemiology & Biostatistics | Arnold School of Public Health |
| Lorenz, Alexander | The Language Mindset: Postsecondary Language Learners' Attitudes towards Language Learning | Upstate | University of SC Upstate |
| Marshall, Nicholas | Mechanism and Scope of Conjugated Polymer/Metal-Organic Framework Composite Formation | Aiken | University of SC Aiken |
| Martinez, David | The Impact of Disproportionality on Education Finance Equity in South Carolina: A Comparative Analysis | Education Leadership & Policies | College of Education |
| Roth, Benjamin | Promoting immigrant integration in restrictive policy environments:The role of immigrant-serving organizations | Social Work - Dean's Office | College of Social Work |
| Sanchez, Lenny | Partnering with Parents and Schools to Foster Bilingual and Global Learning | Education - Dean's Office | College of Education |
| Smuder, Ashley | Effects of aging on the expression of drug transport proteins in the heart | Exercise Science | Arnold School of Public Health |
| Stewart, Jill | Task-Oriented Training of Arm Function in Standing after Stroke: A Pilot Study | Exercise Science | Arnold School of Public Health |
| Sullivan, Jessica | Topographic Controls on Flow and Sedimentation in a Small Salt Marsh Island | Aiken | University of SC Aiken |
| Trevors, Greg | A Multi-Method Approach to Understand How and for Whom Corrections of Vaccine Misinformation are Effective | Educational Studies | College of Education |
| Wang, Dewei | Semiparametric regression for multiple-infection group testing data | Statistics | College of Arts and Sciences |
| Wang, Yuan | Joint Brain Network Modeling of Multimodal MRI across Aphasia Types | Epidemiology & Biostatistics | Arnold School of Public Health |
| Wen, Jing | Understand the Role of Emotions in Disaster Communication: A Computational Analysis | Journalism & Mass Communications | College of Information & Communications |
| White, Douglas | Laboratory Studies of Outer Planetary Ice Analogs Subject to Thermal Processing | Aiken | University of SC Aiken |
| Williard, Ashley | Madness in the French Atlantic World, c. 1600-1800 | Languages, Literatures, & Culture | College of Arts and Sciences |
| Xiao, Shuo | Development of a high-throughput 3D in vitro follicle culture platform for female reproductive toxicity evaluation | Environmental Health Sciences | Arnold School of Public Health |
Sub-track IIA, research faculty development
| Principal Investigator | Title | Department | College |
| Chatzistamou, Ioulia | Exploring the anticancer activity of P. leucopus serum | Pathology, Microbiology & Immunology | School of Medicine |
| Enos, Reilly | 8-Prenylnaringenin: A Natural Therapy for Estrogen Deficiency in Obesity | Pathology, Microbiology & Immunology | School of Medicine |
| Fiester, Steven | Elucidation of hemoglobin degradation and subsequent heme-b utilization by the multidrug-resistant human pathogen Acinetobacter baumannii | Medicine Greenville | School of Medicine - Greenville |
| Haldeman, Matt | Evaluation of Anaerobic Digestion as a Means of Helminthic Control in Rural Tanzania | Family & Preventive Medicine | School of Medicine |
| Piroli, Gerardo | Intranasal insulin effects on behavioral, morphological and biochemical parameters in a model of Leigh syndrome | Pharmacology, Physiology & Neurology | School of Medicine |
| White, Andrew | Exploration of the Deep Archaeology of 38FA608 (Dorn Levee #1) | Archaeology & Anthropology | College of Arts and Sciences |
Sub-track IIB, postdoctoral scholar development
| Principal Investigator | Title | Department | College |
| Ajmal, Fozia | Shift from home dialysis to in-center hemodialysis among End-Stage Renal Disease patients in the United States: A qualitative exploratory study | Health Services Policy & Management | Arnold School of Public Health |
| Banerjee, Ritubarna | Hetero-atom Doped Carbon Nanotubes as Supports in the Strong Electrostatic Adsorption of Platinum and Palladium Catalysts | Chemical Engineering | College of Engineering & Computing |
| Baron, Lauren | Executive Function in Children with Specific Language Impairment and Dyslexia | Communication Sciences & Disorders | Arnold School of Public Health |
| Hong, Seong Hyeon | Embedded Machine Learning Platform for Automated Fault Detection and Mitigation in Dynamic Systems | Mechanical Engineering | College of Engineering & Computing |
| Kingston, Alexandra | How eyes evolve: relationships between structural complexity, molecular complexity, and function across the diverse light-sensing organs of chitons (Mollusca: Polyplacophora) | Biological Sciences | College of Arts and Sciences |
| Kumar, Ambrish | Development of Alginate-?Calcitonin Gene Related Peptide (Alginate-?CGRP) Microcapsules for the Treatment of Pressure-overload Induced Heart Failure | Cell Biology & Anatomy | School of Medicine |
| Lakind, Rebecca | Mental health providers? perspectives on schools as ecological systems and contexts for their roles | Psychology | College of Arts and Sciences |
| Qi, Guang | Coordinated actions of Brassinosteroids and salicylic acid lead to balanced plant growth and defense. | Biological Sciences | College of Arts and Sciences |
| Qin, Guangzhao | Development of machine learning based interatomic potential for multiscale modeling of thermal management of electronics using Boron Arsenide (BAs) | Mechanical Engineering | College of Engineering & Computing |
| Sahu, Subhshri | Deciphering the role of Dilp8 in nutrient sensitive stages of oogenesis in adult Drosophila melanogaster | Biological Sciences | College of Arts and Sciences |
| Shen, Yu | Apoplastic Peptides in Plant Immunity | Biological Sciences | College of Arts and Sciences |
| Wang, Pengtao | Development of Durable, Anti-scaling, and Cost-effective Surfaces for Thermal Desalination | Mechanical Engineering | College of Engineering & Computing |
| Wang, Yilin | Unraveling the function of CST ubiquitination in DNA replication | Biological Sciences | College of Arts and Sciences |
| Yang, Xueying | HIV related disclosures and HIV care cascade among MSM living with HIV in South Carolina | Health Promotion, Education & Behavior | Arnold School of Public Health |
| yin, rong | Targeting Port Wine Stain Blood Vessels by Endothelial Optical Exosomes | Cell Biology & Anatomy | School of Medicine |
Sub-track III, bridge funding
| Principal Investigator | Title | Department | College |
| Outten, Franklin | ASPIRE I: Characterization of protein interactions during iron-sulfur cluster trafficking under stress in bacteria. | Chemistry & Biochemistry | College of Arts and Sciences |
| Waldman, Alan | Lamin A and the Fidelity of DNA Double-Strand Break Repair | Biological Sciences | College of Arts and Sciences |
Sub-track IV, senior faculty exploration
| Principal Investigator | Title | Department | College |
| Boggs, Carol | Revision: Development of Molecular Tools for Comparison of Drosophila and Lepidoptera Signaling Pathways Involved in Nutrient Sensing | Biological Sciences | College of Arts and Sciences |
| Brown, Kara | Choosing Dual-Language Immersion: A Longitudinal Study of the Life of Four DLE Basic Schools in Four Estonian Cities | Educational Studies | College of Education |
| Childs, Matthew | An African City in the Americas: The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade and Havana | History | College of Arts and Sciences |
| Compton-Lilly, Catherine | Teacher Preparation, Retention, and Satisfaction | Instruction & Teacher Education | College of Education |
| Dubinsky, Stanley | Encyclopedia of Global Ethnolinguistic Conflict | English | College of Arts and Sciences |
| Higbee, Douglas | The USC Aiken Student-Veteran Oral History Project | Aiken | University of SC Aiken |
| McInnes, Campbell | Structural and mechanistic studies of diverse synthetic cannabinoids to understand psychoactive potency, G-protein signaling and genotoxicity. | Drug Discovery & Biomedical Sciences | College of Pharmacy |
| Merchant, Anwar | Periodontal Treatment and Pregnancy Outcomes: Correcting Bias in Clinical Trials | Epidemiology & Biostatistics | Arnold School of Public Health |
| Myrick, Michael | A FLUORESCENCE CYTOMETER FOR NANOPHYTOPLANKTON | Chemistry & Biochemistry | College of Arts and Sciences |
| Pittman, Douglas | Deciphering the Genetic Mechanisms of Ovarian Cancer in Patient-Derived Tumor Organoids | Drug Discovery & Biomedical Sciences | College of Pharmacy |
| Potts, Jay | ?Calcitonin Gene Related Peptide (?CGRP) as a Preventative Treatment of Pressure-overload Induced Heart Failure | Cell Biology & Anatomy | School of Medicine |
| Quattro, Joseph | Estimating Precision in Near Infrared Spectrometry Derived Ages in Larval Fishes | Baruch Institute | College of Arts and Sciences |
| Scotchie, Virginia | Artist Residency at the Guldagergaard International Ceramic Research Center in Denmark and Publication of Artist Catalog | Art | College of Arts and Sciences |
| Strayer, Scott | Smoking Cessation Counseling Decision Aid with E-cigarette information: A feasibility test | Family & Preventive Medicine | School of Medicine |
| Sun, Yi | Hybrid Multiscale Methods for Simulating Bacterial Swarming during Biofilm Growth | Mathematics | College of Arts and Sciences |
| Wang, Guoan | Environment Adaptive Position Independent Wireless Power Transfer Technologies | Electrical Engineering | College of Engineering & Computing |
| Wang, Hui | Understanding the Working Mechanisms of Plasmonic Molecular Scissors | Chemistry & Biochemistry | College of Arts and Sciences |
| Wang, Zhu | Conservative Local Time Stepping For Oceanic Flow Simulations | Mathematics | College of Arts and Sciences |
| Wiskur, Sheryl | Exploring Cation-? Interactions and the Effect on Asymmetric Catalysis | Chemistry & Biochemistry | College of Arts and Sciences |
2019 ASPIRE-II: Integration recipients
| Principal Investigator and Team | Title | PI Department | PI College |
Cozad, Melanie
|
Development of RunRA: A Mobile Application for the Self-Management of Rheumatoid Arthritis | Health Services Policy & Management | Arnold School of Public Health |
Duncan, Graham
|
Documentary Edition of the James T. McCain Daily Calendars and Notebooks | South Caroliniana Library | University Libraries |
Richardson, Susan
|
Impact of Sewer Overflows on Environmental and Human Health: Columbia, SC as a Model for the United States | Chemistry & Biochemistry | College of Arts and Sciences |
Walsemann, Katrina
|
Transforming UofSC into a National Leader in Health, Inequalities, and Population Research | Health Promotion, Education & Behavior | Arnold School of Public Health |
Wang, Cuizhen (Susan)
|
Drone-implemented integration of GIScience, Engineering, Plant Biology, and Community Education for Dam Safety Assessment | Geography | College of Arts and Sciences |
Wilder, Colin
|
The Whole Earth Book Catalog | History | College of Arts and Sciences |
2019 ASPIRE-III: Infrastructure recipients
| Principal Investigator | Title | Department | College |
| Baalousha, Mohammed | Acquisition of a Microwave System to Support Multidisciplinary Research in Material, Environmental, and Geological Sciences. | Environmental Health Sciences | Arnold School of Public Health |
| Boyd, Kate | Video & Audio Studio in Thomas Cooper Library for All Faculty and Students | University Libraries - Dean's Office | University Libraries |
| Ferry, John | Assembling a repository of purified reference harmful algal bloom toxins | Chemistry & Biochemistry | College of Arts and Sciences |
| Shervette, Virginia | Establishment of a Shared USCA Histological Research Facility | Aiken | University of SC Aiken |
| Yankovsky, Alexander | Quantifying Turbulence and Mixing Across the Estuary-Ocean Interface with a Microstructure Profiler | School of Earth, Ocean & Environment | College of Arts and Sciences |
| Yuan, Lang | Powder Management System for Laser Powder Bed Fusion Additive Manufacturing | Mechanical Engineering | College of Engineering & Computing |
29 April 2019