Faculty representing a wide variety of subject areas receive 2025 ASPIRE and ASPIRE AI funding

The Advanced Support for Innovative Research Excellence (ASPIRE) program is one of the university's primary internal funding mechanisms to support research by USC faculty at all levels, across all campuses. The 2025 funding cycle emphasizes support for early-career faculty who intend to pursue subsequent extramural funding. This year, ASPIRE will support 27 scholarly projects by faculty members. The Office of the Vice President for Research will also fund the inaugural cohort of awardees for the ASPIRE AI program, which was created to expand the reach of ASPIRE to include research projects focused specifically on artificial intelligence. This year, ASPIRE AI will support scholarly projects by 23 faculty members and 3 faculty teams formed in the 2024-2025 Propel AI program. Congratulations to all 2025 ASPIRE and ASPIRE AI recipients.

 

New Monthly Grant Awards Report: May 2025

The Office of the Vice President for Research is pleased to share our monthly report listing new grant awards USC faculty researchers across the university system received between May 1 and May 31, 2025. Please note that some awards received toward the end of that period might have missed the reporting cut-off. In such cases, the award will be listed in the next monthly report. Review the May 2025 report.

 

Calling all research administrators: grow your skills with upcoming STRIVE opportunities

Research Training and Education Services (RTES) is pleased to share several upcoming opportunities for research administration staff available through Strategic Training in Research Innovation and Administrative Excellence (STRIVE). Check out the RTES website for details and registration for a variety of STRIVE opportunities:

• STRIVE Training Program: Applications are now open for the tiered STRIVE Training Program, which offers training for demonstrated competencies and proficiencies in research administration at three levels. Learn more about the STRIVE Training Program and apply. Applications will be open until Friday, August 1.
• Certified Research Administrator (CRA) Study Hall: CRA Study Hall is a guided self-study initiative designed to support eligible research administrators at USC in preparing for the nationally recognized Certified Research Administrator exam. Learn more about CRA Study Hall and sign up to receive the Teams link.

 

Research Security Spotlight: How can I collaborate with international colleagues securely?

Research is a team sport, and just like any team, world-class researchers need to seek out the best players to help them compete and achieve their goals, no matter where they come from in the world. But, in today’s global environment marked by complicated international relationships and fierce competition to gain the innovative edge, researchers face the unfortunate risk that foreign individuals, companies or other entities might try to get involved in their work to exploit data and other assets. How can USC researchers continue to seek out the best international collaborators to advance their important work while confidently avoiding this risk?

That’s where the USC Office of Research Security (ORS) steps in. The ORS website provides a wealth of information to help researchers gain a basic understanding of foreign affiliation risks, including details on how risks are assessed by top federal research funding agencies and how to identify and avoid malign foreign talent programs. For those considering a collaboration with individuals or entities connected to countries considered by the federal government to be “foreign countries of concern” or “sanctioned/embargoed countries,” USC requires that ORS vet potential collaborators before developing a collaborative agreement. In these cases, the ORS does not act as an approval authority but does serve as a partner and resource for information to assist in decision-making, proposal development and risk mitigation. Visit the ORS International Collaborations page for information and reach out to them for support with your questions.

 

Attention Faculty Mentors: OUR offers professional development workshops for undergraduate research students in June and July

Summer offers opportunities for student researchers to learn great information beyond classroom subject matter. To help summer research students make the most of their time on campus, the Office of Undergraduate Research (OUR) offers a series of seminars designed to equip undergrads with essential knowledge and best practices for maintaining a safe, respectful and efficient work environment. The Office of Undergraduate Research will host this six-week series of professional development workshops for undergraduate student researchers on Wednesday mornings, June 4 through July 9. All interested undergraduate student researchers from all disciplines are invited to participate in any or all of these workshops with no registration required.

 

Conference Corner: Registration now open for two upcoming conferences in Columbia

• SC INBRE Career Development Workshop on Monday, June 23: SC INBRE will host a free, in-person, one-day workshop, open to all STEMM high school students through senior faculty on Monday, June 23, at the University Conference Center on the eighth floor of Close-Hipp. Three different focused tracks will be offered: Students, Career Development and Grant Writing (NIH-focused). Attendees are welcome to choose to attend any session that will best meet their career goals. The day will include a concurrent Career Fair and Cores and Collaborations Fair and end with an important Town Hall discussion on how to meet the challenges at a CRU/PUI. Register by Friday, June 13 to reserve your spot.
• Statewide Aging and Alzheimer’s Disease Research Symposium on Thursday and Friday, October 9-10: The University of South Carolina will host the 2025 Statewide Aging and Alzheimer’s Disease Research Symposium on October 9-10, 2025, in the Pastides Alumni Center. The symposium is a statewide partnership between the state’s three major research institutions: University of South Carolina, Medical University of South Carolina, and Clemson University. The two-day symposium will feature a student poster session at the end of the first day. The review committee encourages students at all levels to submit an abstract for presentation by Monday, July 14, 2025, at 5:00 p.m. To attend the symposium, register by Monday, August 25.

 

12 June 2025