Skip to Content

Office of the Vice President for Research

New Monthly Grant Awards Report: April 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 April 1 and April 30. 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. Our office is proud to share these successes with the university research community. Please join us in congratulating our excellent researchers on their new grant awards.

Summary of Large April 2025 New Grant Awards

PI Name

PI College/Dept.

Award Title

Sponsor

Total

Narasimhan, Meera

School of Medicine 

Neuropsychiatry

Access Improvement/rural Outreach Initiatives in Partnership with SC Office of Rural Health Contract #1599 SC DHHS Services for Purchase and Provision of Rural Outreach Program

SC Department of Health and Human Services

$4,379,304

Dail, Robin

College of Nursing

Office of Research - Nursing

Neonatal autonomic nervous system dysfunction as a predictor of autism spectrum disorder in preterm infants

National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)/NIH

$3,397,499

Hollis, Fiona

School of Medicine 

Pharm., Physiology & Neuroscience

Psychosocial stress-induced neurometabolic dysfunction as a mediator of postpartum cardiovascular disease

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)/NIH

$2,881,214

Porcu, Alessandra

College of Pharmacy

Drug Discovery & Biomed Sci.

Neurobiological responses of somatostatin neuronal circuits to environmental light disruptions during pubertal development

National Center for Complementary & Integrative Health (NCCIH)/NIH

$2,497,402

Bonilha, Heather

Arnold School of Public Health 

Communication Sci & Disorders

Brain Networks Supporting Oral and Pharyngeal Swallow Function after Stroke

Medical University of South Carolina/NINDS/NIH

$667,971

Kilpatrick, Daniel

Arnold School of Public Health

Public Health - Dean's Office

EJ Strong PREP: Practicing Risk Reduction Education through Partnership in South Carolina

SC Department of Environmental Sciences (SCDES)/EPA

$497,352

Cai, Bo

Arnold School of Public Health

Epidemiology & Biostatistics

SC Muscular Dystrophy Surveillance, Tracking, and Research Network (SC MD STARnet) (Subcontract to DHEC) Comp A

SC Department Public Health (SCDPH)/CDC

$330,000

Besmann, Theodore

Molinaroli College of Engineering & Computing 

Mechanical Engineering

Completion of the Molten Salt Thermal Properties Database-Thermochemical

UT-Battelle, LLC/ORNL/DOE

$255,000

Ene, Mihaela

College of Education 

Research, Eval., & Measurement

Evaluation of Florence County School District Three’s School-Based Mental Health Project

Florence County School District Three/USDE

$200,000

 

April 2025 Awards by College

PI Name

PI Dept.

Award Title

Sponsor

Total

Pope, Holly
Applied Research & Evaluation (CARE)
South Carolina Integration Demonstration (SCID) Project
SC Department of Public Health (DPH)
$168,000
Pope, Holly Applied Research & Evaluation (CARE) Advancing Oral Health in South Carolina SC Department of Public Health (DPH) $102,000
Bonilha, Heather Communication Sci & Disorders Brain Networks Supporting Oral and Pharyngeal Swallow Function after Stroke  Medical University of South Carolina/NINDS/NIH $667,971
Cai, Bo Epidemiology & Biostatistics SC Muscular Dystrophy Surveillance, Tracking, and Research Network (SC MD STARnet) (Subcontract to DHEC) Comp A SC Department Public Health (SCDPH)/CDC $330,000
Arent, Shawn Exercise Science A Randomized, Double-Blind, Parallel-Group, Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial Of A Mushroom Blend To Evaluate Its Impacts On Gastrointestinal and Overall Quality Of Life and Microbiome Makeup In Healthy Adults Substantiation Sciences LLC $187,835
Weaver, Glenn Exercise Science (PI - Olivia Finnegan) Leveraging Embedded Mobile Device Sensors for Detection of Children’s Mobile Screen Use: Examining Feasibility and Performance National Institute of Child Health & Human Development (NICHD)/NIH $125,705
Draper, Carrie Health Prom., Educ. & Behavior Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry Campaign Share Our Strength $50,000
Larson, Leila Health Prom., Educ. & Behavior The impacts of mild to moderate iodine deficiency in pregnancy on IQ loss in young children  Iodine Global Network $5,000
Kilpatrick, Daniel Public Health - Dean's Office EJ Strong PREP: Practicing Risk Reduction Education through Partnership in South Carolina SC Department of Environmental Sciences (SCDES)/EPA $497,352

PI Name

PI Dept.

Award Title

Sponsor

Total

Shah, Payal
Leadership, Learning Design, & Inquiry
Creating Culturally Responsive and Expansive Girls' Education Ecosystems in India: A Community-Driven Approach
Texas A&M University/The Spencer Foundation
$9,500
Ene, Mihaela Research, Eval., & Measurement  Evaluation of the Supporting Teachers with AI Resources (STAR) Pilot Project Merlyn Mind Inc./SCDE $30,000
Ene, Mihaela Research, Eval., & Measurement  Evaluation of Florence County School District Three’s School-Based Mental Health Project Florence County School District Three/USDE $200,000
Leighton, Elizabeth Research, Eval., & Measurement  Evaluation of Spartanburg County School District One's Innovation Grant Program: AI Tools for Teachers  Spartanburg School District One/SCDE $30,000

PI Name

PI Dept.

Award Title

Sponsor

Total

Dail, Robin
Office of Research - Nursing
Neonatal autonomic nervous system dysfunction as a predictor of autism spectrum disorder in preterm infants
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)/NIH
$3,397,499

PI Name

PI Dept.

Award Title

Sponsor

Total

Porcu, Alessandra
Drug Discovery & Biomed Sci.
Neurobiological responses of somatostatin neuronal circuits to environmental light disruptions during pubertal development
National Center for Complementary & Integrative Health (NCCIH)/NIH
$2,497,402

PI Name

PI Dept.

Award Title

Sponsor

Total

Ozturk, Orgul
Moore Sch - Div. of Research
Economic/Fiscal Impact Study for New Morning’s Choose Well Program
New Morning Foundation
$39,814
Von Nessen, Joseph Moore Sch - Div. of Research Children's Trust of South Carolina: Economic Impact Analysis Children's Trust of South Carolina $45,000

PI Name

PI Dept.

Award Title

Sponsor

Total

Kalinski, Ashley
Biological Sciences
Elucidating the cell-autonomy of SARM1 for injury induced axon regeneration, nerve inflammation, and Schwann cell reprogramming
Johns Hopkins University/Merkin Family Foundation
$75,000
Kalinski, Ashley Biological Sciences Regulation of Neuroinflammation after Peripheral Nerve Injury Ball State University/NINDS/NIH $194,882
Richardson, Tammi Biological Sciences (PI: Jared Rose) - Slocum Lunz - Investigating the Effects of Spectral Quality on Cryptophytes of Potential Economic Importance Slocum Lunz Foundation $1,500
Weist, Mark Psychology Staying the Course: Building ECHO Networks for Effective School Behavioral Health (SBH) Council for Exceptional Children (Private Donations) $83,000

PI Name

PI Dept.

Award Title

Sponsor

Total

Besmann, Theodore
Mechanical Engineering
Completion of the Molten Salt Thermal Properties Database-Thermochemical
UT-Battelle, LLC/ORNL/DOE
$255,000
De Backer, Wout Mechanical Engineering South Carolinas First Cubesat for Event Detection and Additive Manufacturing Space Dynamics Laboratory (SDL) - Utah State University/AFRL-RV/NASA $50,000
Downey, Austin Mechanical Engineering Development of an Extended Progressive Damage Dataset HII Mission Technologies Corporation (HII)/AFRL/DOD $47,498

PI Name

PI Dept.

Award Title

Sponsor

Total

Albrecht, Helmut
Internal Medicine
Nanopore-Based HIV Self-Test for Ultrasensitive p24 Quantification in FingerPrick Blood
University of Massachusetts Amherst/NIH
$255,000
Rahemtullah, Omme-Salma MDC Office of Dean NeighborShare (CDBG) SC Research Foundation (SCRF)/Richland County $35,770
Narasimhan, Meera Neuropsychiatry Access Improvement/rural Outreach Initiatives in Partnership with SC Office of Rural Health Contract #1599 SC DHHS Services for Purchase and Provision of Rural Outreach Program SC Department of Health and Human Services $4,379,304
Stephenson, Kathryn Pediatrics Parents as Teachers Prisma Health-MIdlands/Children's Trust Fund of South Carolina/HRSA $104,743
Hollis, Fiona Pharm., Physiology & Neuroscience Psychosocial stress-induced neurometabolic dysfunction as a mediator of postpartum cardiovascular disease National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)/NIH $2,881,214
Pocivavsek, Ana Pharm., Physiology & Neuroscience SAM WALTHER - SRSF Small Research Grant -The Effects of Prenatal Kynurenic Acid Exposure on Sleep Quality Across Early Development SAM WALTHER - SRSF Small Research Grant -The Effects of Prenatal Kynurenic Acid Exposure on Sleep Quality Across Early Development $2,006

 

To request a PDF copy of this report, please contact Elizabeth Renedo at renedoe@mailbox.sc.edu


Challenge the conventional. Create the exceptional. No Limits.

©