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 March 1 and March 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. 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 March 2025 New Grant Awards |
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PI Name |
PI College/Dept. |
Award Title |
Sponsor |
Total |
| Byers, Megan |
Arnold School of Public Health Health Prom., Educ. & Behavior |
For the Purchase and Provision of Education, Training, and Management of the Alzheimer’s Disease Registry | SC Department of Health and Human Services (SC DHHS) | $2,265,272 |
| Michels, Jill |
College of Pharmacy Palmetto Poison Center |
South Carolina Poison Center Support and Enhancement Project | Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)/HHS | $1,731,115 |
| Armstrong, Alissa |
College of Arts and Sciences Biological Sciences |
CAREER: Regulation of Drosophila melanogaster oogenesis by ovarian and adipose tissue amino acid sensing signaling pathways | National Science Foundation (NSF) | $1,368,734 |
| Abraham, Michele |
Darla Moore School of Business Small Business Dev. Ctr. |
South Carolina Department of Commerce Award Fiscal Year 2024-2025 - (State Director's Office) | SC Department of Commerce (SCDOC) | $1,000,000 |
| Bonilha, Leonardo |
School of Medicine Neurology |
Expanding Brain Health Access and Support to Rural and Underserved SC Providers and Communities | USC Educational Foundation/The Duke Endowment | $1,000,000 |
| Smithwick, Julie |
Arnold School of Public Health Center for Community Health Alignment |
Envision Equitable Communities Year 4 | Wisconsin Department of Health Services/CDC | $916,000 |
| McGough, Maureen |
Joseph F. Rice School of Law Law - Dean's Office |
FY24 University of South Carolina CPD LE Products and Resources Award - (Microtrainings on Critical Policing Issues: Creating and evaluating accessible, digestible trainings based on the Excellence in Policing and Public Safety (EPPS)) | US Department of Justice (DOJ) | $496,562 |
| Baalousha, Mohammed |
Arnold School of Public Health Environmental Health Sciences |
Impact of Moderate and High Severity Forest Fires on Metals Transformations and the Formation of Disinfection by Products | National Science Foundation (NSF) | $420,000 |
| Huang, Xinyu |
Molinaroli College of Engineering & Computing Mechanical Engineering |
Analyzing the combustion behavior of woven polyester fabric - SC Dept of Commerce | SC Department of Commerce - Fraunhofer | $320,000 |
March Awards by College
PI Name |
PI Dept. |
Award Title |
Sponsor |
Total |
| Smithwick, Julie | Center for Community Health Alignment | Envision Equitable Communities Year 4 | Wisconsin Department of Health Services/CDC | $916,000 |
| Kristinsson, Sigfus | Communication Sci & Disorders | Lawrence M. Brass, MD Stroke Research Award on Gradual Lesion Expansion | American Academy of Neurology Institute (AANI) | $150,000 |
| Baalousha, Mohammed | Environmental Health Sciences | Impact of Moderate and High Severity Forest Fires on Metals Transformations and the Formation of Disinfection by Products | National Science Foundation (NSF) | $420,000 |
| Kilpatrick, Daniel | Environmental Health Sciences | CHIRRP: Building Collaborations and Capacity to Address Climate Hazards in the Southeast U.S. | Clemson University/NSF | $26,346 |
| Cai, Bo | Epidemiology & Biostatistics | SC Muscular Dystrophy Surveillance, Tracking, and Research Network (SC MD STARnet) (Subcontract to DHEC) Comp A | SC Department of Health & Environmental Control (DHEC)/CDC | $7,600 |
| Hebert, James | Epidemiology & Biostatistics | GMaP R1N Administrative Partner | University of Kentucky/NIH | $20,000 |
| Hebert, James | Epidemiology & Biostatistics | NCI GMaP Region Region 1 North Research Pilot Project Support Program | University of Kentucky Research Foundation (UKRF)/NCI/NIH | $14,900 |
| Kanyangarara, Mufaro | Epidemiology & Biostatistics | A multi-method, multi-domain approach to evaluating preterm's effect on child growth and development | Oakland University/NIH | $9,000 |
| Krobath, Danielle | Epidemiology & Biostatistics | Revealing Multilevel Determinants of Zip Code Level Racial and Ethnic Coverage Rates in WIC (Grant Transfer from Tufts) | Tufts University/Robert Wood Johnson Foundation | $44,800 |
| Merchant, Anwar | Epidemiology & Biostatistics | Emulating early physical activity and multidomain interventions on cognitive impairment (Subcontract to University of Texas Health Science Center) | University of Texas Health Science Center/Alzheimer's Association | $53,412 |
| Nolan, Melissa | Epidemiology & Biostatistics | PRISMA Seed Grant: Elucidating the biological mechanisms of vaginal progesterone on reducing pre-term birth: Does vaginal progesterone alter vaginal microbiome profiles leading to perinatal vaginal homeostasis? | Prisma Health | $20,000 |
| Byers, Megan | Health Prom., Educ. & Behavior | For the Purchase and Provision of Education, Training, and Management of the Alzheimer’s Disease Registry | SC Department of Health and Human Services (SC DHHS) | $2,265,272 |
| Draper, Carrie | Health Prom., Educ. & Behavior | Project 1: Library Nutrition Support Implementation | SC Department of Social Services (SCDSS)/USDA | $131,488 |
| Ghattas, Hala | Health Prom., Educ. & Behavior | Nutrition environment assessment and nutritional status of school-aged children in Jordan | United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) | $198,746 |
| Hung, Peiyin | Health Services Policy & Mgmt | Personalized Auricular Point Acupressure Self-Management for Chronic Pain in Rural Populations | UT Health/NCCIH/NIH | $89,953 |
| Wright, Brad | Health Services Policy & Mgmt | Resub: Measuring Behavioral Health Integration in Community Health Centers to Improve Access, Equity, and Outcomes for Medicaid Enrollees | University of Washington/NIMH/NIH | $189,954 |
PI Name |
PI Dept. |
Award Title |
Sponsor |
Total |
| Armstrong, Alissa | Biological Sciences | CAREER: Regulation of Drosophila melanogaster oogenesis by ovarian and adipose tissue amino acid sensing signaling pathways | National Science Foundation (NSF) | $1,368,734 |
| LoPresti, Eric | Biological Sciences | Jaeger-Meg and Bert Raynes Wildlife 2025 | Meg and Bert Raynes Wildlife Fund | $4,995 |
| Richardson, Susan | Chemistry & Biochemistry | How Well Does Total Organic Fluorine Reflect Total PFAS? | Clemson University/USGS/DOI | $310,000 |
| Macauda, Mark | Colorectal Cancer Prevention Network | Evaluation Services for The Center for Rural and Primary HealthCare: Libraries and Health Phase 2 | SC Center for Rural and Primary Healthcare (SCCRPH)/SCDHHS | $9,133 |
| Kupfer, John | Geography | Social-ecological vulnerability in human communities surrounding large protected areas in the Southeast | NC State University/USGS | $176,938 |
| Kulkarni, Varsha | Physics & Astronomy | Probing the Dust in the Diffuse ISM in Galaxies over the Past ~8 Billion Years with Spectroscopy of Background Quasars | Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI)/NASA | $245,167 |
| Meyer-Gutbrod, Joshua | Political Science | Partisan Hits or Local Tunes: Exploring Nationalized Rhetoric in State Legislative Campaigns 2018-2024 | Center for the Study of Federalism | $14,286 |
| Milling, Stephanie | Theatre and Dance | Dance Technique Institute - Arts Curricular Innovation Grant 2025 | South Carolina Department of Education (SCDE) | $30,000 |
PI Name |
PI Dept. |
Award Title |
Sponsor |
Total |
| D'Amico, Leigh | Research, Eval., & Measurement | Preschool Development Grant Needs Assessment Renewal | SC Department of Social Services (DSS) | $226,030 |
| Dickenson, Tammiee | Research, Eval., & Measurement | Research Services on the ABC Quality Program for 2025 | SC Department of Social Services (DSS) | $174,258 |
| Lotter, Christine | Teacher Education | Collaboration Grant, Beyond 100K | Beyond 100K | $1,860 |
PI Name |
PI Dept. |
Award Title |
Sponsor |
Total |
| Newman, Susan | Biobehavioral Health & Nursing Science | Preparing PHOENIX to Fly: Building Capacity for Research on Spinal Cord Injury Peer Mentoring | Administration for Community Living/HHS | $252,277 |
| Warren, Karen | Nursing | PRISMA Seed Grant: Exploring the health of Black preterm infants and psychosocial challenges faced by mothers in relationship to multiple determinants of health | Prisma Health | $20,000 |
PI Name |
PI Dept. |
Award Title |
Sponsor |
Total |
| Michels, Jill | Palmetto Poison Center | South Carolina Poison Center Support and Enhancement Project | Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)/HHS | $1,731,115 |
| Michels, Jill | Palmetto Poison Center | Palmetto Poison Center Hurricane and Emergency Response Project | America's Poison Centers/CDC/HHS | $142,000 |
| Hastings, Tessa | Pharm - Clin Pharm & Outcomes Sciences | Identifying barriers and facilitators to pneumococcal vaccination at rural community pharmacies | UNC Chapel Hill/ Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC | $20,732 |
PI Name |
PI Dept. |
Award Title |
Sponsor |
Total |
| Brown, Jessica | Moore Sch - Dean's Office | Big Daycare: The Growing Influence of Private Equity in the Market for Early Care and Education | Arizona State University/Alfred P. Sloan Foundation | $259,459 |
| Von Nessen, Joseph | Moore Sch - Div. of Research | Midlands Regional Competitiveness Council: 2024-2025 Competitiveness Report | Midlands Regional Competitiveness Council | $25,000 |
| Von Nessen, Joseph | Moore Sch - Div. of Research | Pennsylvania Sea Grant College Program: Economic Impact Analysis | Pennsylvania Sea Grant - Pennsylvania State University | $74,500 |
| Abraham, Michele | Small Business Dev. Ctr. | South Carolina Department of Commerce Award Fiscal Year 2024-2025 - (State Director's Office) | SC Department of Commerce (SCDOC) | $1,000,000 |
PI Name |
PI Dept. |
Award Title |
Sponsor |
Total |
| McGough, Maureen | Law - Dean's Office | AVENUES training to Advance South Carolina Law Enforcement Responses to Domestic Violence | SC Department of Public Safety (SC DPS)/DOJ | $250,989 |
| McGough, Maureen | Law - Dean's Office | Building Officer Resilience to Trauma and Improving Mental Health Outcomes: The Reqire4 Training Program for South Carolina Law Enforcement | SC Department of Public Safety (SC DPS)/DOJ | $288,511 |
| McGough, Maureen | Law - Dean's Office | FY24 University of South Carolina CPD LE Products and Resources Award - (Microtrainings on Critical Policing Issues: Creating and evaluating accessible, digestible trainings based on the Excellence in Policing and Public Safety (EPPS) Masters in Public Sa | US Department of Justice (DOJ) | $496,562 |
PI Name |
PI Dept. |
Award Title |
Sponsor |
Total |
| Taheri-Qazvini, Nader | Chemical Engineering | Chain Dynamics and Structural Evolution at Thermoplastic Polyurethane Interfaces | American Chemical Society (ACS) | $125,000 |
| Gross, Andrew | Mechanical Engineering | Qualification and Acceptance Protocol for Additively Manufactured Alloys | Battelle Savannah River Alliance (BSRA)/SNRL/DOE | $308,000 |
| Huang, Xinyu | Mechanical Engineering | Analyzing the combustion behavior of woven polyester fabric - SC Dept of Commerce | SC Department of Commerce - Fraunhofer | $320,000 |
| Widawsky, Joshua | Mechanical Engineering | JEC World in Paris, France | SC Department of Commerce | $3,200 |
PI Name |
PI Dept. |
Award Title |
Sponsor |
Total |
| Dos Anjos Moraes, Raiana | Cardiovascular Translational Research Center | In hypertension, reduced activation of Piezo1 channels inhibits acetylcholine release from the endothelium to cause female pudendal artery dysfunction | International Society for the Study of Women's Sexual Health - ISSWSH | $7,500 |
| Rotholz, David | MDC Ctr Disability Resources | 2025 Assistive Technology Expo | SC Developmental Disabilities Council (SCDDC)/HHS | $10,000 |
| Bonilha, Leonardo | Neurology | Expanding Brain Health Access and Support to Rural and Underserved SC Providers and Communities | USC Educational Foundation/The Duke Endowment | $1,000,000 |
| Obstetrics & Gynecology | Campbell, Berry | Project ECHO South Carolina: Pregnancy Wellness Expansion (25-26) | Prisma Health-Midlands/SCCRPH/SCDHHS | $31,690 |
PI Name |
PI Dept. |
Award Title |
Sponsor |
Total |
| Springhart, Jennifer | Medicine Greenville | Scan Source Charity Foundation- Remote Area Medical Clinic- USCSOMG Chapter | Scan Source Charitable Foundation | $2,500 |
To request a PDF copy of this report, please contact Elizabeth Renedo at renedoe@mailbox.sc.edu