Skip to Content

Office of the Vice President for Research

New Monthly Grant Awards Report: October 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 October 1 and October 31. 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 October 2025 New Grant Awards

PI Name
PI College/Dept.
Award Title
Sponsor
Total
Roberts, Jane

McCausland College of Arts and Sciences

Psychology

Translation of the FMR1 Premutation Phenotypes Across the Lifespan National Institute of Child Health & Human Development (NICHD)/NIH $6,360,269
Bonilha, Leonardo

School of Medicine

Neurology

Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation to Treat Aphasia: A Superiority Study National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD)/NIH $5,880,204
Beets, Michael

Arnold School of Public Health

Exercise Science

Efficacy of Center-based Childcare to Mitigate Unhealthy Weight Gain in Preschoolers from Low-income Households During the Summer National Institute of Child Health & Human Development (NICHD)/NIH $3,116,208
Larson, Leila

Arnold School of Public Health

Healt Prom., Educ. & Behavior

Impact of combined nutrition, responsive parenting, and health intervention on childhood development (BUNDLE) study National Institute of Child Health & Human Development (NICHD)/NIH $2,725,228
Heyden, Andreas

Molinaroli College of Engineering & Computing

Chemical Engineering

Development of Ferromagnetic Catalysts through Spin Manipulation for On-Demand Hydrogen Production DOE EPSCOR $2,499,999
Vogler, Kenneth

College of Education

Teacher Education

Our Founding Principles: Preparing Educators for America’s Semiquincentennial and Beyond US Department of Education (USDE) $2,179,517
Porter, Dwayne

Arnold School of Public Health

Environmental Health Sciences

Operational Support of the National Estuarine Research Reserve System Centralized Data Management Office
and Enhancements to the System-Wide Monitoring Program
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)/DOC $880,967
Wang, Sicheng

McCausland College of Arts and Sciences

Geography

Optimizing SCDOT’s Permitting, Mitigation, and Compliance Systems to Improve Project Delivery SC Department of Transportation (SCDOT) $799,999
zur Loye, Hans-Conrad

McCausland College of Arts and Sciences

Chemistry & Biochemistry

Developing the Chemistry of Np, Pu, and Am Containing Extended Oxide Structures US Department of Energy (DOE) $693,004
Martin, Maria

Arnold School of Public Health

PASOS

DPH-MCHB and PASOs Partnership SC Department of Public Health (DPH)/HRSA/HHS $600,000

 

October Awards by College

PI Name
PI Dept.
Award Title
Sponsor
Total
Porter, Dwayne Environmental Health Sciences Operational Support of the National Estuarine Research Reserve System Centralized Data Management Office National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)/DOC $880,967
Porter, Dwayne Environmental Health Sciences Continuing Support for the Florida Aquatic Preserves Continuous Water Quality Monitoring Program Data Management, Training and Data Portal Florida Department of Environmental Protection/State of Florida $445,915
Beets, Michael Exercise Science Efficacy of Center-based Childcare to Mitigate Unhealthy Weight Gain in Preschoolers from Low-income Households During the Summer National Institute of Child Health & Human Development (NICHD)/NIH $3,116,208
Yang, Chih-Hsiang (Jason) Exercise Science Optimizing and Projecting Lifestyle Behavioral Interventions to Sustain Long-term Health Behaviors and Outcomes in Focus Populations (SIP 25-004: Lifestyle Change Implementation Research Network) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)/HHS $498,623
Bornstein, Marta Health Prom., Educ. & Behavior (PI - Arielle N'Diaye) Understanding Differences in Reproductive Health Care Access and Preference-aligned Contraceptive Care Provision Among Black Bisexual and Heterosexual Women in the South Society of Family Planning $7,500
Larson, Leila Health Prom., Educ. & Behavior Impact of combined nutrition, responsive parenting, and health intervention on childhood development (BUNDLE) study National Institute of Child Health & Human Development (NICHD)/NIH $2,725,228
Olatosi, Bankole Health Services Policy & Mgmt (Syeda Akhtar - PI) Wastewater-Based Surveillance of Sexually Transmitted Infections in South Carolina America Sexually Transmitted Diseases Association (ASTDA) $5,000
Martin, Maria PASOS DPH-MCHB and PASOs Partnership SC Department of Public Health (DPH)/HRSA/HHS $600,000
PI Name
PI Dept.
Award Title
Sponsor
Total
Plotner, Tony Educational & Developmental Science Postsecondary Access and Learning (PAL) SC Vocational Rehabilitation Department (SCVRD) $504,000
Arslan-Ari, Ismahan Leadership, Learning Design, & Inquiry VIA-LLM: Visually Impaired Assistive Tool with LLM reasoning Clemson University/SC EPSCoR $5,518
Dickenson, Tammiee Research, Eval., & Measurement Evaluation of the Young Men United Program Year 4 United Way of the Midlands $65,500
Vogler, Kenneth Teacher Education Our Founding Principles: Preparing Educators for America’s Semiquincentennial and Beyond US Department of Education (USDE) $2,179,517
PI Name
PI Dept.
Award Title
Sponsor
Total
Mohammadi, Ehsan School of Information Sciences Region 2 Regional Medical Library, NNLM Medical University of South Carolina(MUSC)/Network of the National Library of Medicine (NNLM)/NIH $19,993
PI Name
PI Dept.
Award Title
Sponsor
Total
Von Nessen, Joseph Moore Sch - Div. of Research The Economic Impact of Palmetto Goodwill Palmetto Goodwill $60,000
PI Name
PI Dept.
Award Title
Sponsor
Total
Hourigan, Aimee Substance Abuse and Prevention Collegiate Recovery Program SC Department of Alcohol & Other Drug Abuse Services (SC DAODAS) $170,000
PI Name
PI Dept.
Award Title
Sponsor
Total
Lambert, Jason Facilities Services FY25 SCEO Mini-Grant for two electric vehicles SC State Energy Office/DOE $25,000
PI Name
PI Dept.
Award Title
Sponsor
Total
Holladay, Patrick Hotel, Restaurant & Tour Mgmt Empowering Agritourism Service Providers to Strengthen Agritourism Programs as a Farm Diversification Strategy to Enhance Beginning Farmers and Ranchers Success West Virginia University/ (WVU)USDA $25,288
PI Name
PI Dept.
Award Title
Sponsor
Total
Schreiner, Nina Anthropology Rehabilitating and Exhibiting Maritime Archaeological Collections from Coastal South Carolina SC Department of Archives and History (SCDAH)/NPS/DOI $540,000
Weik, Terrance Anthropology Cedar Creek Community Graveyard Preservation Richland County Conservation Commission - Richland County $26,648
Twiss, Jeffery Biological Sciences Targeting Axon Intrinsic Pathways to Accelerate Regeneration and Promote Neuroprotection SC Research Foundation (SCRF)/Dr Miriam and Sheldon G Adelson Medical Research Foundation (AMRF) $399,097
He, Lijian Chemistry & Biochemistry ICP-MS detection of lead in sweet potato US Department of Agriculture (USDA) $99,000
zur Loye, Hans-Conrad Chemistry & Biochemistry Developing the Chemistry of Np, Pu, and Am Containing Extended Oxide Structures US Department of Energy (DOE) $693,004
Mourtgos, Scott Criminology & Criminal Justice An Evaluation of Drone as First Responder Programs in U.S. Policing Arnold Ventures, LLC. $291,536
Wang, Sicheng Geography Optimizing SCDOT’s Permitting, Mitigation, and Compliance Systems to Improve Project Delivery SC Department of Transportation (SCDOT) $799,999
Ballard, Matthew Mathematics AI for Math Proposal SC Research Foundation (SCRF)/Renaissance Philanthropy Fund $191,453
Bradshaw, Jessica Psychology Predicting Late Talkers in Infants who are at Elevated Familial Likelihood for Autism University of Minnesota/NIDCD/NIH $32,532
Roberts, Jane Psychology Translation of the FMR1 Premutation Phenotypes Across the Lifespan National Institute of Child Health & Human Development (NICHD)/NIH $6,360,269
PI Name
PI Dept.
Award Title
Sponsor
Total
Uline, Mark Biomedical Engineering Novel Acute Stress Quantification During Pilot Training Via Volatile Organic Compounds Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL)/DOD $339,605
Heyden, Andreas Chemical Engineering Development of Ferromagnetic Catalysts through Spin Manipulation for On-Demand Hydrogen Production DOE EPSCOR $2,499,999
Peng, Zhenmeng Chemical Engineering Flow-cell Assisted Ion Removal and Recovery (FAIR2) Technology for Efficient Nutrient Management of Hydroponic Wastewater WaterUS LLC/USDA $35,000
Shimpalee, Sirivatch Chemical Engineering Prismatic TRISO Fuel Element Volume Reduction US Department of Energy (DOE) $75,000
Taheri-Qazvini, Nader Chemical Engineering DT-Enabled MXene-based Flexible Sensors for Wrist Rehabilitation Monitoring SC EPSCoR $70,000
Fu, Peng (Frank) Computer Science & Engineering Quantum Computing SC Quantum $12,173
O'Reilly, Christian Computer Science & Engineering National Research Training Platform (NRTP) The Royal Institution for the Advancement of Learning/McGill University/Azrieli Foundation $27,774
Valafar, Homayoun Computer Science & Engineering Columbia Airport Hybrid Ecosystem Analysis - Phenogy Phenogy Inc. $31,379
Shazly, Tarek Mechanical Engineering Matrix 1 - Small scale -- Devro portion Devro Inc. $35,806
PI Name
PI Dept.
Award Title
Sponsor
Total
Hucks, Jennifer Internal Medicine Adult CF Center - Midlands (25-26) Prisma Health-Midlands/Cystic Fibrosis Foundation $34,073
Rotholz, David MDC Ctr Disability Resources South Carolina Assistive Technology Program Leadership Conference (ATLC) SC Developmental Disabilities Council/ACL/HHS $3,500
Bonilha, Leonardo Neurology Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation to Treat Aphasia: A Superiority Study National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD)/NIH $5,880,204
Narasimhan, Meera Neuropsychiatry SC Behavioral Health Initiative Evaluation Prisma Health - Midlands/SCCRPH/SCDHHS $72,800
Frizzell, Norma Pharm., Physiology & Neuroscience Anaplerotic odd-chain fatty acid therapy for the treatment of Leigh Syndrome United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation (UMDF) $100,000
PI Name
PI Dept.
Award Title
Sponsor
Total
Beck, Judy AK School of Education Project CREATE 25-26 SC Department of Education (SCDE) $200,934
Martin, Melissa AK School of Education USCA LIFE & DD Council SC Developmental Disabilities Council/ACL/HHS $20,000
PI Name
PI Dept.
Award Title
Sponsor
Total
Criswell, Stephen LAN PALMETTO COLLEGE Partnership with SC Arts Commission for SC Folk Heritage Award Management SC Arts Commission $15,000
PI Name
PI Dept.
Award Title
Sponsor
Total
Conley, Carolyn UN PALMETTO COLLEGE Union County STEM Bus: Driving Innovation and Opportunity Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) $232,000
PI Name
PI Dept.
Award Title
Sponsor
Total
Waldrop, Susannah UPS Academic Affairs Admin Avanzando Through College 2025-2026 UnidosUS $15,000
Pae, Holly UPS Human Perform and Hlth Project CREATE 2025-26 SC Department of Education $142,709

 

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.

©