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. 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 May 2026 New Grant Awards |
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PI Name |
PI College/Dept. |
Award Title |
Sponsor |
Total |
| Bradshaw, Jessica |
McCausland College of Arts and Sciences Psychology |
Neonatal autonomic nervous system dysfunction as a predictor of autism spectrum disorder in preterm infants | National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) | $2,651,315 |
| Uline, Mark |
Molinaroli College of Engineering & Computing Biomedical Engineering |
ARLIS Credibility Assessment System Sensor Analytics Performance Evaluation and Review (CASPER) Task Order | ARLIS/University of Maryland/DOD | $1,020,000 |
| Harmon, Sarah |
University of SC Aiken AK Biology & Geology |
2025 Workforce Opportunities in Regional Careers (WORC I) Renewal | SRS Community Reuse Organization(SRSCRO)/NNSA/DOE | $899,675 |
| Wei, Tao |
Molinaroli College of Engineering & Computing Biomedical Engineering |
Simulation Study of Dual Functional Fouling Resistant and Fouling Release Polymers and Extremely Nonfouling Polymers | Office of Naval Research (ONR)/DOD | $528,000 |
| Agostinelli, Forest |
Molinaroli College of Engineering & Computing Computer Science & Engineering |
CAREER: Solving Pathfinding Problems with High-Level Goal Specifications | National Science Foundation (NSF) | $492,131 |
| Heyden, Andreas |
Molinaroli College of Engineering & Computing Chemical Engineering |
Collaborative Research: Understanding and controlling solvent effects in TiO2-catalyzed aldol condensation | National Science Foundation (NSF) | $314,000 |
| Black, Shelandra |
Joseph F. Rice School of Law Children's Law Center |
FY26 Investigative Trainings | SC Department of Social Services (DSS) | $308,625 |
| Vento, Peter |
McCausland College of Arts and Sciences Psychology |
Rostromedial tegmental inhibition of midbrain dopamine in avoidance- Resubmission | Whitehall Foundation, Inc. | $300,000 |
| May, Jennifer |
College of Nursing Biobehavioral Health & Nursing Science |
Building Capacity for Patient-Centered CER Cancer Research with Older Adults Nationally | Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) | $299,873 |
| McGough, Maureen |
Joseph F. Rice School of Law Law - Dean's Office |
AVENUES Training to Advance South Carolina Law Enforcement Responses to Domestic Violence – Project Expansion | SC Department of Public Safety (SC DPS)/DOJ | $297,673 |
May 2026 Awards by College
PI Name |
PI Dept. |
Award Title |
Sponsor |
Total |
| Jilling, Andrea | Environmental Health Sciences | Partnership: Soil health implications of microplastics released from biosolids—an assessment of transport, carbon storage, and flux | Oklahoma State University/USDA | $279,742 |
| Liu, Jihong | Epidemiology & Biostatistics | Enhancing Maternal and Postpartum Outcomes through Whole-Person Engagement and Referrals (EMPOWER Project) (Subcontract to Prisma Health) | Prisma Health-Upstate/The Duke Endowment | $137,232 |
| Andrews, Christina | Health Services Policy & Mgmt | (PI - Olivia Hinds) Perinatal Opioid Use Disorder Treatment Benefit Design and Maternal-Infant Outcomes in Medicaid Managed Care | National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)/NIH | $119,417 |
| Andrews, Christina | Health Services Policy & Mgmt | Opioid Use Disorder Treatment Resource Mapping and Toolkit for South Carolina Jails | Office of Substance Use Services - SC Department of Behavioral Health & Development Disabilities (BHDD)/SAMHSA/HHS | $35,000 |
PI Name |
PI Dept. |
Award Title |
Sponsor |
Total |
| LeJeune, Lauren | Educational & Developmental Science | Better Together: Building University-District Partnerships for Coaching Special Education Teacher Candidates | UF Collaboration for Effective Educator Development, Accountability, and Reform (CEEDAR) Center/USDE | $8,992 |
PI Name |
PI Dept. |
Award Title |
Sponsor |
Total |
| May, Jennifer | Biobehavioral Health & Nursing Science | Building Capacity for Patient-Centered CER Cancer Research with Older Adults Nationally | Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) | $299,873 |
PI Name |
PI Dept. |
Award Title |
Sponsor |
Total |
| Von Nessen, Joseph | Moore Sch - Div. of Research | BMW Manufacturing Company, LLC: Economic Impact Analysis (2026) | BMW Manufacturing Company, LLC | $120,000 |
PI Name |
PI Dept. |
Award Title |
Sponsor |
Total |
| Sen, Souvik | Neurology | South East Collaborative Alliance for Stroke Trials (SE-CoAST) | Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC)/NIH | $70,775 |
| Knight, Lisa | Pediatrics | Trials and ReseArch Network FOR even More (TRANSFORM‐3) | Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC)/Office of the Director/NIH | $56,623 |
| Hollis, Fiona | Pharm., Physiology & Neuroscience | IPA - Haley Dufala -- Validating an animal model of female veteran risk factors for postpartum depression | WJB Dorn VA Medical Center/VA | $55,730 |
PI Name |
PI Dept. |
Award Title |
Sponsor |
Total |
| Black, Shelandra | Children's Law Center | FY26 Investigative Trainings | SC Department of Social Services (DSS) | $308,625 |
| McGough, Maureen | Law - Dean's Office | AVENUES Training to Advance South Carolina Law Enforcement Responses to Domestic Violence – Project Expansion | SC Department of Public Safety (SC DPS)/DOJ | $297,673 |
| Park, Bryant | Law - Dean's Office | SC Bar Foundation Public Interest Fellowship - FY2026 | SC Bar Foundation | $15,052 |
PI Name |
PI Dept. |
Award Title |
Sponsor |
Total |
| Kulkarni, Varsha | Physics & Astronomy | Analyzing Galaxy Evolution and Star Formation via the Circumgalactic Medium (Fellowship for graduate student Mitchell Halley) | College of Charleston/SC Space Grant Consortium/NASA | $16,000 |
| Kulkarni, Varsha | Physics & Astronomy | Multiwavelength Extinction Curves in Distant Galaxies | Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI)/NASA | $28,661 |
| Bradshaw, Jessica | Psychology | Neonatal autonomic nervous system dysfunction as a predictor of autism spectrum disorder in preterm infants | National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) | $2,651,315 |
| Vento, Peter | Psychology | Rostromedial tegmental inhibition of midbrain dopamine in avoidance- Resubmission | Whitehall Foundation, Inc. | $300,000 |
| Meyer-Gutbrod, Erin | School of Earth, Ocean & Env. | Using a right whale movement model to compare risk exposure with fixed management areas versus dynamic management areas | The Broad Reach Fund | $52,000 |
| Broussard, Rebekah | Sociology | Fall 2026 Course Buyout | University of Texas at Austin (UTAUS) - Population Wellbeing Initiative | $24,940 |
| Duffy, Peter | Theatre and Dance | Rooster Tales Camp 2026 | SC Arts Commission | $13,350 |
PI Name |
PI Dept. |
Award Title |
Sponsor |
Total |
| Uline, Mark | Biomedical Engineering | ARLIS Credibility Assessment System Sensor Analytics Performance Evaluation and Review (CASPER) Task Order | ARLIS/University of Maryland/DOD | $1,020,000 |
| Wei, Tao | Biomedical Engineering | Simulation Study of Dual Functional Fouling Resistant and Fouling Release Polymers and Extremely Nonfouling Polymers | Office of Naval Research (ONR)/DOD | $528,000 |
| Heyden, Andreas | Chemical Engineering | Collaborative Research: Understanding and controlling solvent effects in TiO2-catalyzed aldol condensation | National Science Foundation (NSF) | $314,000 |
| Sadati, Monirosadat | Chemical Engineering | DL-Imaging, Model-Enabled Microfluidics for High-Throughput Discovery of Migrastatic Therapies | SC EPSCoR | $70,000 |
| Agostinelli, Forest | Computer Science & Engineering | CAREER: Solving Pathfinding Problems with High-Level Goal Specifications | National Science Foundation (NSF) | $492,131 |
| Fang, Xin | Electrical Engineering | Accelerating Grid Resilience: Foundational Work for Power Distribution Systems Digital Twins | Battelle Energy Alliance, LLC (BEA)/INL/DOE | $50,000 |
| Bayoumi, Abdel | Mechanical Engineering | Advancing Predictive Infrastructure Monitoring Solutions | Empowered Startups USA Ltd. | $25,000 |
| Bayoumi, Abdel | Mechanical Engineering | Advanced Magnetic Bearing for Electric Rim Drive Propulsion | College of Charleston/SC Space Grant Consortium/EPSCoR/NASA | $35,000 |
| De Backer, Wout | Mechanical Engineering | (Student PI: Alberto Diaz) Adaptive Spray Control Injector for Liquid Rocket Propulsion | College of Charleston/SC Space Grant Consortium/EPSCoR/NASA | $7,500 |
| De Backer, Wout | Mechanical Engineering | (Student PI: Jacob Boutin) Quantum NV CubeSat Payload for Magnetosphere Disturbance Detection | College of Charleston/SC Space Grant Consortium/EPSCoR/NASA | $7,500 |
| Downey, Austin | Mechanical Engineering | (Student PI: Drew Huebner) Digital Twinning of a Closed-Loop Thermal System for Space-Relevant Thermal Management | College of Charleston/SC Space Grant Consortium/EPSCoR/NASA | $7,500 |
| Huang, Kevin | Mechanical Engineering | Testing Iron Media for Energy Storage | SpringCycle Energy, Inc. | $65,000 |
| Lee, Junsoo | Mechanical Engineering | (Student PI: Shashwat Yadav) Robust Control Framework for Retractable Tether Multirotor UAVs | College of Charleston/SC Space Grant Consortium/EPSCoR/NASA | $65,000 |
| Wang, Yi | Mechanical Engineering | (Student PI: Noah Young) Validated Terrain-Occluded Radar Simulation for Autonomous Navigation | College of Charleston/SC Space Grant Consortium/EPSCoR/NASA | $7,500 |
PI Name |
PI Dept. |
Award Title |
Sponsor |
Total |
| Hall, Karen | Rule of Law Collaborative | Countering Wildlife Trafficking (CWT) and Other Natural Resource Crime in Africa, Asia, and Latin America subaward from TAF | The Asia Foundation (TAF)/US Department of State | $204,638 |
PI Name |
PI Dept. |
Award Title |
Sponsor |
Total |
| Briggs Budden, LaNae | Graduate and Retention Network | IIE American Passport Project | Institute of International Education (IIE), Inc. | $4,125 |
PI Name |
PI Dept. |
Award Title |
Sponsor |
Total |
| Harmon, Sarah | AK Biology & Geology | 2025 Workforce Opportunities in Regional Careers (WORC I) Renewal | SRS Community Reuse Organization(SRSCRO)/NNSA/DOE | $899,675 |
PI Name |
PI Dept. |
Award Title |
Sponsor |
Total |
| Taylor, Brittany | LAN PALMETTO COLLEGE | Americans Exhibition in Lancaster | SC Humanities/NEH | $2,500 |
PI Name |
PI Dept. |
Award Title |
Sponsor |
Total |
| Carter, Sarah | UN PALMETTO COLLEGE | UpCountry Literary and Arts Festival | Dollar General Literacy Foundation | $1,000 |
| Conley, Carolyn | UN PALMETTO COLLEGE | Dollar General Literacy Foundation- USC Union Summer Literacy Clinics | Dollar General Literacy Foundation | $2,500 |
| Edwards, Cheryl | UN PALMETTO COLLEGE | Chester Healthcare Foundation Spring 2026 | USC Educational Foundation/Chester Healthcare Foundation | $15,000 |
To request a PDF copy of this report, please contact Elizabeth Renedo at renedoe@mailbox.sc.edu