The Office of the Vice President for Research is pleased to announce the 2026 ASPIRE and ASPIRE AI funding recipients.
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 2026 funding cycle emphasizes support for early-career faculty who intend to pursue subsequent extramural funding. This year, ASPIRE will support 31 scholarly projects by faculty members.
The Office of the Vice President for Research also funds research programs specifically focused on artificial intelligence through the Advanced Support for Innovative Research Excellence in Artificial Intelligence (ASPIRE AI) Program. Like ASPIRE, ASPIRE AI especially targets those faculty members intending to pursue extramural funding, with a particular focus on interdisciplinary teams combining AI expertise with domain knowledge. This year, ASPIRE AI will support scholarly projects by 21 faculty members.
Please join us in congratulating the 2026 ASPIRE and ASPIRE AI funding recipients!
2026 ASPIRE Recipients
| Name | Department | College |
|---|---|---|
| Rafael Arreola Becerril | Division of Research | Darla Moore School of Business |
| Kimberly Becker | Psychology | McCausland College of Arts and Sciences |
| Marta Bornstein | Health Promotion, Education & Behavior | Arnold School of Public Health |
| Kimberly Cavanagh | Social Sciences | USC Beaufort |
| Hexin Chen | Biological Sciences | McCausland College of Arts and Sciences |
| James Croker | Health Services & Policy Management | Arnold School of Public Health |
| John Doering-White | Office of the Dean | College of Social Work |
| Rasha Elham Karakchi | Computer Science & Engineering | Molinaroli College of Engineering and Computing |
| Kayla Everhart | Biobehavioral Health & Nursing Science | College of Nursing |
| Brandon Hollingsworth | Epidemiology & Biostatistics | Arnold School of Public Health |
| Margaret Janse van Rensburg | Office of the Dean | College of Social Work |
| Olesya Kisselev | Languages, Literatures & Cultures | McCausland College of Arts and Sciences |
| Allison Kurpiel | Criminology & Criminal Justice | McCausland College of Arts and Sciences |
| Lauren LeJeune | Educational & Developmental Science | College of Education |
| Bryan Love | Clinical Pharmacy & Outcomes Science | College of Pharmacy |
| Krishna Mandal | Electrical Engineering | Molinaroli College of Engineering and Computing |
| Cortney Norris | Hotel, Restaurant & Tourism Management | College of Hospitality, Retail & Sport Management |
| Yuki Ogawa | Biological Sciences | McCausland College of Arts and Sciences |
| Zhiqiang Sha | Psychology | McCausland College of Arts and Sciences |
| Tamara Sheldon | Economics | Darla Moore School of Business |
| Fanghui Shi | Health Promotion, Education & Behavior | Arnold School of Public Health |
| Joshua Stone | Biological Sciences | McCausland College of Arts and Sciences |
| Yi Sun | Mathematics | McCausland College of Arts and Sciences |
| Cheuk Tam | Health Promotion, Education & Behavior | Arnold School of Public Health |
| Changhui Tan | Mathematics | McCausland College of Arts and Sciences |
| Hengtao Tang | Leadership, Learning Design & Inquiry | College of Education |
| Curisa Tucker | Biobehavioral Health & Nursing Science | College of Nursing |
| Paige Vaughn | Criminology & Criminal Justice | McCausland College of Arts and Sciences |
| Xiaoyang Xu | Political Science | McCausland College of Arts and Sciences |
| Xueying Yang | Health Pormotion, Education & Behavior | Arnold School of Public Health |
| Alexander Yankovsky | School of Earth, Ocean & Environment | McCausland College of Arts and Sciences |
2026 ASPIRE AI Recipients
| Name | Department | College |
|---|---|---|
| Ismahan Arslan-Ari | Educational & Developmental Science | College of Education |
| Darun Barazanchy | Mechanical Engineering | Molinaroli College of Engineering and Computing |
| Mengqian Chen | Drug Discovery & Biomedical Sciences | College of Pharmacy |
| Ruiqin Gao | Office of the Dean | College of Education |
| Eslam Hasan | Mathematical Sciences | USC Aiken |
| Andreas Heyden | Chemical Engineering | Molinaroli College of Engineering and Computing |
| Lucas Lima de Vasconcelos | Leadership, Learning Design & Inquiry | College of Education |
| Feilong Ma | Psychology | McCausland College of Arts and Sciences |
| Alexander McLain | Epidemiology & Biostatistics | Arnold School of Public Health |
| Yingxiao Qian | Leadership, Learning Design & Inquiry | College of Education |
| Shan Qiao | Health Promotion, Education & Behavior | Arnold School of Public Health |
| Monirosadat Sadati | Chemical Engineering | Molinaroli College of Engineering and Computing |
| Angie Starrett | Educational & Developmental Science | College of Education |
| Mehrnoosh Tahani | Physics & Astronomy | McCausland College of Arts and Sciences |
| James Thrasher | Health Promotion, Education & Behavior | Arnold School of Public Health |
| Homayoun Valafar | Computer Science & Engineering | Molinaroli College of Engineering and Computing |
| Hong Wang | Mathematics | McCausland College of Arts and Sciences |
| Nicholas Watanabe | Sport & Entertainment Management | College of Hospitality, Retail & Sport Management |
| Ralph White | Chemical Engineering | Molinaroli College of Engineering and Computing |
| Fan Yang | Journalism & Mass Communications | College of Information and Communications |
| Dezhi Wu | Integrated Information Technology | Molinaroli College of Engineering and Computing |
25 June 2026