March 7, 2025 | Erin Bluvas, bluvase@sc.edu

The Office of the Provost has selected health promotion, education, and behavior professor Brie Turner-McGrievy as the 2025 recipient of the USC Educational Foundation Research Award for Health Sciences. Established in 1984 and bestowed at USC’s Annual Faculty Awards Ceremony, this honor recognizes the outstanding contributions of one faculty member from nominations across the Colleges of Nursing, Pharmacy and Social Work as well as the School of Medicine and the Arnold School of Public Health. Turner-McGrievy is the fifth Arnold School faculty member to receive this award in the past decade (Jim Thrasher, 2020; Angela Liese, 2018; James Carson, 2017; Jamie Lead, 2016).

“This prestigious award is a testament to your exceptional dedication, hard work, and significant contributions to our academic community,” said Mary Anne Fitzpatric, Dean of the Faculty and Vice President for Faculty Affairs. “Your achievements have not only earned you this honor but have also set a benchmark for excellence that inspires others.”

A member of the Arnold School since 2011, Turner-McGrievy’s work focuses on helping people eat healthier, lose weight and prevent/treat chronic disease – often using emerging technologies (e.g., social media support, nutrition/physical activity trackers, podcasts) as tools. She is the deputy director of the South Carolina SmartState Technology Center to Promote Healthy Lifestyles (TecHealth) and director of the Behavioral Research in Eating (BRIE) Lab.

A recognized leader in behavioral interventions, Turner-McGrievy has helped shape public health practice and policy throughout her career. National entities such as the American Heart Association, American College of Cardiology, and U.S. Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee look to experts like Turner-McGrievy to help inform diet-related, evidence-based policies and recommendations.

Supported by more than $13 million in grant funding from the National Institutes of Health, she has over 185 peer-reviewed publications to her name. This work often takes the form of clinical research trials focused on dietary patterns and includes the longest vegan diet intervention (two years) to date.  

“Dr. Turner-McGrievy is a research leader, collaborator, and mentor,” says Arnold School Interim Associate Dean for Research Daniela Friedman. “She takes great pride in supporting and mentoring students at all levels, postdoctoral fellows, and early- and mid-career faculty members. Her many achievements are evidence of Dr. Turner-McGrievy’s research leadership and commitment to mentoring the next generation of public health scholars.”

A registered dietitian, Turner-McGrievy has an M.S. in Human Environmental Science (University of Alabama) and Ph.D. in Nutrition (University of North Carolina), staying on for a postdoctoral fellowship with the Interdisciplinary Obesity Center. In addition to top and outstanding reviewer awards from respected journals in the field, she is the recipient of the Society of Behavioral Medicine’s Early Career Research Mentorship Award, Arnold School Faculty Research Award, USC Breakthrough Star Award, and USC Distinguished Undergraduate Research Mentor Award.

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