March 20, 2025, Laura Erskine
As a Fulbright Scholar, Sarah Waheed traced the footsteps of Chand Bibi through the southwestern region of India. She visited ruins and archives, working with historians, archeologists and residents to gather the pieces of Chand Bibi’s story. Now Waheed tells this story in her forthcoming book.
March 14, 2025, Jeff Stensland
The University of South Carolina is developing a unique clinical neurological and rehabilitation center that will house the Palmetto State’s first standalone comprehensive medical facility dedicated entirely to integrated care of patients with brain and nervous system illnesses.
March 14, 2025, Laura Erskine
AJ Peterman is undergoing an EEG for a study led by Caitlin Hudac, director of USC’s Brain Research Across Development lab. Hudac first took her lab on the road to test children who have rare genetic conditions and couldn’t travel. Now, she hopes to expand her reach.
February 28, 2025, Rutvik Desai
While the quality of AI systems' output sometimes rivals work done by humans, they are also prone to confidently churning out factually incorrect information. Skeptics have also called into question their ability to reason.
February 26, 2025, Brandon Pugh
As CIC’s associate dean for research, Linwan Wu is leading the college’s work to understand the influence and impact of artificial intelligence in advertising. Through the first two USC AI Index reports and those to come, he’s helping to evaluate national sentiment on the now-prevalent communications technology.
February 25, 2025, Chris Horn
Half a million Americans are diagnosed annually with dementia, so finding ways to prevent its onset is a focus of public health researchers, including a University of South Carolina professor who is testing simple techniques for older adults.
February 21, 2025, Gregory Hardy
The University of South Carolina broke ground on a facility that will redefine the future of health care education and research during a ceremony on Tuesday, Feb. 25, at the site of its new School of Medicine Columbia. This cutting-edge, 300,000-square-foot-plus medical education and research facility will be part of USC’s transformative $300 million Health Sciences Campus, amid 16 acres in Columbia’s reimagined BullStreet District.
February 18, 2025, Gregory Hardy
Oral health isn’t just about your smile—it could help protect your heart, too. A new study finds an unexpected heart health habit can be that regular flossing reduces stroke risk. Dr. Souvik Sen explains why you shouldn't skip out on flossing in the name of heart health.
February 10, 2025, Laura Erskine
Augusta Baker left a remarkable legacy in the fields of librarianship and children’s literature. After retiring from the New York Public Library system, Baker became storyteller-in-residence at USC from 1980 to 1994. It was the first position of its kind at an American university, a role created for Baker to teach students, librarians and educators how to make reading more exciting for children.
January 29, 2025, Gregory Hardy
February is American Heart Month. The University of South Carolina is home to many faculty members who are available to offer their expertise in cardio care and research.
January 28, 2025, Robert A. Kopack
If there is a leader in the aerospace industry, SpaceX is it. Boca Chica, Texas, is home to SpaceX’s flagship assembly and test installation, Starbase. Since 2021, research has been conducted with environmental groups and community members in south Texas who see space exploration as a landscape-altering industry. Geography professor Robert A. Kopack writes about Starbase for The Conversation.
January 27, 2025, Robert Kubinec
The fall of Bashar Assad’s dictatorship in December 2024 has ushered in a nerve-wracking time of hope and fear for Syrians concerning future governance in the long-war-torn country. While it’s unclear what exact political path Syria will take, the dilemmas the country faces are similar to the experiences of other Arab countries more than a decade ago. Robert Kubinec, assistant professor of political science at the University of South Carolina, writes for The Conversation about his research on Arab uprisings in the Middle East.
January 27, 2025, Danielle Krobath
Banning junk food from SNAP is something that has divided public health experts for years. However, research shows that adding to the restrictions that already limit access to SNAP benefits do little to make Americans healthier. Danielle Krobath, an assistant professor of epidemiology at the University of South Carolina’s Arnold School of Public Health, writes for The Conversation with Tufts University Assistant Professor of Community Health Benjamin Chrisinger about their research into safety net programs.
January 23, 2025, Lorne J. Hofseth
Red 3, a synthetic dye linked to cancer, has been banned by the FDA due to growing evidence of its harmful effects on human health. College of Pharmacy professor Lorne Hofseth writes for The Conversation on the health risks of synthetic food dyes and the implications of stricter regulations.
January 16, 2025, Video by Hadley McCollester. Intro text by Laura Erskine.
From communities in the Southeast submerged by floodwaters to neighborhoods on the California coast battling raging wildfires, natural disasters are on the rise. Hear from geographer Susan Cutter, Carolina Distinguished Professor, and alumni working in emergency management across the state and nation about how tools like the Social Vulnerability Index can lead to better outcomes for the future.
January 15, 2025, Chris Horn
Drawing from an enormous collection of genetic material, a University of South Carolina chemistry professor is on a mission to find novel bioactive agents with potential antibiotic, anti-cancer and anti-inflammation applications.
January 13, 2025, Rebekah Friedman
Arnold School of Public Health professor Mohammed Baalousha studies how wildfires affect the formation of nanomaterials and how these ultra-tiny particles are seeping into water and soil.
January 03, 2025, Kristine Hartvigsen
The USC Baruch Institute's new director, Jill Stewart, is endlessly fascinated by the natural alchemy of the oft-maligned yet mighty microbe. These tiny living microorganisms are everywhere, from the surface of our skin and the air we breathe to the water we drink and the soil beneath our feet. In fact, microbes are essential to the persistence of life on Earth. So why do they sometimes get a bad rap?
December 13, 2024, Gregory Hardy
Through her studies at the Arnold School of Public Health, first-generation USC student Ebony Christie has realized the everyday impact of safety and wellness initiatives. With plans to pursue a master’s in public health before attending medical school, Christie is determined to address systemic health disparities as an OB/GYN.
December 11, 2024, Dan Cook
From the time she was in her high school marching band, Emily Ruth Allen has loved the atmosphere and celebratory tradition of Mardi Gras. Now the instructor of music and Southern Studies has made a career of studying festivals and celebratory rituals.
December 06, 2024, Hadley McCollester
In South Carolina, 97 percent of newborn infants are screened for hearing ability — and 3.1 percent do not pass. At the Arnold School of Public Health, there’s a clinic that can help.
December 04, 2024, Gregory Hardy
The College of Pharmacy, driven by faculty like Jun Zhu, M.D., Ph.D., and Hippokratis Kiaris, continues to lead in pharmaceutical research with $13 million in sponsored awards in 2024, a 67% increase from last year. Zhu’s groundbreaking work on HIV-related cognitive care recently earned a $3.8 million NIH grant, while Kiaris’ COBRE Center has facilitated over $50 million in research funding. Their efforts contribute to USC’s record $309 million in research funding, solidifying its reputation for global health impact.
December 02, 2024, Chris Horn
One-third of the world’s GDP depends on chemical catalysts, and an industry-university research center led by USC is helping its members better understand how those chemical reaction boosters can be tweaked for peak efficiency.
November 20, 2024, Chris Horn
A team of USC scientists is using a $3.4 million grant to develop new technology for personalized medical treatment and more accurate medical diagnoses. USC faculty members from medicine, chemistry and mathematics are leading various aspects of the five-year project funded by the National Science Foundation’s Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR).
November 15, 2024, Xinyu Huang
Flooding from hurricanes Helene and Milton inflicted billions of dollars in damage across the Southeast. It caused dozens of electric vehicles and other battery-powered objects, such as scooters and golf carts, to catch fire. Many consumers are unaware of this risk, and lithium-ion batteries are widely used in EVs, e-bikes and cordless power tools. Here is what owners should know about water and the risk of battery fires.
November 14, 2024, Gregory Hardy
Nursing students at the University of South Carolina are getting hands-on simulation training with the newest generation of portable ultrasound equipment this November. Associate Professor Amy Dievendorf led the first immersion training with graduate-level nurse practitioner students in November at the College of Nursing’s new Clinical Education Building.
November 13, 2024, Carol J.G. Ward
School of Medicine Columbia researcher Ana Pocivavsek’s new four-year NIH grant will allow her to study the impact of sleep across the lifespan during windows that are critical to brain development, including pregnancy.
November 08, 2024, Chris Horn
Around the clock and every day of the year for the past three decades, an environmental monitoring system has been keeping a finger on the pulse of 30 diverse estuaries across the country, collecting water quality and weather data. The integrated System-Wide Monitoring Program and Centralized Data Management Office is headquartered in Georgetown, S.C., at USC’s Belle W. Baruch Institute for Marine and Coastal Sciences.
November 04, 2024, Jabari Evans
Jabari Evans, assistant professor of race and media in the School of Journalism and Mass Communications writes for "The Conversation" about his experience as an expert witness in a murder trial involving the rapper Top5.
November 04, 2024, Kristine Hartvigsen
Artificial Intelligence advocates might defensively suggest, in good humor, that chatbots are “only human” and therefore prone to occasional mistakes. New research by a team at the University of South Carolina Department of Psychology basically confirms that notion with some important caveats.
October 31, 2024, Laura Morris
More than a quarter of South Carolina residents live in rural areas and must overcome greater health care challenges than their urban counterparts. USC faculty members are available to offer their expertise in rural health services and research. To coordinate an interview, contact the staff member listed with each expert entry.
October 25, 2024, Gregory Hardy
Forensic social work is a specific discipline that examines how social workers intersect and interact with the legal system under domains both criminal and civil. Stephanie Hunter has 22 years of experience in the field, specifically working in criminal indigent defense. Now an assistant clinical professor at USC’s College of Social Work, she finds that both students and professionals often require an explanation about the field.
October 24, 2024, Collyn Taylor
South Carolina's Board of Trustees pushed forward an ambitious project on the new Health Sciences Campus as well as Phase I for Williams-Brice renovations.
October 18, 2024, Communications and Marketing
There is also no doubt that nurses — an integral part of the nation's health care system — are in short supply. From opening a new building at Lexington Medical Center to being the home of the top-ranked online graduate program in nursing education, the University of South Carolina College of Nursing is committed to addressing the need.
October 11, 2024, Carol E. Harrison
At the current Vatican synod, whose purpose is to address “communion, participation, and mission” in the church, women’s role is on the agenda. History professor Carol Harrison writes for The Conversation on how Catholic women have historically found ways to speak to and about their church leadership, even when they have been excluded from its proceedings.
October 10, 2024, Chris Horn
Two new MRI scanners will help USC researchers differentiate possible causes of cognitive impairment as part of the university's new Brain Health Center.
October 09, 2024
October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Breast cancer is the second most common cancer among American women, according to the Centers for Disease Control. The University of South Carolina has many faculty members who can offer expertise on this subject.
October 07, 2024, Cary Mock
Some hurricanes are remembered for their wind damage or rainfall. Others for their coastal flooding. Hurricane Helene was a stew of all of that and more. Its near-record-breaking size, storm surge, winds and rainfall together turned Helene into an almost unimaginable disaster that stretched more than 500 miles inland from the Florida coast. Geography professor Cary Mock writes about the hurricane for The Conversation.
October 01, 2024, Craig Brandhorst
Ken Shimizu, USC’s 2024 Michael J. Mungo Distinguished Professor of the Year, explores the complicated properties of molecules in his lab.
September 30, 2024, Laura Morris
Health science researchers from the University of South Carolina are taking a new approach to address chronic health conditions and reduce patient hardships across the state.
September 24, 2024, Nicole Meares
In a world of budding technology and virtual reality, there is an opportunity to view different perspectives on health disparities in new ways. That’s what the USC College of Nursing is aiming to do.
September 24, 2024, Laura Morris
In 2025, construction will begin on the College of Nursing's Biobehavioral Research Center that will provide dedicated space for faculty research, enhancing expertise and improving health outcomes for South Carolina and beyond.
September 23, 2024, Megan Sexton
The University of South Carolina is home to the nation’s top first-year student experience among public institutions, and its living-learning communities are ranked 10th best in the country, according to U.S. News and World Report’s annual undergraduate rankings released Sept. 24.
September 17, 2024, Megan Sexton
Kelly Goldberg, a clinical assistant professor of anthropology teaching in the South Carolina Honors College, is the winner of the university’s Michael J. Mungo Undergraduate Teaching Award.
September 11, 2024, Dan Cook
This fall, roughly 60 faculty members will take part in a new artificial intelligence initiative from the Office of the Vice President for Research. Called Propel AI, the effort aims to empower faculty to incorporate artificial intelligence into their work — regardless of their academic area or previous experience with AI. We spoke with Bryant Walker Smith, associate professor of law and an expert on emerging technologies, about the new initiative.
September 10, 2024, Collyn Taylor
USC's Board of Trustees approved the first designs of USC's state-of-the-art center, which will serve as the hub for the university's Brain Health Network.
September 10, 2024, Chris Horn
Anna Hoppmann is a pediatric oncologist with Prisma Health and a clinical assistant professor at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine Columbia where she graduated nine years ago. She also chairs the S.C. Childhood Cancer Taskforce, which recently released a 25-year trend report on childhood cancer incidence, survival and mortality in South Carolina.
September 04, 2024, Laura Morris
A new report led by the state Department of Public Health provides a comprehensive look at the burden of childhood cancer in the Palmetto State over the past 25 years. University of South Carolina health science researchers played a critical role in developing the report; additional partners include the South Carolina Children’s Hospital Collaborative and the South Carolina Cancer Alliance.
September 03, 2024, Dan Cook
The University of South Carolina reached a new research milestone in fiscal year 2024, attracting $309 million in sponsored awards during the one-year period that ended on June 30. This year’s funding level represents a double-digit percentage increase over last year in critical areas such as health research and energy innovation.
August 23, 2024, Gregory Hardy
As Betty Wilson begins this fall as an assistant professor at the College of Social Work, she sees it as a return to her community. The research interests of the two-time USC graduate and South Carolina native cover community-police relations, criminal justice reform, historical and racial trauma, and family and community resilience.