ASPIRE, the signature internal competitive grant program of the Office of the Vice President for Research, is a cornerstone of faculty research and scholarship at the University of South Carolina. Through ASPIRE, the office funds promising faculty research, shared infrastructure and cross-disciplinary research projects to help strengthen UofSC researchers’ competitiveness for external grants and increase scholarly activity throughout the UofSC system.
Since it began in 2012, ASPIRE has made investments of about $18.2 million that have resulted in an excellent return of about $189.6 million, as reported by the faculty recipients. This impressive figure is evidence of the program’s effectiveness, and of the positive impact it makes on the UofSC research community.
“It is amazing to see the innovation of our faculty researchers in the ASPIRE proposals each year,” said USC Vice President for Research, Prakash Nagarkatti. “These deserving researchers will maximize this investment by developing new lines of research, building scholarly collaborations across disciplines and bringing new equipment to campus that current and future researchers will use to generate their own discoveries.”
UofSC faculty researchers submitted a total of 173 proposals to the 2020 ASPIRE program. The proposals were reviewed by a faculty review committee appointed by the Vice President for Research, and 80 were selected to receive just over $2 million in total 2020 ASPIRE funding.
The 2020 ASPIRE recipients are listed below by funding track. We are proud to recognize this distinguished group. Complete details about the ASPIRE program, including criteria for each funding track and sub-track, are available on the program’s home page.
2020 ASPIRE I: Innovation recipients
Sub-track I, junior faculty development
| Principal Investigator | Title | Department | College |
| Ahmed, Kishwar | Power Capping Allocation for Energy-Efficient High Performance Computing | Math and Computational Science | USC Beaufort |
| Behroozmand, Roozbeh | Effect of Visual Feedback Training on Speech Production in Aphasia | Communication Sciences and Disorders | Arnold School of Public Health |
| Bourbonnais, Annie | Fates of Terrestrial Dissolved Organic Nitrogen Pulses in Estuaries During High Loading Events | School of Earth, Ocean and Environment | College of Arts and Sciences |
| Boyle, Kaitlin | Gender-Based Mass Violence in the United States | Criminology and Criminal Justice | College of Arts and Sciences |
| Doering-White, John | Psychological First Aid along the Central American Migrant Trail through Mexico | Social Work | College of Social Work |
| Donevant, Sara | Exploring Patients' use of Mobile Health Applications to Manage Multiple Chronic Conditions: A qualitative study | Nursing | College of Nursing |
| Goharian, Erfan | Developing an Intelligent Flood Early Warning and Monitoring System Using Image Processing Techniques | Civil and Environmental Engineering | College of Engineering and Computing |
| Gross, Andrew | Stronger and Stiffer Architected Materials by Offsetting Nodal Weakness | Mechanical Engineering | College of Engineering and Computing |
| Hastings, Tessa | Improving Pneumococcal Vaccination Coverage in South Carolina Using Implementation Strategies in Community Pharmacies | Clinical Pharmacy Outcomes Sciences | College of Pharmacy |
| Hollis, Fiona | The Postpartum Mitochondrion: Characterizing the metabolic signature of postpartum depression in rodents | Pharmacology, Physiology and Neurology | School of Medicine Columbia |
| Li, Zhenlong | Rapid Estimation of Visitation Activities in U.S. National Parks by Mining Big Social Media Data | Geography | College of Arts and Sciences |
| Lizarraga, Sofia | ASH1L and CBP Modulate Neuronal Arborization and Language Development Pathways | Biological Sciences | College of Arts and Sciences |
| Martin, Lisa | Domestic Violence and Access to Civil Justice in South Carolina | Law | School of Law |
| McQuail, Joseph | Metabolic Mechanisms and Interventions in Age-Related Memory Loss | Pharmacology, Physiology and Neurology | School of Medicine Columbia |
| Mogilski, Justin | Quantifying Sexual Ethics: Developing a measure to assess how consensual non-monogamy prevents interpersonal conflict within multi-partner romantic relationships | Psychology | USC Salkehatchie |
| Monroe, Courtney | Evaluating Columbia Moves 2.0: A social network approach using team autonomy social support training and technology to increase physical activity | Health Promotion, Education and Behavior | Arnold School of Public Health |
| Nag, Anita | Investigating the Role of RNA Sequence in Resisting SARS-CoV Mediated Host RNA Degradation | Chemistry | USC Upstate |
| Natafgi, Nabil | What Factors Influence Whether a Payer/Insurer Reimburses for Telehealth Services or Not? A qualitative exploratory study | Health Services Policy and Management | Arnold School of Public Health |
| Pocivavsek, Ana | The Kynurenine Pathway during Aging: Implications for improving sleep and cognition in Alzheimer's disease | Pharmacology, Physiology and Neurology | School of Medicine Columbia |
| Ramstad, Kristina | Why Are Salmon Red? Assessing the genomic basis of a fitness related trait: carotenoid coloration in salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) | Biology and Geology | USC Aiken |
| Samudre, Mark | An Examination of Feasible Coaching Supports on General Education Teachers' Implementation of Individualized Classroom Behavior Management Plans | Educational Studies | College of Education |
| Shorter, Kimberly | Does IRAK1 Play a Role in miR-718 Expression, Autophagy, and Dendritic Spine Formation? | Biology | USC Upstate |
| Stone, Joshua | Demersal Zooplankton in the South Atlantic Bight and Their Role in Food-Web Dynamics | Biological Sciences | College of Arts and Sciences |
| Tan, Changhui | Multiscale Nonlocal Models in Traffic Flows | Mathematics | College of Arts and Sciences |
| Vejerano, Eric Warren | Atmospheric Reactions of Harmful Algal Bloom Toxins Contained in Aerosols | Environmental Health Sciences | Arnold School of Public Health |
| Xiao, Feifei | A Novel Statistical Algorithm for Copy Number Variation Detection with Application to Lung Cancer | Epidemiology and Biostatistics | Arnold School of Public Health |
| Yang, Chih-Hsiang | Investigating the Influences of Mindfulness and Physical Activity on Cognitive Aging and Well-Being: An experience sampling study | Exercise Science | Arnold School of Public Health |
| Yao, Christina | Foreign-Born College Students' Perceptions of Democratic and Civic Engagement in the U.S.: A scenic exploration of global politics, translocality, and local context | Education Leadership and Policies | College of Education |
Sub-track IIA, research faculty development
| Principal Investigator | Title | Department | College |
| Chosed, Renee | Molecular Analysis of Preimplantation Blastocoel Fluid to Reduce Miscarriage Rates | Medicine Greenville | School of Medicine Greenville |
| Flach, Alicia | Capturing Physical Activity, Symptom Presence and Severity in People with Parkinson's Disease in Real-Time: A pilot study | Exercise Science | Arnold School of Public Health |
| Fowler, Lauren | Examining Fatigue, Burnout, and Stress in Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Personnel | Medicine Greenville | School of Medicine Greenville |
| Grier, Jennifer | Simultaneous Transcriptomics of Host-Pathogen Interactions During Acinetobacter baumannii Infection | Medicine Greenville | School of Medicine Greenville |
| Kar, Amar | Sex Differences in Amyloid-Mediated Neurodegeneration | Biological Sciences | College of Arts and Sciences |
Sub-track IIB, postdoctoral scholar development
| Principal Investigator | Title | Department | College |
| Butowicz, Courtney | Linking Cortical Sensorimotor Adaptations to Impaired Movement Control in Lower Limb Amputees | Exercise Science | Arnold School of Public Health |
| Cao, Xiaoling | Role of ADAM30 in Vascular Pathogenesis of Sturge-Weber Syndrome/Port-Wine Stains | Cell Biology and Anatomy | School of Medicine |
| Coman, Paul | In Operando Techniques for Studying the Corrosion of Li0 Electrodeposits: A pathway to understanding thermal runaway triggers in Lithium ion Batteries | Chemical Engineering | College of Engineering and Computing |
| Kittikhunnatham, Preecha | Fundamental Understanding of Electronic Properties of Hybrid Frameworks as a Function of Metal Node Engineering | Chemistry and Biochemistry | College of Arts and Sciences |
| Klepov, Vladislav | Alkali Halide Sulfides (AHS) as a New Class of Ion Exchange Materials | Chemistry and Biochemistry | College of Arts and Sciences |
| Nkwonta, Chigozie | Impact of HIV Stigma on HIV Treatment Cascade: A qualitative study of challenges and needs of women living with HIV | Health Promotion, Education and Behavior | Arnold School of Public Health |
| Tam, Cheuk | Prescription Opioid Misuse and its Related Psychosocial Factors Among People Living with HIV | Health Promotion, Education and Behavior | Arnold School of Public Health |
| Tryon, Sarah | Individual Differences in Fear Extinction: Role of acetylcholinesterase alternative splicing | Pharmacology, Physiology and Neurology | School of Medicine Columbia |
| VanderVeen, Brandon | Emodin as a Complementary Dietary Therapy Targeting Chemotherapy-Induced Wasting | Pharmacology, Physiology and Neurology | School of Medicine Columbia |
| Weaver, Cory | Characterizing New Zebrafish Transgenic Lines for the Analysis of Neuronal Connectivity in the Visual System | Biological Sciences | College of Arts and Sciences |
| Xue, Dan | Unearthing Antimicrobial Lasso Peptides from Uncultured Bacteria | Chemistry and Biochemistry | College of Arts and Sciences |
Sub-track III, bridge funding
| Principal Investigator | Title | Department | College |
| Ballard, Matthew | Touchstone Examples of the Bondal-Orlov Conjecture Via the $Q$-construction | Mathematics | College of Arts and Sciences |
| Ziolkowski, Lori | Microplastics in South Carolina Waterways: Towards identifying their sources and fate | School of Earth, Ocean and Environment | College of Arts and Sciences |
Sub-track IV, senior faculty exploration
| Principal Investigator | Title | Department | College |
| Andrews, Christina | Opioid Use Disorder Treatment Coverage and Utilization Management Policy in Medicaid Managed Care Plans | Social Work | College of Social Work |
| Becker, Kimberly | Enhancing Treatment Engagement in Mental Health Services: A study of practices, processes, and outcomes | Psychology | College of Arts and Sciences |
| Chen, Hexin | Natural Product Berbamine Enhances the Efficacy of Metronomic Eoxorubicin Treatment for Triple Negative Breast Cancer | Biological Sciences | College of Arts and Sciences |
| Edwards, Kathryn | Devils, Ghosts, and Religious Rivalries: community values and confessional division in early modern Europe | History | College of Arts and Sciences |
| Garashchuk, Sophya | Theoretical Investigation of Ferryl Reactivity During Cytochrome P450 Fatty Acid Decarboxylation | Chemistry and Biochemistry | College of Arts and Sciences |
| Geraci, Marco | Bivariate Circular Regression for Longitudinal Data Analysis with an Application to Children's Sleep Studies | Epidemiology and Biostatistics | Arnold School of Public Health |
| Greytak, Andrew | Electrical Characterization of Quantum Dot/Graphene Junctions and the Effect of Ligand Exchange | Chemistry and Biochemistry | College of Arts and Sciences |
| Kaczynski, Andrew | Baseline Evaluation of a Major Park Renovation Natural Experiment to Improve Diverse Health Outcomes in Columbia, SC | Health Promotion, Education and Behavior | Arnold School of Public Health |
| Krizek, Beth | Investigating Cell-to-Cell Movement of Transcription Factors and Plasmodesmata Function in Arabidopsis Flowers | Biological Sciences | College of Arts and Sciences |
| Mandal, Krishna | Multipurpose, Pixilated Bandgap-Engineered CdZnTe Detector Arrays for Direct Read-Out High Resolution Nuclear Radiation Detection System | Electrical Engineering | College of Engineering & Comp. |
| Meng, Fang | Understanding Fake Online Reviews from Consumers' Perspective: A mixed method approach | School of Hospitality and Tourism Management | College of Hospitality, Retail, and Sport Management |
| Metcalfe, Christi | The Consequences of Expanding Police Presence: An examination of the frequency of engagement with the police, perceptions of police legitimacy, and legal cynicism | Criminology and Criminal Justice | College of Arts and Sciences |
| Moore, Douglas | The ACEs Policy Simulator: An agent-based modeling approach to evaluating policy effects on adverse childhood experiences | Health Promotion, Education and Behavior | Arnold School of Public Health |
| Moskowitz, Marc | Dancing for the Dead: Funeral strippers in Taiwan | Anthropology | College of Arts and Sciences |
| Peryshkov, Dmitry | Cooperative Lewis Pairs: Synergy of high-valent group 5 metal complexes and group 15 bases | Chemistry and Biochemistry | College of Arts and Sciences |
| Shimizu, Ken | Molecularly Imprinted Polymers for CO2 Capture | Chemistry and Biochemistry | College of Arts and Sciences |
| Stoeltzner, C. Michael | The Renaissance of Mathematical Physics and Its Philosophical Impact | Philosophy | College of Arts and Sciences |
| Twiss, Jeffery | Advancing G3BP1 Peptides as a Potential Therapy for Axon Regeneration | Biological Sciences | College of Arts and Sciences |
| Yoon, Yeomin | Preliminary Evaluation of Sonocatalytic Degradation Coupled with Metal-Organic Frameworks for Removal of Contaminants of Emerging Concern | Civil and Environmental Engineering | College of Engineering and Computing |
2020 ASPIRE-II: Integration recipients
| Principal Investigator and Team | Title | PI Department | PI College |
Chruszcz, Maksymilian
|
Spider Mite Silk Fibers as a Renewable Super-Material | Chemistry and Biochemistry | College of Arts and Sciences |
Hofseth, Lorne
|
Mechanisms of Early Onset Colorectal Cancer (EOCRC) | Drug Discovery and Biomedical Sciences | College of Pharmacy |
King, Adam
|
Recreating Native North American Carved Paddle Designs | Archaeology and Anthropology | College of Arts and Sciences |
Porter, Jason
|
The Virtual Piranesi | Library and Information Sciences | College of Information and Communication |
Sur, Sanjib
|
In-Home Mobility Impairment Assessment and Feedback Using 5G Wireless Signals and Voice-Assistants | Computer Science and Engineering | College of Engineering and Computing |
Viparelli, Enrica
|
The Impact of Harbor Modification on Coastal Floods: The case of Charleston, SC | Civil and Environmental Engineering | College of Engineering and Computing |
Wilsbacher, Greg
|
Image Analysis Algorithms for Digital Surrogates of Historical Motion Picture Film | University Libraries | University Libraries |
2020 ASPIRE-III: Infrastructure recipients
| Principal Investigator | Title | Department | College |
| Benicewicz, Brian | Acquisition of a Thermal Analysis System for Characterization of Macromolecules | Chemistry and Biochemistry | College of Arts and Sciences |
| Chosed, Renee | Enhancement of flow cytometry capabilities at U of SC campuses in the Upstate | Medicine Greenville | School of Medicine Greenville |
| Chruszcz, Maksymilian | Macromolecular Crystallography at the University of South Carolina | Chemistry and Biochemistry | College of Arts and Sciences |
| Ghoshroy, Soumitra | Acquisition of a Denton Desk V Turbo Sputter Coater, a State-of-the-Art Metal Coater for High-Resolution Scanning Electron Microscopy | Electron Microscopy Center | College of Arts and Sciences |
| Irvin, Matthew | Students with Disabilities in STEM (SWDiSTEM) Multi-User Lab for Research, Training, and Outreach | Educational Studies | College of Education |
| Pinckney, James | Enhancing Research and Education Capacity at the Baruch Marine Field Lab: Expansion of research capabilities | Biological Sciences | College of Arts and Sciences |
| Richardson, Susan | Acquisition of Vacuum-Assisted Sorbent Extraction (VASE)-Gas Chromatograph System | Chemistry and Biochemistry | College of Arts and Sciences |
| Sawyer, Caroline | Equipping the Future: 4K digital cinema camera kit for interdisciplinary digital humanities projects | Social Sciences | USC Beaufort |
7 May 2020