Southeastern Microscopy Society meeting to be held in Columbia, SC May 14-16, 2025

The Southeastern Microscopy Society (SEMS) is a professional organization dedicated to advancing research in the life, medical, and physical sciences through microscopy. Registration is now open for the 2025 Southeastern Microscopy Society meeting to be held at the Courtyard by Marriott May 14-16, 2025. The SEMS Conference will feature presentation opportunities for faculty and students, a micrograph competition and more. Click here to learn more about the meeting and register to attend. If you are interested in giving a talk or poster, SEMS is also calling for papers. Please visit the website to submit your work. 

The 2025 Southeastern Microscopy Society meeting will feature:

• Workshops: Zeiss Lightsheet Microscopy, Leica Advanced Ultramicrotomy, Leica Super-Resolution TauSTED Microscopy, Hitachi Cryo-EM 
• MSA Tour Speaker: Dr. Sai (Rengasayee) Veeraraghavan (Ohio State University) speaking on super-resolution microscopy
• MAS Tour Speaker: Dr. Masashi Watanabe (Lehigh University) speaking on Theoretical Evaluation of Atomic-Resolution X-ray Analysis toward Quantification
• MAS Young investigator Speaker: Dr. Lynnicia Massenburg (Oak Ridge National Laboratory) speaking on cryo-electron tomography of anti-microbial polymer surfaces
• Dr. Ann Ellis Lecturer: Dr. Hannah Hrncir (Emory University) speaking on advanced tissue clearing techniques

 

Freshly Announced: 2025 Distinguished Research Service Awards and Distinguished Undergraduate Research Mentor Awards

Our faculty partners serve on review committees and mentor student researchers, helping to ensure the ongoing success and efficacy of these programs. We are fortunate to have many faculty members who generously share their expertise year after year. To celebrate these outstanding faculty members, we are pleased to announce the recipients of the 2025 Distinguished Research Service Awards and Distinguished Undergraduate Research Mentor Awards. Join us in congratulating them here. 

 

SHARPGrads Registration is Open!

Attention Columbia campus graduate students! Register now for SHARPGrads, the Skills, Habits, And Research Program for Graduate Students. This virtual workshop series, which will run August 2025 – April 2026, allows Columbia campus grad students to earn a certificate of completion and digital badge while learning valuable research skills that are often not included in the curriculum. Learn more and register here. Participation is capped at 100 students, so register soon!

 

Monthly Grant Awards Report: February 2025

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 February 1 and February 28, 2025. 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. To review the report for February 2025, click here.

 

USC Columbia Faculty: Sign Up for a Summer Mentoring Opportunity with the SC Governor’s School for Science and Mathematics

The SC Governor's School for Science and Mathematics (GSSM) is seeking USC faculty willing to mentor their academically advanced high school students (rising seniors) during a six-week in-person Summer Program for Research Interns (SPRI). The program runs from Sunday, June 8 through Friday, July 18, 2025. Mentors must be USC faculty located on the main Columbia campus. If you have a summer research project for one or more SC GSSM high school students, please complete this form. For questions, please contact Lauren Clark, Director of Undergraduate Research, at clarkll@mailbox.sc.edu. 

 

Reviewers Needed: Sign up by Friday, March 28 to Support Discover USC 2025 Presenters

When presenter registration for Discover USC 2025 closed earlier this month, more than 1,000 undergraduate and graduate students, medical scholars and postdocs had submitted poster abstracts to present at this year’s showcase event. Organizers are seeking presentation reviewers to help ensure that all of these presenters receive the feedback and support they need to get the most out of this professional development experience. We encourage faculty, staff, graduate students and postdocs from USC and Prisma Health to register by Friday, March 28, to serve as reviewer. Reviewers can serve for a half day or a full day at Discover USC 2025, coming up on Friday, April 25, 2025, at the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center.

 

Required research security training now available

The University of South Carolina is committed to advancing research excellence while ensuring compliance with evolving federal regulations and sponsor agency requirements. To support this goal, the Office of Research Security has launched a set of required, web-based research security training for covered individuals involved in research activities at the university. 

Research security training provides the information and guidance researchers need to understand potential threats and risks to the research ecosystem, protect sensitive research and intellectual property, and ensure compliance with U.S. government mandates, including those outlined in NSPM-33 and the CHIPS and Science Act. Learn more about this required training, who should take it and how to access it via the Research Training and Education Services website. Please note that covered individuals are required to complete all applicable training modules no later than Thursday, May 1, 2025.

 

 

20 March 2025