Discover USC marked ten years of research, scholarship, creativity and leadership with its 2026 event, held at the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center on Friday, April 24, 2026. Thank you to the thousands of people who came out to make it a special and enriching day for more than 1,000 undergraduate and graduate, medical scholar and postdoc presenters who shared their projects throughout the morning and afternoon sessions. Organizers are grateful to every volunteer, reviewer and mentor who contributed their time, expertise and energy to Discover USC 2026.
Discover USC organizers are honored to announce the poster session winners for Discover USC 2026.
Undergraduate Student Awards
There were 59 presentation sessions for undergraduate students at Discover USC 2026. Download the 2026 Undergraduate Research Awardees list (pdf) to check out the winners for all of these sessions. Congratulations to the Discover USC 2026 undergraduate awardees!
Graduate Student Awards
Poster Session Group |
Winner |
| Biomedical Sciences 1 | Abbe Eliasof, Pharmaceutical Sciences |
| Biomedical Sciences 2 | Stacey Oxendine, Biomedical Sciences |
| Biomedical Sciences 3 | Sravanthi Avula, Biological Sciences |
| Biomedical Sciences 4 | Carli Muniz, Pharmacy |
| Chemistry, Physics and Math 1 | Buddhima Maldeni Kankanamalage, Chemistry |
| Chemistry, Physics and Math 2 | Mohammadali Khosravi, Physics |
| Engineering and Computing 1 | Lauren Chappell, Biomedical Engineering |
| Environmental Science 1 | Autumn Muhly, Geological Sciences |
| Environmental Science 2 | Ademar Fernandez, Geological Sciences |
| Health Sciences 1 | Vera Bratnichenko, Nursing |
| Health Sciences 2 | Ann Cook, Nursing |
| Health Sciences 3 | Nicolette Lithgow and Tyler Smith, Nursing |
| Health Sciences 4 | Siqi Hong, Exercise Science |
| Health Sciences 5 | Sherry Price, Epidemiology |
| Health Sciences 6 | Emily Kallis, Counseling and Rehabilitation |
| Health Sciences 7 | Daniel Amoatika, Epidemiology |
| Health Sciences 8 | Adebusola Ogunnaike, Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior |
| Health Sciences 9 | Paddington Mundagowa, Epidemiology |
| Health Sciences 10 | Alyssa Favro, Environmental Health Sciences |
| Health Sciences 11 | Naomi Higgins, Epidemiology |
| Health Sciences 12 | Muyiwa Ategbole, Epidemiology |
| Psychology and Neuroscience 1 | Yvette Rother, Psychology |
| Psychology and Neuroscience 2 | Sewon Oh, Psychology |
| Psychology and Neuroscience 3 | Jonathan Conrady, Psychology |
| Social Science, Humanities and Arts 1 | Sarah Livingston, Education |
| Social Science, Humanities and Arts 2 | Justine Truc, History |
| Social Science, Humanities and Arts 3 | Rebekah Turnmire, History |
Medical Scholar Awards
Basic Medical Sciences |
|
| First Place | Emily Collins, Medical Student, USC School of Medicine Columbia Impact of Wildland-Urban Interface Fire Ash on Zebrafish Embryonic Development Mentors/co-authors: Mohamad Azhar |
| Second Place | Christopher Bailey, Medical Student, USC School of Medicine Columbia Investigating the impact of Equol on SEB-induced inflammation in murine splenocytes Mentors/co-authors: Kiesha Wilson |
| Third Place | Andrew Hayek, Medical Student, USC School of Medicine Columbia Characterization of a UQCRC1 variant in a patient with progressive weakness, pain and sleep issues reveals a functional mitochondrial defect restored by mitochondrial transplantation Mentors/co-authors: Norma Frizzell, Gerardo Piroli, and Richard Steet |
Case Reports/Small Series/Learning Innovation |
|
| First Place | Anusha Ghosh, Medical Student, USC School of Medicine Columbia Julia Soukup, Medical Student, USC School of Medicine Columbia Learning From Lived Experience: Survivor-Led IPV Education in Medical Training Mentors/co-authors: Britt Wilson, Catherine Ross, and James Cook |
| Second Place (tie) | Jiya Desai, Medical Student, USC School of Medicine Columbia Evaluating the Impact of a Medicaid Education Workshop on Medical Students Mentors/co-authors: Andrew Vaughan |
| Second Place (tie) | Macaleigh Mancuso, Pharmacy Resident, Prisma Health–Midlands Development of a Hospital-based Comprehensive Pharmacy Intern Program Mentors/co-authors: Santyonne Fulton, Irisha Gist, Shannon McCord-Mack, and Brandon Bookstaver |
Populations Outcomes/Quality |
|
| First Place | Ruth Amaku, Medical Student, USC School of Medicine Greenville Psychosocial and Structural Determinants of Mammography Initiation Timing in the All of Us Research Program Mentors/co-authors: Debbie Barrington |
| Second Place | Dhruv Patel, Pharmacy Resident, Prisma Health–Midlands Outcomes of anticoagulation alone vs anticoagulation plus intervention in patients who present to the ED with massive pulmonary embolism Mentors/co-authors: Cortney Dodson, Tina Hardison, Laura Nolting, and Deborah Hurley |
| Third Place | Zachary Langston, Medical Student, USC School of Medicine Greenville Low Utilization of RTM and No Effect on Clinical Outcomes in Patients with Nonoperative Rotator Cuff Pain Syndrome and Post Rotator Cuff Repair Mentors/co-authors: Stephan Pill |
Therapeutic Effectiveness/Efficiency |
|
| First Place | Kristina Benbow, Pharmacy Resident, Prisma Health–Midlands Characterization of P2Y12 Platelet Function Test Assessment on Antiplatelet Utilization Mentors/coauthors: Gabrielle Iliff, Courtney Reddig, and Joseph Bates |
| Second Place | Jonathan Davis, Medical Student, USC School of Medicine Columbia Comparison of Effective Optical Zone in Topography-Guided LASIK Vs KLEx with Correlation to Higher-Order Aberrations and Subjective Outcomes Mentors/co-authors: Majid Moshirfar, Mina Sitto, and Bryce Palmer |
| Third Place (tie) | Bailey Nero, Pharmacy Resident, Prisma Health–Midlands Lacosamide versus Levetiracetam for Seizure Prophylaxis in Patients with Traumatic Brain Injury Mentors/co-authors: Layne Reihart, Tina Hardison, and Bryan Love |
| Third Place (tie) | Rebecca Axson-Wells, Pharmacy Resident, Tandem Health - University of South Carolina College of Pharmacy Impact of Single-Pill Combination Antihypertensives on Hypertension and Adherence in a Medically Underserved Population within a Federally Qualified Health Center Mentors/co-authors: Carrington Huneycutt, Reagan Barfield, Bhatraphol Tingpej, and Brandon Bookstaver |
Postdoctoral Scholar Awards
Morning Poster Session |
|
| First Place | Taylor Carter, Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology THC Dampens Type-1 Interferon Signaling in Developing Myeloid Cells of the Bone Marrow |
| Second Place | Hailong Li, Department of Psychology Peromyscus: establishing an innovative model for NeuroHIV |
Afternoon Poster Session |
|
| First Place | Yingdan Cui, Department of Chemical Engineering Mitigating CS2 Poisoning in PEM Fuel Cells: ORR Suppression Effects, MEA Recovery and Protection Strategies |
| Second Place | Krishan Gopal, Department of Physics and Astronomy Probing Nucleon Structure through Timelike Compton Scattering |