USC Research

photo of woman giving herself an injection

“The rise of GLP-1RA medications presents a powerful obesity intervention with potential for obesity-related cancer prevention,” Hébert says. “Yet, rapid adoption for obesity treatment may outpace our understanding of the potential consequences for long-term cancer risk.”

Researchers warn that GLP-1RA medications may not be the magic bullet we're looking for when it comes to cancer.
ow.ly/wcEE50X3F6e #ArnoldSchoolExperts #ResearchThatMatters @uofscnewsy.bsky.social @uscresearch.bsky.social @natrevcancer.nature.com

On-stage selfie by USC Associate VP for Research Development, Emily Devereux, as she welcomes attendees ti the 2025 SC Research Administration Conference. The photo shows Emily's smiling face in the foreground with conference attendees in the background over her shoulder.

To celebrate #InternationalResearchAdministratorDay we are thrilled to host research administrators from institutions of higher education across the Palmetto State for the first-ever SC Research Administration Conference! #SCRAC2025 #REACHSC
@claflinuniversity.bsky.social @cofcharleston.bsky.social

This image is a decorative header banner for the Weekly Research Update newsletter. It features images of research equipment in tones of blue underneath white text reading "Weekly Research Update: News and resources from the Office of the Vice President for Research."

It's Thursday, and that means a new edition of the Weekly Research Update newsletter! Check out the latest changes to the NIH application structure for international collaborations, a new Research Security Spotlight and more. https://tinyurl.com/5fychf34

We are honored to support USC Brain Health, a research and care initiative enhancing access to diagnostics and care for South Carolinians experiencing cognitive problems like Alzheimer's Disease and related dementias.

Portrait photo of USC Faculty Member Alissa Armstrong next to a quote from her that reads: "Faculty members are very well-versed in the science, we know our projects, but the paperwork-y parts of the grants are more of a challenge to figure out because those things change all the time. To have somebody who's an expert in that is quite helpful, so we had lots of resources and tools to use."

Portrait photo of USC faculty member Pawel Nadel-Turonski next to his quote, which reads: "I could talk with my colleagues who do nuclear physics, but the reviewers of these proposals tend to come from a much broader background. That was very helpful because you need to write the the proposal in a way which is clear and appealing not only to the people who do exactly what you do but also other potential reviewers.

Portrait photo of USC faculty member Ahmed Alshareef next to a quote from him, which reads: "It was nice to have lessons as part of the Propel program every month to give us the tricks of the trade, but also to have a dedicated mentor and a group of people along the same journey."

As the Propel Mentorship Program 25-26 cohort gathers today, we're thinking about the impact of this vital program.

We talked to past participants to learn more about their experiences and the research they are doing with their successfully funded proposals.

🔗 https://tinyurl.com/3y24myr8

photo of Grace Owojori

Environmental health sciences doctoral student Grace Owojori has been awarded AAUW’s International Fellowship to support her antimicrobial resistance research using wastewater-based epidemiology. Congratulations! 🎉 ow.ly/hubW50WXtyz
#ArnoldSchoolProud #ResearchThatMatters @uscresearch.bsky.social

It's National Postdoc Appreciation Week and we can't think of a better way to celebrate than by congratulating Shiba Bailey and Huixuan Li, the inaugural recipients of the Arnold School of Public Health at South Carolina Postdoctoral Fellows Research Grant 🥳

Two researchers work with technical equipment and a laptop computer, wearing white lab coats and protective eyewear. To the right of this photo, a garnet block with white text that reads: "Weekly Research Update: News and resources from the Office of the Vice President for Research."

Weekly Research Update 🔬 Last chance to sign up for September research events, new monthly grant awards report and more 🔗 https://mailchi.mp/sc/wru-research-reminders-new-grants-and-more

This study highlights a significant disparity in mortality between individuals with sickle cell disease and those with cystic fibrosis. Several factors contribute to this stagnation, including under resourced care systems, limited access to first-line therapies and challenges with new therapies, such as cost and access. Hiluf Abraha, Ph.D. in Epidemiology student

Individuals with these two genetic conditions are seeing increased, but unequal, life expectancies, according to new research published in @jamapediatrics.com 🧬 ow.ly/uiux50WUrRz #ResearchThatMatters
@uofscnewsy.bsky.social @uscresearch.bsky.social

Peiyin Hung Peiyin Hung, Ph.D., began her journey to becoming a rural healthcare researcher when she was just nine years old, as she watched her grandmother suffer discrimination in a top-tier urban hospital.   |

We're #ArnoldSchoolProud of Peiyin Hung's selection as a 2025 Health Equity Honoree for her contributions to maternal health and rural health care! 🎉 ⚖️ ow.ly/gyCJ50WT2TJ @uscresearch.bsky.social @uofscnewsy.bsky.social @peiyinhung.bsky.social

Our outstanding faculty do research across the arts and humanities, STEM, health sciences and more—this diverse portfolio set up @sc.edu to achieve a new record for sponsored funding.

Read more: https://www.sc.edu/uofsc/posts/2025/08/research-funding-2025.php.

Hello #Cardiovascular community, check out this exciting new paper from our lab! Dr. Pernomian et al! @uscresearch.bsky.social @uscpress.bsky.social wenceslaulab.com

www.ahajournals.org/eprint/JGTWM...

Announcement for the 7th National Big Data Health Science Conference in Columbia, SC, Feb 12-13, 2026, calling for abstracts with a Nov 14, 2025 deadline. https://www.sc-bdhs-conference.org/abstracts-2026/

📢 Call for abstracts! Submit your abstracts for the 7th National Big Data Health Science Conference in Columbia, SC, Feb 12-13, 2026. Deadline: November14, 2025. ow.ly/JPmK50WOkNu

WRU Special Edition 📈 Record-Setting Research: Thank you to our resilient faculty
https://mailchi.mp/sc/wru-special-edition-record-setting-research

Congratulations to Daniela Friedman on her newly expanded research leadership role! 🥳

Hear from epidemiology associate professor Melissa Nolan as she discusses risk factors ⤵️
#ArnoldSchoolExperts

South Carolina Representative Sylleste Davis, member of the House’s ad hoc committee on Artificial Intelligence and Cybersecurity, poses with Julius Fridriksson, USC’s vice president for research, after a discussion on how the state’s needs align with USC’s innovation — with a focus on AI and its growing impact for South Carolina and beyond.

Last week on July 16—AI Appreciation Day—@sc.edu VP for Research Julius Fridriksson met with SC Representative Sylleste Davis to discuss AI strategy in the Palmetto State.

Learn more about how USC research is working to address challenges facing South Carolina: tinyurl.com/yj3hexa8

Since 1988, the SC Alzheimer's Disease Registry has been empowering researchers with the data they need to better understand and address dementia in the Palmetto State.

christina andrews

DYK one in 10 Americans ages 12+ has dealt with an alcohol use disorder in the past year?

Christina Andrews is exploring the link between health care access and outcomes for people with substance abuse disorders. ow.ly/blAp50Wqy2E #ArnoldSchoolExperts #ResearchThatMatters @uscresearch.bsky.social

Jiajia Zhang selected as Fellow in the American Statistical Association

We are all so proud that Jiajia's exceptional contributions to biostatistical methods development and their applications to benefit human health have been recognized with this prestigious and well-deserved honor. She is the first departmental faculty member to receive this honor, reflecting her impactful work and giving us all reason to celebrate this achievement. Anthony Alberg, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics Chair

Congratulations to Jiajia Zhang! The biostatistics professor has been elected as a Fellow in the American Statistical Association! 🎉 ow.ly/gl0A50WpUh4 #ArnoldSchoolProud ‪@amstatnews.bsky.social‬ @uscresearch.bsky.social‬

“Based on the literature and our prior pilot study, we know this group of children is particularly underserved among all children involved in the child welfare system and in kinship care,” Xu says.

Xueying Yang is working to help young people managing HIV: "The pediatric-to-adult HIV care transition, or HCT, is often viewed as a high-risk time for care disengagement, where youth must navigate forming new relationships with providers and taking on greater independence in their care."

Visual newsletter banner featuring a photo of a USC faculty member delivering a research training course for early career faculty. Over the photo is a white-hued box displaying the following words in garnet text: Weekly Research Update - News & resources from the Office of the Vice President for Research.

WRU 🤙 Get an insider view of the STRIVE program from three research administrators who have been there, advance Alzheimer’s disease and dementia research with a grant from SHARE and more. mailchi.mp/sc/wru-three...

Registration is now open 2025 Statewide Aging and Alzheimer’s Disease Research Symposium OCTOBER 9-10, 2025 Pastides Alumni Center | Columbia, SC This annual collaboration is between South Carolina’s three major research universities – University of South Carolina, Medical University of South Carolina, and Clemson University. This year’s keynote speaker will be Dr. Leo Bonilha, Dorothea Krebs Professor of Neurology and D Please visit our website for all updates

Register and submit your abstracts for the 2025 Statewide Aging and Alzheimer’s Disease Research Symposium ➡️ ow.ly/1f7m50WaKbI

Synthesis and Characterization of Tethered Polymer for Hybrid Electrolytes in Solid Lithium-Metal Batteries This study investigates a hybrid polymer-ceramic composite electrolyte for solid-state batteries. The polymer is synthesized through the copolymerization of poly(ethylene glycol) methacrylate and poly(methacrylic acid) via the reversible addition–fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) method followed by postsynthetic functionalization to add phosphonic acid groups, yielding poly(PEGMA-ran-DEPMMA) that can covalently bind to oxide surfaces (Tpoly). The ceramic phase is porous gadolinium-doped cerium oxide (GDC) with a graded porosity made by a phase inversion method. Both monomers in Tpoly interact with anions synergistically for Li-ion conduction. In addition, the binding of phosphonic acid with GDC improves the interfacial stability. A Li symmetric cell with this hybrid electrolyte demonstrated stable performance for over 2000 h at 0.1 mA cm–2 with a critical current density of up to 0.8 mA cm–2. The interfacial resistance of this hybrid electrolyte/Li electrode is reduced by 50% as compared to nontethered PPEGMA. The findings highlight the potential of hybrid polymer-ceramic composites in overcoming interfacial challenges of solid-state lithium-metal battery technology.

🚨 New publication from the Stefik and Huang lab groups! Their latest research explores a hybrid polymer–ceramic composite electrolyte that enhances the interfacial stability and performance of solid-state lithium-metal batteries.

Read their work here: pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...

Did you know that USC research administrators at all career levels can sign up for the 2025-2026 STRIVE cohort right now? Applications are open through Friday, August 1:
sc.edu/about/office...

Garnet graphic featuring a round portrait photo of USC research administrator Michal Smith on the right, and a quote from her interview about the STRIVE Discovery Program that reads: “When I was interviewing [for my current position], they asked me if I had experience with different administrative tasks… There was nothing that I had to say, no, I have no experience and I don’t know what that is. I learned it all in STRIVE even if I hadn’t done it yet.”

Garnet graphic featuring a round portrait photo of USC research administrator Victoria Costello on the right, and a quote from her interview about the STRIVE Management Program that reads: “The networking component of STRIVE is one of my favorite parts.”

Garnet graphic featuring a round portrait photo of USC research administrator Janie Godbold on the right, and a quote from her interview about the STRIVE Senior Program that reads: “The grant world is always changing… You have to stay abreast of what is going on.”

The inaugural STRIVE Tiered Program has been a resounding success for USC research administrators 🎉Meet Michal Smith, Victoria Costello and Janie Godbold, members of this year’s cohort 👏
www.sc.edu/about/office...

Letters of intent are due Friday, August 1!

Learn more about how William Mustain and his team at the Carolina Institute for Battery Innovation are working to develop cutting-edge battery technology in the Palmetto State. ⚡️

We love to see undergraduate researchers work with their mentors to apply new skills outside of the classroom!