Letter from the RCTH director, Dr. Kevin Bennett

What a year for the RCTH! In 2022, the RCTH provided support to more than 26 investigators and assisted with over 40 grant submissions and consultations. Out of these submissions, over 2 million dollars was funded through six awards with another 28 pending review in the first quarter of 2023.

The RCTH continues to serve as a focal point for accelerating translational and clinical research through our programs and the support we provide investigators. Our support model offers a hands-on approach, providing different levels of support based on investigator and project needs. Our strong partnerships with Prisma Health, the Columbia VA, and partners across USC, help foster collaborations that support the mission of enhancing and expanding meaningful research.

Of note, in 2022, we were pleased to form an even stronger partnership with the USC School of Medicine-Greenville. Through this partnership, the RCTH will now provide the same grant and research related services to the faculty of the SOM-Greenville, which will substantially improve our capacity for research across the USC system.

The RCTH team is always ready to assist faculty from the USC schools of medicine and Columbia VA investigators with their research and grant submission needs, providing virtual and in person options. Contact our team at rcth@uscmed.sc.edu or visit us online. 

Highlights

This seed grant initiative was created to facilitate collaborative research projects between USC and Prisma Health investigators that focus on health care innovations, care delivery models, community-based care serving rural or underserved populations, or biomedical science that translates to clinical practice. To encourage these collaborations, funded projects must include an investigative partnership between a USC-Columbia faculty member and a clinical collaborator from Prisma Health-Midlands. 

Hear what one of our 2021 Seed Grant Recipients, Dr. Cai Chao with the department of
Clinical Pharmacy and Outcomes Sciences had to say:

The 2022 seed grant recipients were awarded up to $20,000 for their projects. This funding was jointly supported by USC Partners including the Office of Vice President for Research, School of Medicine-Columbia, Arnold School of Public Health, College of Pharmacy, College of Nursing, College of Engineering and Computing, and by our partners at Prisma Health.

Congratulations to the 2022 Transformative Research Seed Grant Initiative recipients:

Tisha Felder, PhD, Associate Professor, USC College of Nursing

Collaborators: Berry Campbell, MD and Swann Adams, PhD

From the clinic to the community: Evaluating the impact of culturally targeted, virtual Breastfeeding education and support for African American women

J. Benjamin Jackson, MD, Director of Orthopedic Research, Prisma Health; Associate Professor of Orthopedic Surgery, USC School of Medicine

Collaborators: James Hardin, PhD, Poornema Ramasamy, MD, Rachel Glenn, MD, and Tyler Gonzalez, MD

Effect of Supplemental Immunonutrition on Healing of Chronic Non-Healing Lower Extremity Ulcers in Diabetic Patients: A Pilot Study

Jan Ostermann, PhD, Associate Professor, USC Arnold School of Public Health, Health Services Policy and Management

Collaborators: Helmut Albrecht, MD, Nicole Hair, PhD, Xiaoming Li, PhD, Nabil Natafgi, PhD, Bankole Olatosi, PhD, Shaun Owens, PhD, Shan Qiao, PhD, and Sharon Weissman, MD

Identifying preference-relevant features of telehealth supported HIV care in South Carolina

Krishna Mandal, PhD, Professor, USC College of Engineering, Department of Electrical Engineering

Collaborators: Souvik Sen, MD, and Christopher Rorden, PhD

Machine-learning assisted real-time brain imaging system based on CdZnTeSe semiconductor Frisch grid detector arrays

Daping Fan, PhD, Professor, Cell Biology and Anatomy, USC School of Medicine

Collaborators: Julian Kim, MD, and Lianming Wang, PhD

Circulating miR-155 level as a predicative biomarker for clinical response of triple negative breast cancer patients to immune checkpoint blockade treatment

Kurt Barringhaus, MD, Prisma Health Cardiology; Clinical Associate Professor, USC School of Medicine; Director, Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory, Columbia VA Health Care System

Collaborators: Sarah Slone, DNP, Frank Spinale, MD, and Victoria Yandle, DNP

Optimizing Cardiac Rehabilitation Adherence and Performance

Since 2018, the RCTH has been committed to supporting the physician scientist pipeline through the Emerging Physician Scientists (EPS) program. This translational research fellowship provides research training, mentorship, and pilot grant funding with the goal of a successful extramural grant submission by the end of the program.

Please join us in congratulating the 2023 Emerging Physician Scientists program fellow awardees!

The Student Opportunities for Academic Achievement through Research (SOAR) program had another great year. This summer research experience program for rising M2 medical students continues to be a valuable opportunity for students. Through participation in the research seminar series and hands on research experience with their mentor, students gain important research skills for the future. This year over half of the rising M2 students applied for the program and 32 students were accepted into the program. These students were matched with faculty mentors from across the university and with external partners such as Prisma Health and the Columbia VA.

SOAR Program Changes

Administration of the SOAR program has moved to Student Affairs under the direction of Dr. Eric Williams. These efforts will help streamline research and other scholarly opportunities for students in the school of medicine. Students and faculty can still apply to participate in the SOAR program and the program will continue in a similar format as in year’s past. For more information, please email SOAR@uscmed.sc.edu.

Announcements

We currently have two opportunities to join our team! We are looking for a Clinical Research Coordinator and a Biostatistician (Faculty). Reach out to the RCTH team if you know of anyone who is interested, and feel free to share the link for the Reseach Coordinator above (Biostatistician link to be posted soon).

Resources

Grant proposal review prior to submission is an important component of successful grant submissions. The RCTH supports an internal peer review program for USC Schools of Medicine Columbia and Greenville Faculty and Columbia VA investigators.

Investigators can gain valuable feedback of their proposals from fellow experienced investigators. Proposals (or proposal sections) will be reviewed using categories similar to NIH peer review and reviewers will provide feedback on strengths and weaknesses.

Requests for peer review can be submitted online (GPR Request Form), or for more information about the Grant Peer Review program email the RCTH at rcth@uscmed.sc.edu.

The Office of the Vice President for Research is proud to partner with the Office of Institutional Research, Assessment and Analytics to provide two robust, interactive dashboard tools populated with the latest data on the university’s sponsored awards funding and research expenditures.

By sharing the latest data on incoming funding and an annual update on research expenditures, we aim to empower our colleagues throughout the USC system with the insights they need to make strategic decisions to advance their own research interests along with the broader research mission of our state’s flagship Carnegie R1 Doctoral University of Very High Research Activity.

Please refer to the Research Dashboards User Guide (pdf) for complete details on using the research dashboard tools.

Faculty Expertise Database

This Database (FacED), is maintained by the Office of the Vice President for Research's IT and Data Management Team, and powered by data drawn from USCeRA, USC's electronic research administration software system. This robust tool was developed to foster research collaboration and to showcase the wide array of expertise and talent offered by the faculty of the University of South Carolina.

Visit the Faculty Expertise Database to:

• Browse for research collaborators by college, department and program.

• Search for faculty members with expertise in a specific area of interest.

• Search for a specific faculty member to view his or her career and contact information.

• Share details about your expertise and research interest with your faculty colleagues.

• Search for international activity (research, creative, teaching, service, study abroad, etc.), by country in which the activity occurred (or country in which a faculty member has lived) or by foreign language spoken.

Trainings offered for Investigators

February Refresher Training

•February 8 – Time and Effort Refresher Training for the PI

March Refresher Training

•March 2 – Using the Grants Dashboard in Finance Intranet for the PI

If you have questions regarding any of the trainings listed above or need the link to register, please contact Joanne Callahan in the USC Office of the Controller.

If you or your department would like to highlight a faculty, staff, or student, please send the information to our program office using the link below.