The Office of the Vice President for Research is excited to begin this year by honoring a new class of scholars receiving Breakthrough Awards for their groundbreaking research at the University of South Carolina. The Breakthrough Awards are comprised of three distinct honors for researchers at different career stages: the Breakthrough Leadership in Research award for senior faculty, the Breakthrough Star award for early-career faculty and the Breakthrough Graduate Scholar award for graduate student researchers.
Each year, the Office of the Vice President for Research receives a large number of nominations for each of the Breakthrough awards, and a committee of faculty reviewers selects award recipients from the many remarkable faculty and graduate student nominees representing the entire USC system. The close competition embodies the spirit of strong, high-level research conducted here at the university. This year, we are very pleased to present two Breakthrough Leadership in Research awards, 12 Breakthrough Star awards and 14 Breakthrough Graduate Scholar awards to our 2023 class of Breakthrough awardees.
Vice President for Research Julius Fridriksson praised this notable group, saying, “As the research enterprise continues to grow at USC so does the quality of our researchers. This year’s awardees are a true testament to the accomplishments and quality of mentorship, research and the next generation of researchers here at USC. It’s an honor to be a considered a colleague of among the 2023 Breakthrough Awardees.”
2023 Breakthrough Leadership in Research Award Recipients
Daniela B Friedman, Ph.D., Professor and Department Chair, Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior, Arnold School of Public Health
Ralf Gothe, Ph.D., Professor, Physics and Astronomy, College of Arts and Sciences, Pearce Faculty Fellow, Honors College
2023 Breakthrough Stars
Monica Barra, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, School of the Earth, Ocean & Environment and Department of Anthropology, College of Arts and Sciences
Roozbeh Behroozmand, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Communication Sciences and Disorders, Arnold School of Public Health
Sayward Harrison, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Psychology, College of Arts and Sciences
Tessa Hastings, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Clinical Pharmacy and Outcomes Sciences (CPOS), College of Pharmacy
Peiyin Hung, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Health Services Policy and Management, Arnold School of Public Health
Jessica Klusek, Ph.D. CCC-SLP, Associate Professor, Communication Sciences and Disorders, Arnold School of Public Health
Chang Liu, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Chemical Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, College of Engineering and Computing
Anita Nag, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Natural Sciences and Engineering, College of Science and Technology, USC Upstate
Melissa Nolan, Ph.D., MPH, Assistant Professor, Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Arnold School of Public Health
Subramani Sockalingam, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering and Computing
Sanjib Sur, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Computer Science and Engineering, College of Engineering and Computing
Hengtao Tang, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Educational Studies, College of Education
2023 Breakthrough Graduate Scholars
Gabriel Benavidez, Ph.D. candidate in Epidemiology & Biostatistics, Arnold School of Public Health
Hannah Burzynski, Ph.D. candidate in Pharmacology, Physiology and Neuroscience, School of Medicine Columbia
Margaret Carson, Ph.D. candidate in Environmental Health Sciences, Arnold School of Public Health
Tasha Childs, Ph. D. candidate in the College of Social Work
Sarah Davis, Ph. D. candidate in Drug Discovery & Biomedical Science, College of Pharmacy
Sarah Hall, Ph. D. candidate in Earth, Ocean & Environment, College of Arts & Sciences
Elie Kfoury, Ph. D. candidate in Integrated Information Technology, College of Engineering & Computing
Sierra McDonald, Ph. D. candidate in Pathology, Microbiology & Immunology, School of Medicine Columbia
Huan Ning, Ph. D. candidate in Geography, College of Arts & Sciences
Ethan Older, Ph. D. candidate in Chemistry & Biochemistry, College of Arts & Sciences
Nicholas Riccardi, Ph. D. candidate in Psychology, College of Arts & Sciences
Xiaomo Xiong, Ph. D. candidate in Clinical Pharmacy & Outcomes, College of Pharmacy
Valerie Yelverton, Ph. D. candidate in Health Services Policy & Management, Arnold School of Public Health
Ali Zain, Ph. D. candidate in Journalism & Mass Communications, College of Information & Communications