USC research funding jumps double digits

University attracts $309 million in sponsored awards, powering innovation and impact

The University of South Carolina reached a new research milestone in fiscal year 2024, attracting $309 million in sponsored awards during the one-year period that ended on June 30. This year’s funding level represents a double-digit percentage increase over last year in critical areas such as health research and energy innovation.

“Across the university, we are making great strides forward in research activity, as demonstrated by this all-time high in funding awards, and we are enhancing USC’s reputation as a leading research institution,” USC President Michael Amiridis said. “Through our outstanding researchers, with robust support from the Office of the Vice President for Research, USC is advancing science and technology, and we are creating solutions for critical challenges facing our state.”

Sponsored awards — which include research grants, along with service and training awards — are a strong indicator of the innovation and impact of USC’s faculty. Funding levels jumped by several key measures.

• Overall sponsored awards increased by 27 percent.
• Research grants increased 31 percent to $225 million.
• Highly competitive federal funding totaled $245 million, an increase of 35 percent over last year.

The rise in external funding comes as the university has put new emphasis on South Carolina-focused research.

• In 2023, the university launched five new research institutes addressing such issues as water quality, cardiovascular health, infectious diseases, advanced applications for microchips and rural education.
• In July, the university received an award of $10.2 million from the U.S. Economic Development Administration to develop advanced battery technologies as part of the SC Nexus consortium.
• USC has launched a statewide Brain Health Network to ensure access to advanced, collaborative cognitive care for South Carolinians experiencing symptoms of memory loss disorders like Alzheimer’s disease.

The university’s increase in federal funding comes from a variety of agencies and reflects a wide range of cutting-edge research.

• National Institutes of Health: $68.8 million, including such research as big data studies that employ sophisticated AI tools to uncover the insights hidden in massive sets of health information.
• Department of Defense: $39.3 million, funding the study of advanced energy systems for the Office of Naval Research and more.
• Department of Health and Human Services: $34.4 million, being used to study Alzheimer’s disease, stroke and more.
• National Science Foundation: $25.6 million, funding projects to develop biodegradable bioplastics and enhance advanced manufacturing processes, among others.
• Department of Commerce: $12.7 million, funding research in a variety of areas including semiconductor chips and South Carolina’s estuaries and marine systems.

In addition to the double-digit growth in sponsored-awards funding for the university as a whole, several of USC’s individual colleges also posted large gains over the previous year:

• Molinaroli College of Engineering and Computing: $69.3 million; 67 percent increase
• Arnold School of Public Health: $59 million; 17 percent increase
• College of Arts and Sciences: $53.8 million; 25 percent increase
• College of Pharmacy: $12.8 million; 67 percent increase
• College of Nursing: $8.6 million; 82 percent increase

The positive trajectory in outside funding has been aided by several initiatives from the university’s Office of the Vice President for Research. The Propel Research Mentorship Program, for example, invests in early-career faculty members, helping them become more competitive in submitting grant proposals targeting the NIH and NSF. Faculty members who have completed the program have attracted more than $27 million in funding since spring 2022. Another forthcoming program, Propel AI, will empower USC faculty from all disciplines to weave AI tools into the fabric of their scholarly and research activities.

Overall, the increase in sponsored awards indicates strong momentum at the University of South Carolina, which has been recognized by the Carnegie Foundation with its top classification — R1 university — for “very high research activity.”

“It has been amazing to see our research community build the momentum to push us over $300 million in sponsored awards for the first time,” said Julius Fridriksson, vice president for research. “This funding enables us to do big, impactful things for the Palmetto State, from developing next-generation energy technologies to power our future to expanding diagnostic care and cutting-edge research to better support our neighbors suffering from Alzheimer’s disease and other memory disorders.

“Success like this doesn’t happen without the daily, coordinated efforts of our world-class faculty researchers, their student and postdoc mentees, and our dedicated research administrators and staff members who keep everything humming along. Thank you all for making this achievement possible.”