Discover USC, the annual research showcase sponsored by the USC Office of the Vice President for Research, welcomed over 3,300 presenters, mentors, reviewers, family and friends to the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center, on April 25, for the 2025 event. Discover USC showcases research, scholarship, leadership and creative projects by undergraduate and graduate students, postdoctoral scholars and medical scholars representing the entire USC System, from the Upstate to the Lowcountry.
Several School of Medicine Columbia students, including medical scholars, graduate and postdoctoral students captured an award for their Discover USC poster presentation. To see the complete list of award recipients, click HERE.
Congratulations to Graduate Student Award recipients: Logan Brown (nurse anesthesia), Hayden Petee (counseling and rehabilitation), Bryel Frasch and Sophia Salvatore (genetic counseling), Stacey Oxendine and Courtney Wright (biomedical sciences).
In the Medical Scholar Award category, eight of the 12 awards given went to School of Medicine Columbia students! Congratulations to our Medical Scholar Award recipients: Parker Liggett (first place, basic medical sciences), Olivia Strock (second place, basic medical sciences), Trado Mayson (third place, basic medical sciences), Kathryn Klein and Kendall Stalls (third place, case reports/small series/learning inovation), Ryan Titus (second place, populations outcomes/quality), Michael DeFiori (third place, populations outcomes/quality), Mary McElveen (first place, therapeutic effectiveness/efficiency), and Jesse Fournier (second place, therapeutic effectiveness/efficiency). Prisma Health-Midlands residents Ashley Alex, Elana Maccou and Christopher Levy, Abigail Harrison and Caleb Rashidian also garnered awards in the Medical Scholar category.
In the Postdoctoral Scholar Award category, three SOMC postdoctoral fellows recieved an award. Congratulations to award recipients Urmi Hadler, Amarnath Satheesh Marudamuthu and Taylor Carter, who all study in the Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology Department.
In addition, several undergraduate students who are mentored by SOMC faculty received awards. There were 53 reviewed poster presentation sections for undergraduate students. View the undergraduate award winners here: morning session; afternoon session.
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About the University of South Carolina School of Medicine Columbia
The University of South Carolina School of Medicine Columbia is led by its mission to ‘serve the people of South Carolina and beyond through exemplary biomedical education, transformative research and compassionate care for all.’ From its first class of just 24 medical students in 1977, the school has grown to include six thriving programs and a current enrollment of over 750 future health care and research professionals. The School of Medicine Columbia is working to address the health care needs of our state, nation and beyond through educational opportunities in biomedical sciences, counseling and rehabilitation, medicine, genetic counseling, nurse anesthesia and physician assistant programs. Hands-on learning, exceptional clinical partners, innovative curriculum and cutting-edge technology prepare our learners to be skilled and compassionate professionals in communities near and far.