Grant Application Topics
Topics for pilot grant applications include:
- Identification and/or validation of novel molecular targets for the treatment of a disease
- Designing/discovering new prototype drugs (of any chemical nature) acting on a defined molecular target
- Targeted drug delivery
- Design and laboratory testing of novel drug combinations based on the drug target’s biology
Pilot project applications are solicited once a year, prior to spring. All of the
applications undergo a peer review process and the winners are selected by the External Advisory Committee.
Current Pilot Projects
One-year projects to develop a novel research idea into a larger project:
Mohamad Azhar, Ph. D.
Associate Professor, Cell Biology and Anatomy
USC School of Medicine Columbia
Cameron McCarthy, Ph. D.
Assistant Professor, Cardiovascular Translational Research Center
USC School of Medicine Columbia
Melissa Moss, Ph.D.
Professor, Chemical Engineering, Biomedical Engineering
USC College of Engineering and Computing
Michael Wyatt, Ph. D.
Professor, Drug Discovery and Biomedical Sciences
USC College of Pharmacy
Prior Pilot Projects
Juan Francisco Leon Oyola, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Department of Drug Discovery and Biomedical Sciences, USC College
of Pharmacy
Project: Exploration in the synthesis of cannabidiol dimers as potential agents to treat neurological
disorders
Rosemarie M. Booze, Ph.D.
Professor, Bicentennial Endowed Chair of Behavioral Neuroscience, Psychology Department,
USC College of Arts and Sciences
Project: Mediator kinase inhibition alters the trajectory of age-associated cognitive decline
Reilly Enos, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology
Project: Two Novel Brain-Specific Estrogen Treatments for Estrogen-Deficient Increases in Obesity
Wenbin Tan, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Cell Biology and Anatomy
Project: CYLD as a therapeutic target for SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein-exacerbated myocardial damage
Jie Li, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
Project: Discovery of Novel SARS-CoV-2 Main Protease Inhibitors
Campbell McInnes, Ph.D.
Professor, Drug Discovery and Biomedical Sciences
Project: Synthesis, Binding and X-ray Crystallography of Peptides from the Receptor Binding
Domain of the Novel Coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2 with human ACE2
Eugenia Broude, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Drug Discovery and Biomedical Sciences
Project: Suppression of Cytokine Storm using a Small-Molecule Transcriptional Kinase Inhibitor
Michael Shtutman, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Drug Discovery and Biomedical Sciences
Project: Development of Propagation-Deficient SARS-CoV-2 for Rapid Anti-COVID-19 Drug Discovery
Joseph McQuail, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Pharmacology, Physiology & Neuroscience
Project: Precision Targeting of Heteromeric NMDA Receptors in Age-Related Memory Disorders
Taixing Cui, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Cell Biology and Anatomy
Esmaiel Jabbari, Ph.D.
Professor, Chemical and Biomedical Engineering
Project: Suppressing Stenosis in Vein Bypass Graft Surgery
Guoshuai Cai, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Project: Transcriptomic Data Analysis to Characterize Inhibitors of Transcription-regulating
Kinases
Seungjin Shin, Ph.D.
Research Associate Professor
Project: Identification of novel targets which can enhance PARP1 inhibitor therapy.
Claudia Grillo, Ph.D.
Research Associate Professor
Project: Leptin-sensitive raphe neurons as a potential novel target for obesity treatment.
Pavel Ortinski, Ph.D.
Research Assistant Professor,
Project: Mg2+-insensitive N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors as target in cocaine dependence.
Boris Kantor, Ph.D.
Research Assistant Professor, USC School of Medicine
Director of the Vector Core
Project: Designing inducible CRISPR-CAS vector system for validation of COPZ1 gene, as a novel
target for anticancer intervention.
Gabor Szalai, Ph.D.
Research Associate Professor
Department of Drug Discovery, College of Pharmacy
Project: Evaluation of the Peromyscus leucopus panel for pharmacogenomics studies.
Ho-Jin Koh, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Arnold School of Public Health
Project: TRB3: A Novel Mediator for Denervation-induced Muscle Atrophy
Rekha Patel, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Department of Biological Sciences
Project: PKR inhibitory peptides for treatment of type 2 diabetes and other chronic inflammatory
conditions
Georgi Petkov, Ph.D.
Professor, Department of Drug Discovery and Biomedical Sciences, College of Pharmacy
Project: Identification and validation of KCNQ channels as novel molecular targets for the
treatment of overactive bladder and urinary incontinence.