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:
Joseph McQuail, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Dept. of Pharmacology, Physiology and Neuroscience
UofSC School of Medicine
Taixing Cui, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Cell Biology and Anatomy
UofSC School of Medicine
Esmaiel Jabbari, Ph.D.
Professor, Chemical and Biomedical Engineering
UofSC College of Engineering
COVID-19 Focused Pilot Projects
One-year projects for studies aimed at developing new approaches to COVID-19 treatment or prevention:
Campbell McInnes, Ph.D.
Professor, Department of Drug Discovery & Biomedical Sciences
UofSC College of Pharmacy
Eugenia Broude, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Department of Drug Discovery & Biomedical Sciences
UofSC College of Pharmacy
Michael Shtutman, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Department of Drug Discovery & Biomedical Sciences
UofSC College of Pharmacy
Prior Pilot Projects
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, UofSC 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.