USC Office of Research-Supported COVID-19 Projects

The USC Office of Research is proud to support many excellent COVID-19 research efforts. The following are COVID-19 related research projects being supported by the Office of Research, with added support from the Office of the Provost, the Academic Senate, the Ming Hsieh Institute, and USC Stevens.

Julio A. Camarero, Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy
Xiaojiang Chen, Chemistry, Dornsife College of Letters, Arts & Sciences
Pinghui Feng, Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Keck School of Medicine of USC
Therapeutic targeting of SARS-CoV-2 main protease with ultrastable microproteins

Vadim Cherezov, Chemistry, Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
Structural basis of SARS-CoV-2 entry in the host cell

Stephen Cronin, Electrical Engineering, Viterbi School of Engineering
Pin Wang, Biomedical Engineering, Viterbi School of Engineering
Deactivation of Airborne and Surface-Borne Viruses using Nanosecond Pulsed Plasmas

Jason Doctor, Schaeffer Center for Health Economics and Policy, Sol Price School of Public Policy
Neeraj Sood, Sol Price School of Public Policy
Michael Hochman, USC Gehr Family Center for Health Systems Science & Innovation, Keck School of Medicine of USC
SARS-Cov-2 Antibody Testing in Vulnerable Communities

Laura Ferguson, Preventive Medicine, Keck School of Medicine School of Medicine
COVID-19 and the Continuity of Health Services in Kenya: A Multidisciplinary Exploration of the Potential Role of Self-Care Interventions and Community Health Workers

Daniel Hackman, USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work, School of Social Work
Ferol Mennen, School of Social Work
Joshua Millstein, Preventive Medicine, Keck School of Medicine of USC
Daniel Weisenberger, Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, Keck School of Medicine of USC
Vulnerability to the psychosocial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic: The role of child maltreatment and DNA methylation

Randolph Hall, Epstein Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, Viterbi School of Engineering
Integrated Modeling of Healthcare Capacity and Patient Needs to Intervene Against Human Transmitted Viral Disease

John Heidemann, Information Sciences Institute / Computer Science Dept, Viterbi School of Engineering
Measuring the Internet During COVID-19 to Evaluate Quarantine

Elsi Kaiser, Linguistics, Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
Jennifer Unger, Institute for Health Promotion & Disease Prevention, Keck School of Medicine of USC
Effects of psycholinguistic variations on persuasiveness of COVID-19 health messages

Vsevolod Katritch, The Bridge@USC, Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
Stan Louie, Clinical Pharmacy, School of Pharmacy
Vadim Cherezov, Chemistry, Dornsife College of Letters, Arts & Sciences
Prevention and Treatment of COVID-19 Induced Pneumonia by Stimulating the Protective Arm of Angiotensin System

Bhaskar Krishnamachari, Electrical Engineering, Viterbi School of Engineering
Gemini – A digital twin for data-driven modeling, policy planning and decision making at the University of Southern California

Peter Kuhn, Convergent Science Institute in Cancer, Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
Cyrus Shahabi, Computer Science, Viterbi School of Engineering
Development and implementation of a novel mobile application to assess COVID-19 symptoms and facilitate geospatial activity mapping for managing disease surveillance and containment

Michalle Mor Barak, USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work, School of Social Work
Charles Kaplan, School of Social Work
Arie Kapteyn, Economics, Dornsife College of Letters, Arts & Sciences
Shinyi Wu, School of Social Work
Engaging Diverse Communities in COVID-19 Control: A Value-Based Measure of Health-Safety Climate for Decision Making

Shrikanth Narayanan, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Viterbi School of Engineering
Kristina Lerman, Information Sciences Institute, Viterbi School of Engineering
Emilio Ferrara, Information Sciences Institute, Viterbi School of Engineering
Gayla Margolin, Psychology, Dornsife College of Letters, Arts & Sciences
Eric Hsieh, Medicine – GIM – PAT.Care – Clin Fac, Keck School of Medicine of USC
The health and wellbeing of the health care professionals during the COVID-19 crisis: A multidisciplinary focus combining human-centric AI and biobehavioral sensing

Richard Roberts, Chemistry, Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
Protein Production to Support COVID-19 Research at USC

Darby Saxbe, Psychology, Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
Pregnancy During a Pandemic: Effects on Prenatal Stress, Social Support, and Maternal-Infant Health Outcomes

Sze-chuan Suen, Industrial and Systems Engineering, Viterbi School of Engineering
Maged Dessouky, ISE, Viterbi School of Engineering
Neeraj Sood, Public Policy, Sol Price School of Public Policy
Identifying Priority Testing Locations in Southern California for COVID-19 With Transmission Dynamics and Network Data

Satish Thittamaranahalli, Information Sciences Institute, Viterbi School of Engineering
Rajiv Kalia, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Dornsife College of Letters, Arts & Sciences
Data-Driven Modeling of Viral Dynamics in Covid-19 Patients

Reginald Tucker-Seeley, Gerontology, Davis School of Gerontology
Kathleen Wilber, Gerontology, Davis School of Gerontology
A policy scan for addressing COVID-19 disparities: An overview of policies and legislation focused on the impact of COVID-19 on vulnerable populations

Phebe Vayanos, Industrial & Systems Engineering and Computer Science, Viterbi School of Engineering
Addressing Ethical Dilemmas during the COVID-19 Pandemic through AI

Chao Zhang, Division of Biology, Davis School of Gerontology
Arieh Warshel, Chemistry, Dornsife College of Letters, Arts & Sciences
Pinghui Feng, Section of Infection and Immunity, Ostrow School of Dentistry
Efficient Antiviral Discovery via Covalently Targeting SARS-CoV-2 Main Protease

Yong Zhang, Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences/Faculty, School of Pharmacy
Heinz-Josef Lenz, Medicine, Keck School of Medicine of USC
Alan Epstein, Pathology, Keck School of Medicine of USC
Combating COVID-19 with Novel Vaccines