Programs and Partnerships

Clemson University engages senior level faculty members in transforming health care through CUSHR Faculty Fellowships. The Fellows serve as leaders in collaborative health research between Clemson and Prisma Health–Upstate. Each Faculty Fellow is strategically embedded in a Prisma Health–Upstate department, shifting their focus from their regular teaching duties to developing a comprehensive research agenda with their embedded Prisma Health department.

As part of their fellowship, Faculty Fellows produce research to improve the health of the community with their clinical partners. Their research will also contribute to the rapidly expanding joint Clemson University and Prisma Health collaborative research agenda through publications and presentations.

The CUSHR Faculty Fellows program is a step forward in our commitment to health services research, and the University’s commitment to health innovation.

Become a Fellow

The Clemson University School of Health Research reviews applications for Faculty Fellows each year. The 2024 application cycle has closed. Faculty members with inquiries should contact Kerry Smith at kssmith@clemson.edu, with any questions.

Meet the Faculty Fellows

In 2024, Ashley Mackenzie, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication, was named a CUSHR Faculty Fellow. She worked in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner Program at Prisma Health as an embedded scholar.

In 2024, Melinda Harman, an Associate Professor in the Department of Bioengineering, was named a CUSHR Faculty Fellow. She worked with the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Prisma Health as an embedded scholar.

In 2024, Corrine Sackett, a Professor in the Department of Education and Human Development, was named a CUSHR Faculty Fellow. She worked with the Department of Psychiatry at Prisma Health as an embedded scholar. Read more

In 2023, Ehsan Mousavi, an Endowed Associate Professor in the Department of Construction Science and Management, was named a CUSHR Faculty Fellow. He worked with Healthcare Facilities at Prisma Health as an embedded scholar. Read more

In 2023, Jackie Cha, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Industrial Engineering, was named a CUSHR Faculty Fellow. She worked with the Department of Surgery at Prisma Health as an embedded scholar. Read more

In 2023, Sudeep Hegde, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Industrial Engineering, was named a CUSHR Faculty Fellow. He worked with the Department of Emergency Medicine at Prisma Health as an embedded scholar. Read more

In 2023, Jeremy Mercuri, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Bioengineering, was named a CUSHR Faculty Fellow. He worked with the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at Prisma Health as an embedded scholar. Read more

In 2021, Hugo Sanabria, an Associate Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, was named a CUSHR Faculty Fellow. He worked with the Department of Radiology at Prisma Health as an embedded scholar. Read more

In 2020, Marissa Shuffler, an associate professor in the Clemson University Department of Psychology, was selected as a CUSHR Faculty Fellow. She worked with the Department of Emergency Medicine at Prisma Health as an embedded scholar. Read more

In 2019, Emil Alexov, a professor in the Clemson University Department of Physics and Astronomy, was selected as a CUSHR Faculty Fellow. He worked with the Department of Radiology at Prisma Health as an embedded scholar. Read more

In 2018, Thomas Britt, a Professor in the Department of Psychology, was selected as a CUSHR Faculty Fellow. He worked with the Department of Emergency Medicine at Prisma Health as an embedded scholar. Read more

In 2018, Dev Arya, a Professor in the Department of Chemistry, was selected as a CUSHR Faculty Fellows. He worked with the Institute for TranslationalOncology Research Institute at Prisma Health as an embedded scholar. Read more

CUSHR spotlights outstanding health researchers across campus via Faculty Scholar appointments. Faculty Scholars receive tailored communications, are eligible for additional funding opportunities, and have a health research profile on the CUSHR website. Applications are accepted each year.

Become Part of CUSHR

Embedded research assistant professors and postdoctoral fellows are junior research faculty who integrate cutting-edge research methods and experience into Prisma Health–Upstate clinical departments. The postdoctoral fellows work with a Clemson faculty mentor and a Prisma Health clinical mentor to evaluate, analyze and create solutions to health care challenges. The Embedded Postdoctoral Fellows each focus on a specific research area.

Past Embedded Scholars

• Corey Kalbaugh, Post-Baccalaureate
• Zachary Klinefelter, Post-Doctorate
• Sharon Holder, Reasearch Assistant Professor
• Mirinda Gormley, Post-Doctorate
• Joseph Singapogu, Research Assistant Professor
• Robert Allen, Research Assistant Professor
• Xi Pan, Post-Doctorate
• Ransome Eke, Post-Doctorate
• Talayeh Razzaghi, Post-Doctorate
• Narges Hosseini, Post-Doctorate
• Ali Hajiaghabozorgi, Post-Doctorate
• Emily Heberlein, Post-Doctorate
• Zac Conner, Post-Doctorate
• Lauren Tyler, Post-Baccalaureate
• Chelsea LeNoble, Post-Doctorate
• Susan O'Hara, Post-Doctorate
• Chris Wilson, Post-Doctorate
• Dotan Shvorin, Post-Doctorate

The NIH Accelerator Program is an intensive mentoring program for faculty investigators seeking NIH funding. A collaboration with Prisma Health, the NIH Accelerator helps early career faculty craft complete and competitive NIH grant applications. During this program, mentors and mentees will meet bi-monthly to discuss, present, and provide feedback on sections of each mentee’s grant proposal.

Read More About the NIH Accelerator Program

A variety of seed grant funding opportunities are available to facilitate health research at Clemson. Many of these opportunities require collaboration with our local health system partner-Prisma Health. CUSHR provides communication about opportunities, facilitates connections to clinical collaborators, and offers informational sessions to maximize access to these resources. Search our faculty scholars and our clinical faculty by name or keyword.

CUSHR Faculty Scholars

CUSHR Clinical Faculty

Operated by Clemson’s Laboratory for Retrieval Research and Reprocessing of Medical Devices (RE-MED), GreenMD is an engineering research and training program focused on optimizing medical device designs for reprocessing and reuse and promoting medical device sustainability.

Reprocessing involves cleaning, sterilizing and packaging medical devices for reuse during sequential treatments on multiple patients. It helps health care providers enhance patient care by controlling supply costs and maintaining safety and quality control. Studies have shown that up to 50 percent of health care cost related to medical devices, including their disposal as biohazardous waste, can be saved through well-executed reprocessing programs.

Clemson’s bioengineering department, which houses RE-MED, has shown leadership in this field through faculty members involved in the analysis of medical devices that have functioned in patients. The working group includes faculty members in bioengineering, biological sciences, and the College of Business (MBA), as well as various other collaborators throughout the College of Engineering, Computing and Applied Sciences. This program has been developed in close collaboration with Steris Isomedix Services, a leader in medical device sterilization, and Stryker Sustainability Solutions, a leading third-party provider of reprocessing and remanufacturing services and recycling initiatives. 

GreenMD also encompasses the Medical Device Recycling and Reprocessing Certificate Program curriculum offered through the Clemson bioengineering department. This unique program increases the marketability of students who seek employment in the medical device industry as they will become specialists in a new paradigm in health care.

Collaborators

• John DesJardins, Ph.D., Bioengineering, Clemson
• Eugene Langan III, M.D., Vascular Surgery, Prisma Health–Upstate

In Greenville Health System operating rooms, Clemson undergraduate design teams shadow surgeons to identify surgical tools and devices that could be made better, safer or more effective. The teams then design and develop novel solutions, and many move their creations forward to actual products that will enhance health care nationwide.

“Having this kind of access to doctors and health care facilities is an amazing opportunity for our students,” says John DesJardins, associate professor of bioengineering at Clemson. “The experience our students get through this Prisma Health–Upstate partnership produces exceptional thinkers, leaders and entrepreneurs. They leave here knowing what it takes to solve problems and to get their solutions to market.”

The bioengineering student teams have won several national awards, and recently the Clemson-Prisma Health–Upstate design partnership received grants totaling $250,000 from the National Institutes of Health and the National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance to expand their medical device design programs.

“This Clemson-Prisma Health–Upstate collaboration is vital to creating the tools and devices necessary to address real-world health care needs,” says Eugene Langan, chair of the Prisma Health–Upstate Department of Surgery. “The discoveries made through our unique doctor-designer relationship will produce innovative solutions that improve patient care in our community and beyond.”

Collaborators

• Kevin Taaffe, Ph.D., Industrial Engineering, Clemson
• Lawrence Fredendall, Ph.D., Management, Clemson
• Gilbert Ritchie, Ph.D., Anesthesiology, GHS
• Wendell James III, M.D., Anesthesiology, GHS

Today, health care professionals are charged with a tremendous challenge – to reduce costs and continue to provide high-quality patient care. Partners at Clemson and GHS are developing new technology that will improve communication between hospital staff and help drive their decisions. The result: better care, greater efficiency.

The technology, now being delivered in a smartphone app, tracks each patient from pre-op through the operating room to post-op, so that each area knows what’s happening in the other. The goal is to enhance cooperation and coordination between staff within and across perioperative departments.

“This is hugely important in running an OR because one delay can create a domino effect that can impact an entire day’s surgery schedule. Our objective is to not waste time or resources if we can prevent it,” says Wendell James, medical director of perioperative services and chair of the GHS anesthesiology department.

The app also reminds staff of the tasks that must be done at each step and checks off each as they are accomplished.

“This is what helps in decision-making,” explains Kevin Taaffe, industrial engineering professor and principal investigator of this project. “The app reminds staff what they need to do, what is left to be done, and if they are causing a delay in the process.”

The project proposes to create a framework using a combination of mobile technology, learning systems, data analytics, education and training. The smart app will also be used as teaching and training tools to provide instruction on workflow management techniques across a variety of fields, including business, engineering, science and health care.

Collaborators

• Moonseong Heo, Ph.D., Public Health Sciences, Clemson
• Amy Crockett, M.D., Obstetrics and Gynecology, GHS

Does group prenatal care positively affect expectant mothers and their babies? Chen, Clemson assistant professor of public health sciences, and Picklesimer, maternal fetal specialist at GHS, are working together to explore that very question.

The duo is investigating the biomedical, behavioral and psychosocial outcomes by race of pregnant women who participate in Centering Pregnancy, an innovative model of group prenatal care, and comparing them to women involved in traditional, individual prenatal care. At the same time, they are finding out if women’s stress, activation and engagement will explain the potential benefits of group prenatal care on outcomes and health disparities. 

Picklesimer and her team will also implement the Centering Pregnancy group prenatal care model with providers across the state, while Chen and her colleagues evaluate the participants’ health outcomes.

If the results from their collaboration show that Centering Pregnancy care participation creates better maternal and infant health outcomes and lower pre-term birth rates than conventional, individual prenatal care, it will inform best practices for prenatal care, both in terms of quality and cost.