The SOAR (Student Opportunities for Academic Achievement Through Research) program is a competitive program for rising M2 students, offering an opportunity to engage in inquiry and scholarly activity with a faculty mentor.
The SOAR program is preparing for its 2026 cohort, and we’re inviting faculty and researchers to serve as mentors! If you’re interested in guiding a medical student through a meaningful research experience, now is the time to apply.
Applications end Feb. 28, 2026. Email us to learn more, at SOAR@uscmed.sc.edu.
The SOAR program is a full-time eight-week summer program that enables USC SOM medical students to work closely with faculty mentors, exploring basic science, translational, or clinical research, or projects focused on health care quality or patient safety, or educational research. Students and mentors apply for participation in the fall, followed by a selection and matching process that aims to align students' interests with mentors' expertise.
We are proud to highlight 2025 SOAR students Kendall Leigh and Srikar Alapati, who completed their research under Dr. Swapan Ray and each produced a peer-reviewed publication. They will present their work at Discover USC this April.
Alapati’s article, “Controlling Biogenesis and Engineering of Exosomes to Inhibit Growth and Promote Death in Glioblastoma Multiforme,” explores how engineered exosomes may help overcome therapy resistance in aggressive brain tumors by targeting survival pathways like angiogenesis and autophagy.
This project really opened my eyes to seeing how so many people from around the world are tackling one problem in so many different directions. It made me value research from the basic science level all the way to clinical trials.
- Srikar Alapati
Leigh’s article, “Exosomes as Specific Vehicles for Delivery of Combination Therapies in MYCN-Amplified Neuroblastoma,” examines how engineered exosomes could deliver targeted therapies to high-risk pediatric cancers while blocking tumor survival mechanisms.
Leigh added that
Working with Dr. Ray enhanced my ability to apply scientific inquiry and critical analysis beyond the traditional medical curriculum. This experience reinforced the importance of evidence-based research and innovation in advancing patient care.
Their accomplishments reflect the strength of student dedication and the impact of committed faculty mentorship at the School of Medicine.
At the Prisma Health Education & Research Institute Showcase on November 7th, SOAR students Catherine Chopade and Jordyn Lombardo received the Outstanding Medical Student Research Award for their poster, “Physicians Fighting Food Insecurity.” Their project explored how “prescribing” fresh produce to patients with chronic health conditions can improve health outcomes and strengthen community wellness.
Classmates Briana Pope (right) and Njasi Oji (left) qualified for the semifinals in the American Medical Association Research Challenge, the largest national, multi-specialty medical research conference for medical students, residents and international medical graduates to showcase and present research. Advancing to the semifinals means their abstracts were ranked in the top 3% of all submissions.
Harshitha Visikamalla, a second-year medical student and SOAR program participant, placed second in the poster competition at the 2025 South Carolina Neurological Association Conference on September 13th for her abstract Reduced White Matter Tract Integrity is Related to Tip-of-the-Tongue Phenomena.
2024 SOAR participants Emma Grice and Cecily Kaufmann won outstanding medical student poster at the Prisma Research Showcase in Greenville, S.C., in October 2024, for their project titled New Diagnosis HIV linkage to care evaluation in Southeastern United States: A retrospective cohort study. The team worked with mentor Dr. Sarah Battle.
2023 SOAR student Anna Baucom presented her study titled Immediate Postpartum LARC Devices and the Choose Well Grant: Characteristics Associated with LARC Continuation > 12 Months at the SAAOG Conference in Sea Island, Georgia in January while working with mentor, Dr. Patricia Seal.
Second Year M.D. student, Lance Schacht was recently published in the Current Infectious Disease Reports as the second author on a study looking at Intrapartum Infections in expecting mothers, while being mentored by SOMC faculty member Dr. Patricia Seal.