Big Data Health Science Center
Part of the University of South Carolina Excellence Initiatives, UofSC Big Data Health Science Center (BDHSC) serves as a campus-wide interdisciplinary enterprise that conducts cutting-edge research and discovery, offers professional development and academic training, and provides service to the community and industry.

Recent News
2021 Pilot Project RFP Released
The BDHSC is seeking proposals for the conduct and uptake of pilot research projects focusing on the Big Data analytics in addressing critical issues related to health behavior, healthcare, and population health. The purpose of this RFP is to invite pilot project applications on the utilization of Big Data analytics in health-related research.
Upcoming Seminar: BDHSC Pilot Project Showcase
Join us for a virtual seminar showcasing 3 recipients of the 2020 BDHSC Pilot Project Awards and get details about the 2021 Request for Proposals. This free seminar will be held via Zoom from 11-12 on January 27th.
Registration for Big Data Health Science Case Competition 2021 is Now Open!
The 2nd Annual Big Data Health Science Case Competition will be held virtually between January 29– 31, 2021 before the University of South Carolina’s National Big Data Health Science Conference, scheduled for February 5– 6, 2021. This year’s challenge will focus on solving the inappropriate use of healthcare using a data analytics approach. Each participating team will analyze the case and datasets.
The scopes of the projects range from investigating the different ways that COVID-19 impacts people; making better predictions of COVID-19; designing telehealth services and technology innovations for the future; and engaging cutting-edge methods through artificial intelligence, data science, computational methods and statistical modeling.
NIH Grant to Develop Data-driven Strategies in Fighting COVID-19
This two-year grant will support the team’s efforts to develop a database system via REDCap and a mobile application for collating surveillance, clinical, multi-omics and geospatial data on both COVID-19 patients and health workers treating COVID-19 patients in South Carolina.
NSF Award for “Monitoring the Spatial Spread of COVID-19 through the Lens of Human Movement using Big Social Media Data”
Three members of the BDHSC have been awarded $108,717 by the National Science Foundation for their project titled “Monitoring the Spatial Spread of COVID-19 through the Lens of Human Movement using Big Social Media Data.”
Internal COVID-19 Research Grants
The UofSC Office of the Vice President for Research recently announced the recipients of its special internal funding initiative to support COVID-19 research and scholarship. BDHSC is pleased to announce that of the 42 projects funded, BDHSC faculty serve as PI for 10 projects and Co-I for 7 different projects.
The University of South Carolina Big Data Health Science Center (BDHSC) is pleased to announce its 2021 Big Data Health Science Conference. Highlights of the virtual conference include keynote and panel speakers from diverse areas of the health sciences, government, and academia. Our decision to move the conference to a virtual format means attendees will have the ability to attend poster sessions, networking events, and breakout sessions in areas of electronic health records, geospatial, social media, genomics, and bionanomaterial research from the safety and comfort of their homes.
Keynote Speakers
Recent & Upcoming Events
Seminar: BDHSC Pilot Project Showcase, January 27, 2021
Join us for a virtual seminar showcasing 3 recipients of the 2020 BDHSC Pilot Project Awards and get details about the 2021 Request for Proposals. This free seminar will be held via Zoom from 11-12 on January 27th.
Seminar: Using Social Media and Electronic Health Records Data to Address Behavioral Health Research Questions, December 16, 2020
Dr. Conway will present recent work on investigating behavioral health research questions using social media text (Twitter, Reddit) and electronic health record data, concentrating on broad areas of depression and substance abuse for our December seminar, “Using Social Media and Electronic Health Records Data to Address Behavioral Health Research Questions“. This seminar is free and will take place via Zoom from 11:00-12:30.
Workshop: Multivariate Spatial Data Analysis in GeoDa, October 29, 2020
Dr. Marynia Kolak, Assistant Director of Health Informatics and Senior Lecturer in GIScience at the Center for Spatial Data Science, University of Chicag, will lead a free workshop via Zoom. The workshop, “Multivariate Spatial Data Analysis in GeoDa” will take place from 10:00-11:30am.
Seminar: Quantifying Neighborhood-Level Social Determinants of Health and Risk Landscapes, October 28, 2020
Join Dr. Marynia Kolak, Assistant Director of Health Informatics and Senior Lecturer in GIScience at the Center for Spatial Data Science, University of Chicago, for our October seminar, “Quantifying Neighborhood-Level Social Determinants of Health and Risk Landscapes”. This seminar is free and will take place via Zoom from 11:00-12:30.