Heidi Smith Parker
Director of Research Advancement and Strategic Initiatives
Dr. Parker supports faculty across departments within USC Dornsife. We offer consulting and editing services for federal grant submissions spanning the US National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Department of Justice, Department of Defense, and Department of Energy. Dr. Parker is passionate about science outreach and helps faculty develop NSF Broader Impacts. Prior to USC, Dr. Parker was a grant consultant for Michigan State University (2015-2017). She has a doctorate in Biological Sciences from Columbia University where she studied neurogenetics and behavior in nematodes. She pursued postdoctoral research at the University of Texas, Austin in the field of animal behavior and genetics, using frogs. She has over a decade of experience in editing manuscripts, books, and grant proposals.
Contact: hkparker@usc.edu | (213) 764-0198
Sarah Bishop
Humanities Grant Consultant
Sarah Bishop is USC Dornsife’s Humanities Grant Consultant. She is excited to work with humanities faculty to identify funding opportunities, brainstorm proposal ideas, and hone winning grant applications. Sarah is also the founder and CEO of Coneflower Consulting, a non-profit consulting firm that specializes in grant development. Prior to founding Coneflower, Sarah served as Associate Director of the Hall Center for the Humanities and Co-Director of the Institute for Digital Research in the Humanities, both at the University of Kansas. Sarah has her B.A. in English literature from Northwestern University, and her Ph.D. in 20th Century American Literature and Film from the University of Virginia.
Contact: sarahbis@usc.edu
Caitlin McOmish
Grant Strategist
Dr. Caitlin McOmish serves as a Grant Strategy Consultant at USC Dornsife, with a focus on NIH and NSF funding applications. In her role, Caitlin supports faculty and research teams in the development of compelling grant proposals that are in alignment with funding priorities, helping USC researchers maximize their success in securing external support. Trained as a neuroscientist (PhD: University of Melbourne; Postdoctoral Fellow: Columbia University), she brings extensive experience as a science writer and research communication specialist, with over a decade of experience translating complex ideas for diverse audiences.
Contact: mcomish@usc.edu
Katya Kadyshevskaya
Graphic Designer and Scientific Illustrator
Katya Kadyshevskaya is an experienced artist and illustrator with a strong background in scientific visualization. She is excited to collaborate with faculty and staff across departments to support the visual communication in scientific research.
She specializes in creating graphics and figures for scientific papers, grant proposals, and presentations, as well as scientific and medical illustrations for graphical abstracts, press releases, and journal covers. Learn more >>
She has been serving the scientific community at USC since 2015. Before that, she worked at the Scripps Research (TSRI) from 2009 to 2015. She has an MS degree in Biology from the Moscow State University and BFA degree in Graphic Design from the Columbus College of Art & Design (CCAD).
Contact: kadyshev@usc.edu
