Prisma Health honored Clemson University associate psychology professor Kaileigh Byrne with a 2025 Academic Partner Research Award at the hospital system’s Health Education and Research Institute Showcase Nov. 7 in Columbia.
The award recognizes a Clemson health researcher who has demonstrated outstanding research leadership, supported the development of health research and made a meaningful impact in advancing the Clemson-Prisma collaboration.
Byrne’s research is informing innovative treatment strategies for patients hospitalized with complications stemming from alcohol use disorder. A faculty scholar in the Clemson University School of Health Research (CUSHR), Byrne has worked closely with Prisma Health physicians on efforts to reduce readmissions for those hospitalized with complications from substance use disorder.
“My team’s collaboration with Prisma Health has not only fostered scientific discovery in addiction science and cognitive neuroscience but has also allowed those discoveries to translate directly into healthcare innovation,” said Byrne, a faculty member in the College of Behavioral, Social and Health Sciences.
Specifically, Byrne’s research utilizes neuroimaging along with computational, genetic and physiological methods to better understand reward processing and decision-making. Byrne examines how factors such as psychopathological symptoms, personality traits, aging and performance pressure affect decision-making outcomes. She is particularly interested in understanding what drives individuals to engage in goal-directed versus habit-based decision strategies, how people weigh immediate versus delayed outcomes, and how they respond to gains and losses during decision-making.
Additionally, Byrne is an affiliated faculty member of the Clemson University Institute for Engaged Aging and serves as the Clemson research coordinator for the MRI Research Imaging Facility, a collaboration between Clemson and Prisma at Oconee Memorial Hospital in Seneca. The MRI facility provides clinical diagnostics for Prisma Health patients in Oconee County and expands opportunities for Clemson researchers to study Alzheimer’s disease and related conditions. In her role at the facility, Byrne helps guide operations and educates stakeholders on the strategic value of the imaging partnership.
“From her earliest days at Clemson University over 8 years ago, Dr. Byrne impressed us with her energy and initiative as she reached out to actively pursue collaboration with our clinicians and researchers at Prisma Health,” said Dr. Desmond Kelly, associate chief academic officer at Prisma Health. “She has built on existing efforts and expertise and has significantly advanced knowledge regarding the neurobiology and physiology of reward-based decision making and the associated psychopathology. Her work with the research imaging facility at Oconee Memorial Hospital has been invaluable in further building the partnership between Prisma Health and Clemson. We are lucky to have her on our team.”
