College of Charleston

News C of C Part of Effort to Boost State's Biomedical Research December 17, 2001 The College of Charleston is part of a statewide initiative to increase biomedical research in South Carolina. The $5.9 million project is being federally funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Of this amount the College of Charleston has been awarded $620,000. The South Carolina Biomedical Research Infrastructure Network (SC-BRIN) involves the state’s three major research institutions: the Medical University of South Carolina, the University of South Carolina and Clemson University. These three schools will be working with, respectively, the College of Charleston, South Carolina State University, and Furman University to foster and/or further develop their research activities in the biomedical field. According to the program proposal, another 24 four-year South Carolina colleges and universities with bachelor degree programs in chemistry and biology will be involved as “outreach institutions.” Faculty and students from these 24 schools will be recruited into research laboratories of both the “mentor” (MUSC, USC, and Clemson) and “mentored” schools (C of C, SCSU, and Furman). The goals of SC-BRIN are to expand programs and increase the research and research networking activities of faculty and students at all academic institutions throughout the state. It is hoped this “web of research interactions” will “develop a pipeline by which outstanding students can be stimulated by, and recruited into, graduate programs at the state’s research. “The grant is designed to improve research infrastructure and networking in biomedical research areas in states that are traditionally underfunded by the NIH,” said Pamela Riggs-Gelasco, Assistant Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry, and the College of Charleston’s key SC-BRIN representative. “The goal is to improve the fundability of NIH researchers in the state.” Riggs-Gelasco says nine C of C faculty members have been identified whose research has the potential to be funded by NIH. Other C of C faculty involved in the SC-BRIN program are: Linda Jones from Physics; Allan Strand, Scott France, Isaure DeBuron, Mark Lazzaro, and Agnes Southgate from Biology; Tony Leclerc and Christopher Starr, Computer Science; Michelle Mac, Chemistry and Biochemistry; and Gordon Jones, former Dean of the School of Science and Mathematics. Barbara Gray from C of C ‘s Grants Administration office was also instrumental. John Baynes from the University of South Carolina is SC-BRIN’s principal investigator.