CoEE attracting private funds beyond match dollars

The CoEE Program has attracted more than $122 million in “extramural” research funding to South Carolina since the program began in 2002. Extramural funding refers to the money that has been granted or donated to individual Centers of Economic Excellence above the dollar-for-dollar private match funds that are required before Centers can access state lottery funds.

This additional funding for South Carolina-based research is another example of how the CoEE Program provides a healthy return on the state’s investment of lottery money in research centers at Clemson, USC, and MUSC.

Dr. Rose Booze, USC’s interim vice president for research, explains the tremendous impact that the CoEE Program and the associated endowed chairs have on university research funding: “In all cases, the endowed chairs bring considerable research funding with them when they are recruited. This might be expected for these senior investigators, but moreover, they serve as an important model of research success and mentoring for their more junior colleagues at USC. So there are both direct effects garnered from the recruitment of the endowed chair, but also indirect effects of the development of an active research focus for their colleagues.”

CoEE endowed chairs busy with discoveries, potential new products

As a group, South Carolina’s CoEE endowed chairs have filed 91 invention disclosures since the program was established in 2002. These filings represent the high potential CoEE researchers have to invent new, marketable technologies in South Carolina. If these technologies can be commercialized, they could ultimately lead to the creation of skilled jobs in the state and contribute to a higher standard of living here.

An invention disclosure is a written record of a new invention. It describes the invention and how it was developed, and is dated and signed by the inventor and by witnesses. The invention disclosure is used as a foundation for a patent application, if patent attorneys and university officials believe the invention is worthy of a patent and has commercial potential.

Top medical informatics expert recruited to South Carolina through CoEE Program

To help South Carolina gain an edge in clinical trials research, a top expert in research databases and web-based clinical research systems has been recruited to South Carolina through the CoEE Program.

Dr. Jihad S. Obeid has been recruited as a CoEE Endowed Chair in Biomedical Informatics at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC). Medical informatics is a field that focuses on managing and processing data, information, and knowledge to improve healthcare practice and delivery.

Dr. Obeid will work with information technology professionals throughout South Carolina to develop software and infrastructure that help researchers share data and collaborate across hospitals and universities. He is known nationally for developing innovative software to manage complex data in clinical settings.

“By increasing our leadership in clinical trials research, South Carolina is more likely to attract pharmaceutical and life sciences companies, which rely on clinical trials to test their products,” says Dr. John Raymond, MUSC’s provost and vice president for academic affairs. “These companies would invest millions of dollars and create high-paying jobs that would invigorate South Carolina’s economy and raise the standard of living.”

As a CoEE endowed chair, Obeid will help lead the Clinical Effectiveness and Patient Safety Center. The Center is a public-private partnership among South Carolina’s three research universities and Health Sciences South Carolina, a statewide biomedical research collaborative that has contributed a significant portion of the required dollar-for-dollar non-state match.

“South Carolina has an excellent set of programs in biomedical informatics, but they need to be consolidated to be even more effective,” Obeid says. “I believe that my work will help to crystallize this effort. South Carolina is fertile ground for innovation in this field, and I am eager to join the team of professionals who will help the state become a leader in the field.”

For more information, visit www.sccoee.org/pressrelease.

CoEE bringing the world’s top scientific talent to S.C.

The CoEE Program has enabled South Carolina’s research universities to recruit some of the world’s leading scientists and engineers. This elite group includes not only some of America’s brightest minds, but also top researchers from other parts of the globe.

Like newly appointed CoEE Endowed Chair Dr. Obeid, who is originally from the Middle East, these scientists have relocated to South Carolina from around the world largely because of the CoEE Program. Across the board, their innovative research has strong potential for commercialization and can lead to high-paying jobs that will energize South Carolina’s economy. Here is a closer look at the international scientists who are now CoEE endowed chairs:

Dr. Marc Chimowitz—South Africa
Chimowitz is developing treatments to prevent stroke caused by narrowing of brain arteries at MUSC’s Neuroscience CoEE.

Dr. Paul Simon Morgan—United Kingdom
At MUSC’s Brain Imaging CoEE, Morgan is directing a team of scientists that is applying advanced Medical Resonance Imaging (MRI) techniques to better understand the development of neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. Morgan received his Ph.D. in MRI Physics from a University of Nottingham program headed by Sir Peter Mansfield, who won the Nobel Prize for his role in inventing the MRI.

Dr. Iain Sanderson—United Kingdom
At USC’s Healthcare Quality CoEE, Sanderson is working to create secure databases for medical records that will make it easier for multiple healthcare systems to share vital information.

Dr. Kenneth Tew—United Kingdom
Tew is an international leader in cancer drug discovery and development at MUSC’s Translational Cancer Therapeutics CoEE. He is working to understand how cancer cells develop resistance to different drugs.

Dr. Paul Venhovens—Netherlands
Venhovens’ research focuses on the testing of vehicle systems and their components to ensure efficient and safe operation. Venhovens, who previously worked at BMW’s research and development headquarters in Germany, brings both academic and industry perspectives to his role at Clemson’s International Center for Automotive Research (CU-ICAR).

State’s investment in Clemson’s advanced-fiber CoEE attracts $4 million in private donations
The Advanced Fiber-based Materials CoEE at Clemson University has attracted $4 million in investment by private companies and individuals—support that was stimulated by the state’s $4 million CoEE award. Clemson can now use the $8 million in total funding to support the CoEE’s natural and synthetic polymer-based advanced fibrous materials research.
Private investment in the CoEE came from many sources, including the J. E. Sirrine Textile Foundation and KENTWOOL. For a complete list of donors, read the news release at http://www.sccoee.org/pressrelease.asp?NID=90.
Researchers at the CoEE will work to develop synthetic polymers and to enhance natural fibrous materials, including wool, cotton, and silk. Other studies will focus on fiber-reinforced composite materials based on metals, ceramics, and polymers for high-performance yet lightweight applications in the automotive, space, athletic equipment, and medical prosthetic markets.

The CoEE will be a focal point for existing and emerging research in new fibrous materials systems and manufacturing technologies, including the discovery and initial commercialization of technically innovative materials and processes. Clemson expects these applications to build on the existing knowledge base of fiber expertise within South Carolina and lead to a more advanced fiber-product base, creating stronger industries that will support the retooling and retraining of skilled workers and lead to business growth and job retention and creation.

CoEE helps state keep strong bond rating

State officials, including state Treasurer Converse Chellis, met recently in New York with several firms whose opinions can influence borrowing costs and the state’s credit rating. These firms, including Fitch, Moody’s, and Standard & Poor’s, believe that South Carolina must be more aggressive in bringing wealth and income into the state, Chellis reports.

Chellis told the Greenville News the one item credit analysts really want to see South Carolina work toward is a more aggressive “economic development stimulus-type program” to bring more wealth and income to the state.

State officials were able to respond to the challenge by telling the credit analysts about the Centers of Economic Excellence Program.

“You could tell the reaction to it was very pleasing to them,” Chellis told the Greenville News.

State officials stressed to the analysts that the CoEE Program, “at the end of the day will then bring those higher-paying jobs to South Carolina so those students will stay in South Carolina after they graduate,” Chellis said.

South Carolina’s per capita income in 2007 rose 3.5 percent to $31,048 from 2006, but it trails other southern states such as North Carolina ($33,663), Georgia ($33,416) and Alabama ($32,401), according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Who we are
The S.C. Centers of Economic Excellence Program was established by the South Carolina General Assembly in 2002, funded through South Carolina Education Lottery proceeds. The legislation authorizes the state’s three public research institutions, Medical University of South Carolina, Clemson University, and the University of South Carolina, to use state funds to create Centers of Economic Excellence in research areas that will advance South Carolina’s economy. Each Center of Economic Excellence is awarded from $2 million to $5 million in state funds, which must be matched on a dollar-for-dollar basis with non-state funds. The program also supports CoEE endowed chairs, world-renowned scientists who lead the Centers of Economic Excellence. By investing in talent and technology, the CoEE Program is designed to fuel the state’s knowledge-based economy, resulting in high-paying jobs and an improved standard of living in South Carolina.

For more information on the CoEE Program, visit www.sccoee.org.