Lottery paying off for science in S.C.

The appointment of Dr. Richard Swaja to the Endowed Chair in Regenerative Medicine at the Medical University of South Carolina raises to 11 the number of scientists hired at the state’s three research universities under a lottery-funded program to attract academic stars.

Swaja’s research goal is to learn how to make human cells reorganize themselves to create new organs. It is cutting-edge research that might take years to achieve success but holds the promise of both improving human life and creating a new source of jobs in the state.

“The promise of Swaja’s work extends far beyond South Carolina. It truly has international implications,” MUSC president Ray Greenberg said.

So far, the S.C. Research Centers of Economic Excellence Review Board has approved 31 proposals of $2 million to $6 million apiece.

The board has approved projects totaling $125 million from lottery funds. With the required match, that means $250 million of new scientific research.

Since the program started, the General Assembly has earmarked $30 million per year for the program. The funds are used to create endowments, the income from which will support the research activities.

So far, the research chairs are in these fields:

• MUSC — neuroscience, regenerative medicine, pharmacology, clinical effectiveness and microscopy
• nanotechnology
• Clemson — automotive engineering, auto design and electronic systems integration

In creating the program, the General Assembly justified the spending on the grounds that future high-paying jobs will be built around scientific breakthroughs in fields such as health sciences, transportation and alternative fuels.

Swaja’s appointment this year is under an endowed chair proposal approved in 2002-03. Swaja also will serve as director of the S.C. Bioengineering Alliance, a joint venture of MUSC, USC and Clemson.

Swaja is working to attract other top scientific talent to South Carolina. The group of scientists will work together to drive research discoveries that have strong commercial potential.

The four-year gap between approval of the endowed chair and the hiring of a researcher to fill it illustrates the state’s long-term commitment to the highest-level research at the three campuses.

Harris Pastides, USC’s vice president for research, said he expects that USC will announce additional appointments for its endowed chair proposals soon. He said the timeline for Swaja’s appointment “demonstrates the added complexity in getting interuniversity centers rolling.”

“While the long-term payoff of developing statewide (research centers) cannot be overestimated, it takes extra time, money and effort to demonstrate to the chair candidates that the collaboration is real and sustainable,” Pastides said.

“I believe that South Carolina’s climate is ripe for a statewide bioengineering program,” Swaja said. “Fortunately, we are not starting at zero. We have good facilities and good people in place, and we have already seen substantial research advancements here.”

Reach Hammond at (803) 771-8474.