South Carolina receives $17 million for medical research

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) – Seven South Carolina colleges and universities will share a $17.3 million federal grant to boost biomedical research in the state.

The grant will expand research into adult stem cells at the Medical University of South Carolina, development of implants and regenerative tissue at Clemson University and engineering and repair of cardiovascular tissue at the University of South Carolina.

The grant also will go to improve labs and hire faculty for undergraduates at the College of Charleston, Claflin University, Furman University and Winthrop University.

USC will administer the grant and each of the institutions receiving funding will provide a match, increasing the total investment in biomedical research over the next five years to $35 million.

Officials say the research grant is one of the largest in the state’s history.

“We’re trying to build pipelines whereby we build research opportunities for students at four-year schools so they will be attracted to graduate programs at the research universities,” said John Baynes, a USC biochemist and the grant’s principal investigator. “This program begins the training of students, it stimulates faculty and should have a very long-term impact.”

The National Institutes of Health awarded the grant through its IDeA Networks of Biomedical Research Excellence.

Other four-year colleges in the state could draw upon the funds to host training programs and meetings, Baynes said.

The funding will allow the research institutions to expand existing research into regenerative medicine. Clemson, MUSC and USC all have faculty chair positions in regenerative medicine funded by the South Carolina Education Lottery.

The essence of Clemson’s bioengineering research is to move away from the use of artificial tissue implants toward using a person’s own cells to regenerate damaged tissue, said Larry Dooley, associate dean for research and graduate studies at Clemson’s college of engineering and science.

“Even though the existing design for implantable heart valves is good, they are made of man-made materials,” Dooley said. “After a while they will fatigue and fail.”

One alternative is using natural tissues harvested from humans or animals, he said, but they will eventually fail as well. So, researchers hope to develop a process where a person’s own cells can be used to grow a heart valve, blood vessel or hip bone.

There already is evidence in nature that this is possible, he said. For example, animals like the salamander are able to regenerate lost limbs.

Officials think the research could be an economic development tool, attracting new faculty and research firms to the state. The South Carolina Centers for Economic Excellence has said bioengineering is a key area for economic development, said USC President Andrew Sorensen.

The four-year colleges receiving grant money hope to play a role in medical advancements in the state as well.

Claflin plans to strengthen research efforts in human papillomavirus, colon cancer and prostate cancer.

The College of Charleston will focus on molecular mechanisms of disease, muscle assembly and function, neurological diseases, the retina and proteins for drug therapies.

Furman’s research will focus on molecular biology and biochemistry related to neuroscience and cancer therapy.

Winthrop researchers will target cardiac tissue damage, prostate cancer, tools to study interactions between metals and molecules, obesity, cancer-causing proteins and Hepatitis B virus.

On the net: http://www.ncrr.nih.gov/resinfra/inbre.asp

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