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Lottery to fund regenerative medicine center MUSC, USC and Clemson University have just been awarded  $6 million in 2004 lottery proceeds to set up a Center for Regenerative Medicine. Approval for the funding was proposed by the presidents of MUSC, USC and Clemson (Ray Greenberg, M.D., Ph.D., Andrew Sorensen, Ph.D., and James Barker) Aug. 25  at the meeting of the Oversight Board for the SC Centers of Economic Excellence, and it was unanimously approved. The proposal received high scores in the last round of competition, but was deferred until the three presidents could develop a joint fundraising strategy for the matching monies. The presidents indicated that this proposal will receive their highest level of support in fundraising, and they developed plans to jointly approach potential partners to request matching funds. This unprecedented level of scientific and administrative cooperation and support from the presidents of each university is a remarkable endorsement of the need for South Carolina’s research  universities to work closely together. “We are delighted that this collaboration between the three research universities is moving forward. It sets a precedent that we hope will be replicated in other areas. By bringing together the expertise of our respective faculties, ground-breaking work will be undertaken, with tremendous opportunities for clinical application. This is the wave of the future, and we are excited that we could catch it together,” Greenberg said. Regenerative medicine has been identified by the National Institutes of Health and the scientific community as one of the fastest growing frontier areas in biomedical technology with impressive potential to have impact upon the health human lives. Also known as tissue engineering, the science is involved with the remodeling of tissues and organs for the purpose of repairing, replacing, maintaining or enhancing organ function as well as the engineering and growing of functional tissue substitutes to serve as biological replacement for damaged or diseased tissues and organs. “Our vision and long-term goal for the center is to combine and expand the existing statewide expertise in developmental biology, adult stem cell technology, and bioengineering into a center focused on regenerative medicine that would address major health concerns in South Carolina and the nation,” said Roger Markwald, Ph.D., project director and chair of the Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy at MUSC.  The initial emphasis will be on cardiovascular diseases, both in the newborn and adult populations, because South Carolina leads the entire nation in heart and vascular diseases.  Merely living in South Carolina, whether an individual was born here or has relocated here, reduces life expectancy by two years.  The regenerative medicine center will have the potential to change the way medicine is practiced, and in doing so, create growth industries that would develop to implement the potential of engineering new tissues and organs. The regenerative Medicine Center will be unique to South Carolina and the region.  It will provide opportunity to train graduate students postdoctoral fellows and clinical research fellows in this exciting new breakthrough for medical practice and attract companies looking to invest in health related research. The center could evolve into an economically viable entity as a statewide repository for stem cells or a source of biomaterials or biologically developed tissue substitutes that attract new biotech firms or venture capitalists. The three South Carolina research universities to participate in the center already have strengths in regenerative medicine and bioengineering supported by extramural grants exceeding $60 million.  Additionally much of the administrative infrastructure needed to enhance mutual collaboration among the three institutions is already in place as a result of EPSCoR and other statewide programs. Catalyst Online is published weekly, updated as needed and improved from time to time by the MUSC Office of Public Relations for the faculty, employees and students of the Medical University of South Carolina. Catalyst Online editor, Kim Draughn, can be reached at 792-4107 or by email, catalyst@musc.edu. Editorial copy can be submitted to Catalyst Online and to The Catalyst in print by fax, 792-6723, or by email to petersnd@musc.edu or catalyst@musc.edu. To place an ad in The Catalyst hardcopy, call Community Press at 849-1778.