Contact: Ellen Bank
843.792.2626
June 26, 2003
These four awards were made after a rigorous peer review process of 20 applications
from investigators at the University of South Carolina, MUSC and Clemson University.
The review criteria included scientific excellence, collaborative opportunities
and potential economic impact. Also funded in this round of applications were three endowed chairs in automotive
engineering at Clemson University. The University of South Carolina was awarded
support for a nanotechnology center, as well as the joint effort with the Medical
University in brain imaging. Research Center of Economic Excellence in Applied Marine Genomics ($4 million) The center will develop and use genomics tools to produce aquatic species with
increased resistance to disease and infection and will develop the science and
technology to enable rapid detection of pathogens. "This will help shrimp growers reduce economic losses and preserve productivity,"
said project director Eric R. Lacy, Ph.D., director of MUSC's Marine Biomedicine
and Environmental Sciences Center. "A collaboration with the Clemson University
Genome Institute will enable us to adapt this strategy from the more conventional
agricultural community where it has been used successfully in plant and mammal
species such as rice, corn and pigs." The center will work in partnership with the College of Charleston’s Masters
in Marine Biology program and Masters in Environmental Science program. "This
partnership with the college will help create a biomedical and biotechnical
bridge to the economic community of South Carolina by training students with
skills in modern marine genomic science. In addition, these findings will be
available for commercial application in the corporate and government arena,”
Lacy said. Norine Noonan, Ph.D., dean of the School of Sciences and Mathematics at the
College of Charleston, said, “We are delighted to be a partner with the
Medical University in this important project. Our students and faculty will
benefit both from the scientific collaboration, which complements our strength
in marine biology and environmental research, and from the opportunity to work
on issues of great economic value to our state.” Lacy said the need for transformation of the aquaculture industry to one that
incorporates modern molecular and genetic techniques is exemplified by decreasing
state revenues from the South Carolina aquaculture and offshore fishing industries. As director of MUSC's Marine Biomedicine and Environmental Sciences Center,
Lacy sees a Research Center of Economic Excellence in Applied Marine Genomics
focus on three major areas: 1) genomic and proteomic research on economically
valuable aquatic species; 2) technology development of biosensors and diagnostic
tools in partnership with private sector companies; and 3) development of courses
and research experiences for students from the undergraduate to the doctoral
level. "These new courses and expanded research opportunities will create a vibrant
intellectual environment for future scholars and innovators. It should also
help us expand career pathways for students seeking jobs in the new aquaculture
and marine environmental genetics industries," Lacy said. "Genomic
technology has become a major driver for most of the pharmaceutical industry,
and biotechnology has continued to grow in areas associated with non-medical
applications such as environmental and marine health." Lacy envisions the center to be led by two nationally and internationally recognized
scientist-entrepreneurs supported by endowed professorships, complementing each
other in molecular genetics and bioinformatics, creating new jobs and spin-off
companies, and attracting scientists of national stature. "This center will build upon the basic infrastructure in marine genomics
(molecular genetics, proteomics, and bioinformatics), which has already been
developed by MUSC in partnership with the National Ocean Service (NOS), the
South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR), the National Institutes
of Standards and Technology (NIST), and the College of Charleston," Lacy
said. The newly constructed Hollings Marine Laboratory at the Ft. Johnson marine and
environmental research campus will serve as the center's focal point. Lacy said
that these organizations share complementary missions and cooperate with each
other in shared faculty, research programs, grants and educational programs. Proteomics Research Center ($4 million) Proteomics is the study of all of the proteins expressed in a living system
and is the new frontier of biological research following completion of the Human
Genome Project. “The availability of the genome sequence sets the stage
for the larger task of interpreting the biological significance of the information,
and proteomics will be the key to this interpretation,” said Daniel R.
Knapp, project director for the Proteomics Research Center and professor of
Cell and Molecular Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics. Proteomics has the potential to diagnose, cure, or prevent human disease; optimize
agricultural production; thwart bioterrorism agents and mitigate environmental
damage. With respect to human health, the near term payoffs of proteomics are
the identification of new disease markers for diagnosis. Longer-term payoffs
will be the molecular understanding of disease, which will provide the basis
of development of new therapies and new modes of prevention of disease. “Any organization that aspires to be at the forefront of biological research
will require capability for proteomics study,” said Knapp. “Being
a relatively new frontier area, national leadership in the field of proteomics
has not yet been firmly established, giving South Carolina the opportunity to
establish itself as a leader in the area.” The MUSC center has already
begun to position itself in this leadership role by joining with Johns Hopkins,
Stanford, Yale and six other leading universities in being selected among the
nation’s first 10 NIH funded proteomics centers. NIH designation came
with $15 million in support. The technology development activities of the center will spawn the development
of new companies to commercialize the new technologies both for research and
for application in health care and other fields. The center will also help position
South Carolina as a potential site for a new national laboratory for proteomics
research. The center will be located at MUSC, but will also involve Clemson University
as part of the new Clemson-MUSC Bioengineering Program. Additionally, both Clemson
and the University of South Carolina will participate as part of the statewide
“BioX” initiative in regenerative medicine. South Carolina Brain Imaging Center of Excellence ($2.5 million to MUSC and
$2.5 million to USC) “One of the last remaining frontiers in science and medicine is to understand
how the human brain works, both in health and disease,” said Mark George,
M.D., the MUSC project director and distinguished professor of psychiatry, radiology
and neurology. “We have new powerful and non-invasive tools for imaging
the brain, giving us the realistic expectation of using new technology to improve
the function of the damaged or even the normal brain.” South Carolina is both an ideal testing ground and needy recipient for many
of these technologies. For example, in the context of technology to repair the
damaged brain, South Carolina has the highest incidence of brain injury caused
by stroke of any state in the U.S. Similarly, considering brain-related technologies
for defense and law-enforcement, South Carolina is also optimally positioned.
With the Department of Defense Polygraph Institute located in S.C., this is
an ideal place to foster technology related to detection of deception. In addition to the brain imaging work on campus, MUSC has created a Brain Stimulation
Laboratory with ties to other clinical neuroscience groups on campus. This laboratory
has been a world leader in developing potential clinical applications of stimulation
technologies. They have pioneered studies of transcranial magnetic stimulation
and vagus nerve stimulation in the treatment of depression and are actively
investigating deep brain stimulation for the treatment of Parkinson’s
disease. “Advances in brain imaging technology are giving us an amazing window
into the brain,” said John Oldham, M.D., professor and chairman of the
MUSC Department of Psychiatry. “This center will make possible unprecedented
progress.” MUSC researchers will join forces with investigators from the University of
South Carolina’s world-class programs in cognitive neuroscience, computer
science, engineering and public health. “By bridging together the complementary
expertise of the two universities, we will create a research center in brain
imaging that can provide all the expertise for major federal grants and contracts,”
said George. “I envision the creation of a world-class brain imaging center
and industrial cluster spanning MUSC and USC.” Gordon C. Baylis, the USC project director for the Brain Imaging Center and
associate dean of the USC College of Liberal Arts, added, “This is an
exciting time, but it is just the beginning. By working together, researchers
at USC and MUSC will continue to make ever more important breakthroughs in biomedical
research. This can only enhance the health and standard of living of all South
Carolinians.” Center of Economic Excellence in Neuroscience Research ($3 million) MUSC has placed emphasis on building programs in the neuroscience of aging because
of the demographics of South Carolina in particular and the nation in general.
More than half of the population of South Carolina is older than 56 years of
age, and it is estimated that the number of individuals over that age will double
in the next two decades as a result of aging and the influx of retirees. Therefore
the number of individuals with dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s
disease and stroke will increase accordingly. “The Center of Economic
Excellence in Neuroscience Research would place emphasis these age-related neurodegenerative
problems,” said Mark Kindy, Ph.D., director of the Neuroscience Institute. “As modern medicine increases the average lifespan, it is critically important
to understand age-associated cognitive difficulties,” said John Oldham,
professor and chairman of the MUSC Department of Psychiatry. “This center
will provide much needed support for this important work.” The funds will support three endowed chairs in the neurosciences. Qualified
candidates will be internationally known scientists with established programs
of innovative research in movement disorders and/or neurodegenerative diseases.
The individuals would have industry relationships and/or experience in pharmaceutical/biotechnology
companies. The center will also serve as one focal point in the effort to develop a plan
for a new neuroscience building at MUSC. Additionally the center will play a
role in the Neuroscience Institute. #####
CHARLESTON, SC – The South Carolina Lottery Center of Economic Excellence
Oversight Committee Wednesday awarded $13.5 million in matching money for four
new research centers at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC). The
funded proposals were in the areas of marine genomics (jointly with the College
of Charleston), proteomics, brain imaging (jointly with the University of South
Carolina) and neuroscience.
The center will facilitate and coordinate interdisciplinary research efforts
in the neurosciences. MUSC neuroscience research, ranging from molecular and
cellular to clinical neuroscience is nationally and internationally recognized.