Centers

Area Health Education Consortium (AHEC) (rev. date 10/07)
http://www.scahec.net/
The South Carolina Area Health Education Consortium (SC AHEC) links the academic health sciences center to community-based health care. Its mission is to improve the quality and accessibility of health care for the communities of South Carolina through a system of community-academic partnerships whose central purpose is the recruitment, education and retention of primary health care providers. South Carolina was among the first 11 states to receive federal funding to establish a model statewide AHEC program in 1972. In 2006 at the national AHEC meeting, SC AHEC received the prestigious Eugene S. Mayer Award for excellence among the nation’s 46 AHEC programs for its excellence and collaborative educational partnerships with statewide institutions, health care professionals, and underserved communities. Also in 2006 SC AHEC received a 3-year $900,000 grant from the Duke Endowment to help establish coalitions in each of the four SC AHEC regions of the state.  These coalitions will develop regional initiatives and programs to promote health careers among middle and high school students. 

Educational services of the S.C. AHEC include community-based clinical rotations for health professions students, residency training programs for physicians (especially in primary care specialties), and continuing competency education for practicing health care providers. Recruitment and retention services address the state’s need to attract students into the health professions, keep them in South Carolina to practice after they complete their education, and improve the availability of health care for the state’s rural and underserved communities. SC AHEC Student Development and Diversity Programs are active in all four SC AHEC regions, managing clubs for students interested in health professions and conducting summer academic enrichment programs for secondary school students to assist them in their pursuit of higher education and introduce them to health careers. The programs place strong emphasis on the recruitment and development of African American health professionals in the state. SC AHEC Recruitment Programs provide grants for primary care physicians and scholarships for nurse practitioners, nurse midwives, and physician assistants who will commit to practice in underserved communities in South Carolina. The SC AHEC Recruitment Programs provide many other services statewide to recruit and retain primary care providers for areas of greatest need, including a locum tenens program. SC AHEC Continuing Education programs provide programs of lifelong learning for health professionals in allied health, dental medicine, nursing, and pharmacy. SC AHEC allied health education includes community-based educational experiences for students in health-related professions and occupational education for practitioners at or near their work site. MUSC undergraduate and graduate occupational therapy, physical therapy, and health services administration students have the opportunity to spend five weeks in the summer in a SC AHEC rural practicum. Physician assistant students are provided support for primary care clinical rotations. SC AHEC dental education links the MUSC College of Dental Medicine to dentists and their employees across the entire state. The program has developed a cooperative linkage with the major dental organizations in the state to co-sponsor lifelong learning courses. SC AHEC nursing education supports rural and primary care clinical rotations for undergraduate and graduate nursing students, provides continuing competency education for practicing nurses, and collaborates with agencies and organizations statewide to ensure effective nursing work force planning and development. The nursing education programs at Clemson, Medical University of South Carolina, South Carolina State University, and University of South Carolina-Columbia work closely with SC AHEC. SC AHEC pharmacy education supports rotations for South Carolina College of Pharmacy students (enrolled at MUSC and USC) in community settings. Pharmacy students participate in an SC AHEC Summer rural practicum. SC AHEC participates in supply and demand studies and analyses of needs for allied health professionals. In addition, the pharmacy residency program has interacted closely with the SC AHEC Family Practice Centers, which all employ a full-time Doctor of Pharmacy to assist in the residency training program. SC AHEC community-based education includes clinical rotations for University of South Carolina and Medical University of South Carolina medical students and residency training programs which emphasize primary care and place high value on rural outreach. Medical students benefit from the clinical rotations offered throughout the SC AHEC system. Rural outreach educational opportunities have been developed through SC AHEC residency programs and are now operating in multiple communities throughout the state. In support of these programs, SC AHEC has established the SC AHEC Information Services to assist health professionals in locating reference materials and instruct them in the use of reference software programs. Access to data through SC AHEC Information Services increases the quality of health care available in many of the underserved communities because practitioners may rapidly access reference materials. There are increasing opportunities to expand telecommunications capabilities in order to broaden SC AHEC’s capacity to provide cost-effective distance learning opportunities for health professionals and for students away from their home campuses. In recent years, SC AHEC has reaffirmed its commitment to primary care and focused on rural health issues to increase the availability of and access to health care, especially for underserved populations in the state. SC AHEC services are provided through cooperative relationships with eight teaching hospitals and other health care institutions. The four SC AHEC regions have offices in the following locations: Florence, Greenville, Lancaster, and Varnville. The central administrative office on the MUSC campus serves the statewide SC AHEC system.

Bioprinting Center (rev. date 1/07)
http://www.musc.edu/bioprinting/index.html

The MUSC Bioprinting Center relates to the tissue engineering focus of the statewide Center for Regenerative Medicine.  The concept and technologies of bioprinting (or organ printing) are developing rapidly. The basic concept involves using ‘tissue printers’ to print three-dimensional constructs that contain biomaterials, cells, and growth factors.  The entire process includes imaging the damaged tissue or organ with available techniques (CT or MRI), three-dimensional computer modeling, pre-processing or developing ‘blueprints’ for diseased tissues or organ defects, and processing or actual tissue or organ printing.  The printed constructs can then be implanted into the living body for tissue repair. The past five years have seen significant advances largely due to the emergence of computer-aided scaffold extruders and ink-jet tissue printers. The developing technology has enabled printing of bioabsorbable scaffolds and constructs containing living cells. At MUSC several research groups are working independently or collaboratively on three-dimensional modeling, bioprinting, and related work, including scientists in the Departments of Cell Biology & Anatomy, Orthopaedics, Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, and the joint Clemson-MUSC Bioengineering Program. The purpose of the MUSC Bioprinting Center is to bring together the existing expertise and resources at MUSC and other institutions in order to develop bioprinting technology to clinical use, specifically for bone defect repair.  The center will conduct computer tissue-modeling, construct-printing, pre-clinical animal testing, and eventually clinical trials.

Cardiovascular Translational Research Center (rev. date 10/07)
The leading cause of death in South Carolina and the U.S. is cardiovascular disease. Identifying the underlying mechanisms that contribute to this disease process has been an important basic research focus within several departments at MUSC for decades. The Cardiovascular Translational Research Center (CTRC) is designed to integrate these research efforts into a more comprehensive, collaborative entity and facilitate their translation into multidisciplinary approaches toward improvements in diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment. The focus is on developing viable methods, approaches, and therapeutic interventions that will directly address specific aspects of adult cardiovascular disease as it relates to cardiac dysfunction and heart failure. The CTRC has three major components: The Diagnostic Core is developing multi-analyte measurement systems that can be used to diagnose cardiac remodeling and failure.  The Prognostic Core is integrating the diagnostic protein signatures developed in the Diagnostic Core with measures of clinical outcomes to enhance the ability to accurately predict disease progression at the individual level. The Therapeutic Core has collaborative development efforts in two target areas: pharmacological interventions to modify heart failure progression and devices to treat manifestations of the disease process. Partners in the CTRC at MUSC include the Colleges of Medicine, Dental Medicine, and Nursing, with linkages to the South Carolina Hypertension Initiative and statewide clinical outreach networks and teams in general cardiology, heart transplantation, and acute cardiac response.

Center for Advanced Imaging Research (rev. date 09/07)
http://www.musc.edu/cair/
The Center for Advanced Imaging Research (CAIR) began MUSC in 1995 as a multidisciplinary collaboration of the Departments of Radiology, Neurology and Psychiatry. CAIR investigators are a diverse team of psychiatrists, neurologists, neuroscientists, mathematicians, radiologists, physicists, and research assistants who meet weekly to review progress on various research projects, share findings from the latest journal articles, and plan additional research projects. CAIR’s imaging equipment includes a Picker 1.5 Tesla MRI scanner, 2 Philips 1.5T MRI scanners, and a 3T Philips MRI scanner. CAIR has designated research space within the 3T MRI scanner suite (3000 ft2) and in Radiology near the 1.5T scanners. The 3T Philips Intera machine operates with a dual 50/50 mandate for research and clinical use, as delineated in the state-approved certificate of need. Research access is coordinated through the weekly CAIR meetings and a web-based signup system. The CAIR image analysis laboratory occupies 400 ft2 on the 3rd floor of the Medical University Hospital near the MRI scanners. A significant component of CAIR is the informatics management system, which consists of an integrated system of 10 SUN workstations surrounding a central Sun server, networked to Radiology as well as the various research sites in CAIR. A full-time informatics person manages the system, providing system design, trouble-shooting, and systematic backup. Software maintained for CAIR researchers includes: MEDx3.3/SPM99; Analyze AVW for volumetric analysis; Matlab, Mathematica and FEMLAB for image data analysis, mathematical modeling and simulation; AFNI, SPM2 and FSL for fMRI data analysis; and LCmodel for spectroscopy data processing.  As needed, CAIR provides consultation on secure image transfer and long-term image data storage and archiving. CAIR is an integral component of the South Carolina Brain Imaging Center of Economic Excellence, an inter-institutional center within the Health Sciences South Carolina (HSSC) consortium that fosters translational research on brain structure, function, and dysfunction throughout the State of South Carolina.

Center on Aging (rev. date 09/07)
http://www.musc.edu/aging/

Established in 1987, the MUSC Center on Aging serves as an umbrella for programs and services focused on aging and geriatric matters at MUSC, including translational research, professional education, and public outreach programs. The Center on Aging’s mission is to enhance the quality of life for older South Carolinians by fostering gerontology/geriatric research, outreach initiatives, and clinical/basic science education for health professionals in the state. The Center on Aging is at the forefront of a rapidly expanding focus on neurodegenerative disease at MUSC. Recruitment in this area includes new faculty with established research programs in stroke, Alzheimer’s disease, and amyloid processing, as well as newly independent scientists with additional lines of investigation in cognition, memory, and novel therapeutic targets. MUSC’s annual extramural funding related to aging and neurodegeneration has increased from $9 million in FY2001 to almost $27 million in FY2006, supporting a spectrum of basic, translational, clinical, health services, and community-based programs. To promote complementarity, achieve integration, and avoid duplication, the Center on Aging participates and interacts with faculty in all colleges and departments as well as other MUSC centers and programs, such as the Neuroscience Institute, the Department of Biostatistics, Bioinformatics & Epidemiology, and the Center for Advanced Brain Imaging. Major clinical and translational programs include the South Carolina Resource Center for Minority Aging Research (SC-RCMAR), the Data Coordinating Center for the National Parkinson’s Disease Cooperative Study, the statewide Geriatric Education Centers Program, and the National Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative in which MUSC participates as a Clinical Center. A basic science program project grant (P01 AG023630) focuses on dopaminergic alterations in the aging brain.  An important grant from The Duke Endowment focuses on integrating gerontology and geriatrics at all levels of the medical curriculum. In the summer of 2005, the Center on Aging was one of the funding organizations for the South Carolina Aging Research Network, SCARN. SCARN has representation from all the 6 South Carolina HSSC initiating institutions, meets monthly, and serves as the funnel for age-related proposals and initiatives to HSSC. In the summer of 2007, SCARN was awarded an initiation grant of $250,000 from HSSC to develop primary collaborative clinical programs, such as on Secondary Stroke Prevention and Vitamin D deficiency in elderly South Carolinians.

Center for Clinical Effectiveness and Patient Safety (rev. date. 09/07)
http://www.musc.edu/qn/
            The Center for Clinical Effectiveness and Patient Safety is an integral unit of the MUSC Medical Center. Its purpose is to provide proactive care management of all patients at MUSC, maximize clinical efficiency and effectiveness, enhance quality of care and patient safety and satisfaction, and ensure the financial success of the institution. The Center for Clinical Effectiveness and Patient Safety oversees all process and quality improvement initiatives, including but not limited to medical ethics, patient safety, risk management, infection control, and the quality network. In addition, the Medical Center is a member of the University Healthcare Consortium and participates in several national reference databases that make benchmarking data available for comparison and performance improvement activities. MUSC Medical Center's plan for quality assurance for patient care was approved with no contingencies in the JCAHO accreditation review. Multidisciplinary teams are involved in development of critical pathways for various patient groups.

Center for Drug and Alcohol Programs (CDAP) (rev. date. 09/07)
http://www.muschealth.com/cdap
The Center for Drug and Alcohol Programs, known as CDAP, is one of the nation’s premier academic centers for the study and treatment of alcohol and substance abuse. In 2006 and 2007, U.S. News and World Report recognized CDAP as being the 9th best drug and alcohol abuse academic program in the United States. CDAP is based in the Institute of Psychiatry (IOP) at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC). The Center provides the latest in effective treatment for addiction, while working to advance current knowledge about the treatment of substance abuse through basic and clinical research. It also serves as a state-of-the-art training center for future addictions scientists and clinicians. The center occupies 33,000 ft2 of dedicated space for research, education, and clinical treatment in the IOP. The Center administers a comprehensive and integrated clinical and basic laboratory research program. Ongoing educational and research colloquia involve both clinical and basic scientists. Facilities include a 23-bed, inpatient unit and an outpatient clinic located in West Ashley that provides treatment for patients suffering from addiction to alcohol or other drugs.  CDAP opened to the public on March 29, 1995. Construction funds were supplied by a $2.5 million grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and more than $4.0 million from the State of South Carolina. CDAP is organized as two major, inter-related divisions, Clinical and Research. As a clinical program, CDAP is one of the nation's premier facilities for the treatment of addictions resulting from alcohol and other drugs of abuse. CDAP has an outstanding staff, including psychiatrists who are among the best doctors in the country in the treatment of addictions. All treating physicians in CDAP have passed Addiction Medicine specialty boards as well as their General Psychiatry/Neurology boards. In addition, CDAP's clinical staff include other highly educated professionals, such as clinical psychologists, social workers, and addiction counselors, all with at least a master's degree. All of these individuals have received specialized training or certification in the addiction field. CDAP staff have specialized training to assess and treat co-existing psychological problems in the context of substance abuse treatment. This emphasis on staff training and education, including passing national specialty exams in Addiction Medicine, is one of the special features of CDAP that sets it apart from most other treatment facilities.  As a research organization, CDAP has an outstanding history of involvement in research to advance knowledge in substance use disorders. Some of the most well-known and respected leaders in the field of alcohol and chemical dependency research are conducting studies at MUSC. CDAP researchers have numerous grants funded by the Federal government, primarily the National Institutes of Health, and to a lesser extent, foundation or private enterprises (e.g., pharmaceutical companies). Examples of interdisciplinary topics under study are cravings for alcohol or cocaine, treatment of withdrawal symptoms, characterization of the alcohol withdrawal phenomenon, relapse prevention using new medications, maintaining abstinence from cocaine, treatment of co-existing psychiatric disorders (e.g., social anxiety, depression, bipolar disorders) in conjunction with substance use, new medications for smoking and nicotine dependence, cellular and animal research on how abused substances affect the brain, and biological markers of heavy alcohol use. In addition, CDAP has enhanced its brain neuroimaging infrastructure and initiated collaborative efforts in the study of genetics and alcoholism. Interdisciplinary collaborations on substance abuse research are ongoing among faculty at CDAP and those in the Department of Neurosciences, Department of Neurology, Department of Radiology and the Department of Biostatistics, Bioinformatics & Epidemiology. CDAP investigators collaborate with colleagues at the best academic institutions around the country in such projects as the multi-site NIAAA-supported COMBINE study, investigating the efficacy of combined pharmacotherapies and behavioral counseling. CDAP also holds NIH-funded institutional training grants from both NIDA (drug abuse) and NIAAA (alcohol) that offer individuals advanced training in research related to addiction. The goal of Alcohol and Substance Abuse Postdoctoral Research Fellowships is to produce scientists knowledgeable in the field of substance abuse to conduct independent substance abuse research. The fellowships use a multidisciplinary mentor-apprenticeship model and training is complemented by seminars on substance abuse, the neurosciences, grant writing, statistics, ethics, and exposure to treatment strategies.

The cornerstone of CDAP is the Charleston Alcohol Research Center (ARC), which is supported by a P50 grant from the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) and is one of 18 centers nationwide that constitute the National Alcohol Research Centers Program. ARC focuses on pharmacotherapy and comorbidity for alcohol abuse and alcoholism. The center's research projects focus on alcohol treatment and treatment implications. The treatment research theme has its foundation in advances achieved by complementing clinical research with basic research in behavioral science. There are five interdisciplinary research components and three core components within the Charleston Alcohol Research Center. For more information on the Alcohol Research Center, visit the website at http://www.musc.edu/arc.

Center for Gene, Cell and Vaccine Therapy (rev date 09/07)
The purpose of the MUSC Center for Gene, Cell and Vaccine Therapy is to provide a basic-preclinical-translational structure that supports the transition of laboratory-based investigation to preclinical Phase I research in humans. In the long term, the Center is expected to achieve national prominence in gene and vaccine therapy and develop an organizational structure for faculty achievement and expanded opportunity to compete for NIH research funds and industry support. Areas of scientific endeavor include cancer gene therapy with viral-based vectors, cancer therapies making use of immune cells, vaccine technologies to enhance innate and adaptive immune systems, and immunotherapies against infectious diseases. The Center utilizes a variety of existing resources, including the Hollings Cancer Center Cell Sorting Facility and Viral Vector Core Facility, and facilitates the development of new ones, such as the Clean Room Facility to support cell isolation and processing and vaccine development and a BSL-3 laboratory with an adjoining BSL-3 animal holding area. The Center allows for joint venture relationships with biotech companies and provides better access to the National Gene Vector Laboratories. A current objective is developing a resource to help basic scientists and participating physicians to translate their data into IND applications as investigator-initiated Phase I clinical trials.

Center for Health Disparities Research (rev date 09/07)
http://healthdisparities.musc.edu/chdr/
The Center for Health Disparities Research brings together a multidisciplinary team of researchers to focus on three areas of significant health care disparities: race/ethnicity, socioeconomic position, and gender. The overall mission is to foster an environment of collaborative research to improve understanding of the multiple factors that perpetuate health care disparities and develop effective interventions. Specific research activities focus on chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, hypertension, cancer, connective tissue diseases and mental health disorders. The team includes more than 30 physicians and scientists from multiple MUSC departments and colleges who are experts in various research fields relevant to health disparities, such as clinical epidemiology, health services, behavioral research, interventions research, community-based participatory research, basic sciences/clinical genetics research, and biostatistics. CHDR houses two well-established research training programs: (1) The General Academic Fellowship Program, supported by the Health Services and Resources Administration (HRSA), is designed to prepare graduates of general pediatric and general internal medicine residencies for productive academic careers. (2) The National Research Service Award Fellowship Program in Health Services Research, supported by the Agency for Healthcare Quality and Research (AHRQ), is designed to prepare physicians, postdoctoral nurses, and pharmacists to become independent investigators in health services research. The Center provides leadership for a VA-supported Targeted Research Enhancement Programs (TREP) focused on racial disparities in health care; it is one of only six TREPs in the nation. CHDR has ~2800 ft2 of administrative space on the 2nd floor of Rutledge Tower and access to at least 10 patient examination rooms, waiting room, and general laboratory on the 10th floor of Rutledge Tower. The Center has established a data server and storage system, and has access to 5.5 terabytes with the capacity to store and retrieve health research data and make it available in a user-friendly format to clinical and translational researchers across campus.  A biostatistician and data manager provide statistical and data management support for CHDR-related research activities. Faculty-level health services researchers at the center are available to assist and advise other investigators and trainees in conducting research and analyzing data on health disparities. CHDR has developed significant ties with under-represented minority groups and under-served populations and has access to unique resources to facilitate health disparities research. The Center also has an open call for the CHDR Pilot Project Program each year, providing intramural seed funding for one-year projects to be conducted by graduate or postgraduate students, fellows or junior faculty members.  Pilot studies are expected to serve as vehicles to generate preliminary data to support competitive grant applications.  As part of the CHDR community outreach program, the Center hosts three or more minority undergraduate or health professional students who conduct mentored summer research projects at MUSC.  In 2006 the Center co-sponsored the AME World Conference of Health Liaisons in Charleston. CHDR is implementing an annual Health Disparities Research Day at MUSC in June 2007, to foster collaborative research and facilitate dissemination of innovative research approaches and findings.

Center for Health Economics and Policy Studies (rev date 09/07)
http://www.musc.edu/cheps  
The mission of the Center for Health Economic and Policy Studies (CHEPS) is to: 1) conduct extramurally funded research in diverse areas of health economics; 2) enhance research conducted at MUSC and elsewhere with high quality expertise in health economics and health econometrics; and 3) promote dissemination of new research findings to the broadest possible audience. The CHEPS team has extensive research experience and expertise in the areas of health economics, health care finance, health care accounting, and general health services research. For FY2007, CHEPS team members were principal investigators on grant awards totaling $10.2 million in extramural support, and served as co-investigators on an additional $41.5 million in funded research at MUSC, providing essential components to the success of those efforts.  CHEPS faculty published (or have forthcoming) more than 70 articles in peer-reviewed journals, books, and proceedings. The Center also has a Working Paper Series with more than 60 papers available through its website. The capacities of CHEPS are extended by cooperative agreements with partners, such as Carolina Medical Review (the South Carolina Peer Review Organization) and the South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. CHEPS maintains an active library of local and nationally representative data. Through agreements with the MUSC Survey Research Unit, CHEPS can assist in conducting primary data collection, designing databases, and archiving and analyzing data for projects that have significant health economic or health services components. CHEPS team members provide various forms of pro bono assistance for new research initiatives, including design of supplementary economic and econometric analyses. The Center provides a monthly Research Luncheon and biweekly Seminar Series on applied health economics, and offers special seminars and workshops targeted to the needs of audiences at various levels of training and tailored to the specific needs of any group. CHEPS hosts a quarterly symposium featuring national and international research leaders who are engaged at the intersection of clinical and economic research. In the spring of 2006, the Center hosted the annual American Health Economics Conference, and continues to serve as the primary coordinating organization for the Southwestern Health Economics Study Group Annual Conference. CHEPS occupies about 3,000 ft2 in the College of Health Professions, with access to three conference rooms and a library in the Department of Health Administration and Policy on the same floor. Each CHEPS investigator has a networked computer and the following types of software:  SAS, relational database management, graphics, word processing, mapping, and presentation. Faculty use SAS, SPSS, and SUDAAN, for statistical analysis, and LIMDEP and Stata for econometric analysis, and has full access to university computing resources for large-scale analyses and storage, as needed.

Center for Medication Safety (rev date 10/07)
http://centerformedicationsafety.org/
Medication safety awareness and prevention of adverse drug reactions are critical problems for certain populations, including children and elderly people. For example, as the population ages and longevity increases and the number of drugs taken by an individual grows, the potential for adverse drug effects is amplified, whether the medication is prescribed, over-the-counter, or supplemental (herbal). Children may respond unpredictably or unfavorably to a medication. Many drugs are not routinely tested in children or the elderly, yielding insufficient clinical data for identifying, treating, and preventing adverse drug effects in these two populations. Adverse drug effects may stem from idiosyncratic reactions to drugs, genetic susceptibilities, chronic illnesses, changes or insufficiencies in organ systems, and situations exacerbated by multiple medication regimes. They also may be caused by drug errors, such as taking unnecessary multiple doses of a drug or taking the wrong drug or receiving the wrong formulation or dosage. Adverse drug effects are a major cause of morbidity and mortality. They are the most common cause of iatrogenic illness, complicating up to 15% of therapeutic regimens and accounting for up to 100,000 deaths in the US alone. The Center for Medication Safety employs a three-armed approach (epidemiology, basic science, and education/outreach), using cross-disciplinary mechanisms and drawing upon existing strengths at MUSC and throughout the state. The Pharmacoepidemiologic and Pharmacoeconomics Research Unit focuses on identifying adverse drug effects and medication errors that occur through the use of prescription and non-prescription drugs and supplements, particularly in pediatric and elderly populations. The Pharmacogenomics Research Unit organizes research to identify mechanisms of adverse drug effects including mechanisms of iatrogenic effects, the role of pharmacogenomics, and the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of drugs and supplements. The Education and Outreach Unit’s role is to organize and disseminate past, current, and new research to prevent adverse drug effects, increase drug safety competency, and decrease medication errors through education of healthcare professionals and the public.

Center for Oral Health Research (rev date 01/07)
http://oralhealth.musc.edu/research_program/focus/focus.htm

The purpose of the Center for Oral Health Research (COHR)is to develop and sustain a nationally competitive, prominent interdisciplinary research program in oral and craniofacial health that directly benefits the oral and craniofacial health care needs of the citizens of South Carolina. The core objectives are to: (1) fully integrate the research infrastructure in the College of Dental Medicine with relevant research resources in other MUSC colleges, and (2) coordinate the training and mentoring of research faculty and development of multidisciplinary research programs in oral health with complementary programs that address the university’s strategic research strengths and priorities.  Major themes concern clinical studies focused on the relationship of oral and systemic health; oral and head and neck cancer from clinical, translational and basic biomedical perspectives; and basic science investigations in a broad range of areas including oral infectious diseases and immunology, craniofacial growth and development, proteomics, bioengineering and regenerative medicine, and oral and head and neck cancers. COHR builds on resources provided by the SC Center of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) for Oral Health (a 10-year NIH grant from the National Center for Research Resources, an Oral Health Research Infrastructure grant from the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR), and a recently funded NIDCR Comprehensive Research Training Grant in Oral and Craniofacial Health that supports the dual degree DMD/PhD program, summer research training experiences for dental students, and postdoctoral research opportunities in basic, clinical or translational aspects of oral/craniofacial health. The Center for Oral Health Research promotes collaboration with other MUSC centers, notably the Hollings Cancer Center, Center on Aging (chronic health problems, relationships between oral and systemic disease), Center for Regenerative Medicine, Center for Research on Health Disparities, Multidisciplinary Clinical Research Center for Rheumatic Diseases in African Americans, Proteomics Center, and General Clinical Research Center.

Center for Regenerative Medicine (rev date 10/07)

Center for Structural Biology (rev date 10/07)
http://www.musc.edu/sbc/sb%20center.shtml
The objectives of the Center for Structural Biology are to: 1) integrate and consolidate X-ray crystallography and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) operations, 2) provide facilities for protein production and biophysical characterization of proteins, and 3) enhance capacity for crystallization robotics and state-of-the computing facilities. This center has three main units:  a Protein Production Laboratory, NMR Facility, and X-ray Crystallography Facility. The Protein Production Lab serves investigators at MUSC in producing proteins of interest on a large scale and, if desired, to characterizing their biophysical properties by circular dichroism and dynamic light scattering. The laboratory is fully equipped for molecular biology, protein expression, protein purification, crystallization and the biophysical characterization of proteins. The NMR Facility contains two instruments, an Inova 400 and Avance II 600. The current configuration facilitates operations in a four-channel setup. Access is also provided to Avance 800 and Avance 700 instruments housed in a purpose-built facility at the Hollings Marine Laboratory at Fort Johnson and managed by MUSC as part of a local consortium of state and federal agencies. The X-ray Crystallography Facility has three state-of-the-art components for determining the crystal structure of proteins:  X-ray diffraction, crystallization, and molecular graphics. MUSC’s membership in SER-CAT, a consortium of universities and institutions, guarantees access to synchrotron beam lines at the Advanced Photon Source of Argonne National Laboratory in Illinois. Robotics on both ends (Argonne and MUSC) permit remote access for mounting crystals on the beam line.

Clinical Trials Center (rev date 09/07)
http://www.ctc.musc.edu/index.html
The Clinical Trials Center (CTC) is located on the 2nd floor Clinical Science Building within the Research Support Center. Space and staff are shared with the General Clinical Research Center (see below), making both programs more cost efficient. The CTC is designed to reduce costs and help investigators address regulatory requirements for conducting industry-initiated clinical studies, while maintaining patient safety and meeting all Federal standards for implementing clinical research. The CTC meets all the required JCAHO standards. Resources and services include: examination rooms, nursing services, nutrition services, clinical and molecular lab services, DEXA scanning, biostatistics, informatics services, and subject scheduling and registration. Resources are available on a ’fee for service‘ basis.

Cystic Fibrosis Center (rev date 10/07)
http://www.musc.edu/cfcenter/
The MUSC Cystic Fibrosis (CF) Center was established in 1958 to provide statewide services in the management of cystic fibrosis. Today it is a fully developed, multi-disciplinary center providing clinical care, education, and research opportunities. The objectives are to provide unsurpassed care to patients with cystic fibrosis, teach medical students, house staff, medical care providers and general public about cystic fibrosis, and advance understanding and treatment of cystic fibrosis through clinical and laboratory research. The MUSC Center has a national reputation as a leader in the transition of patients from a pediatric to an adult program. The core components of the Center consist of comprehensive multi-disciplinary medical care, CF-related education, collaborative research, and community service. The MUSC CF Center uses outpatient clinics in Rutledge Tower and admits patients to the MUSC Children’s Hospital or the Medical University Hospital, as needed. Offices and research laboratories are housed in appropriate departments and research facilities, including the Children’s Research Institute.

Digestive Disease Center (rev date 10/07)
http://www.ddc.musc.edu/
The Digestive Disease Center (DDC), a collaborative venture between the College of Medicine’s Departments of Medicine, Surgery and Radiology, is a multidisciplinary entity comprising all MUSC faculty involved in the management, investigation and teaching of digestive health problems. It is an autonomous organization within the College of Medicine responsible primarily to the Dean, and was recognized as an administrative unit by the South Carolina Commission on Higher Education in 1997. The DDC is consistently ranked by U.S. News and World Report among the nation’s best places for digestive health care. Housing an administrative office core, research space and joint medical-surgical areas, the DDC has outreach sites at the Ralph H. Johnson Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center as well as MUSC ambulatory care sites.  DDC faculty includes gastroenterologists, hepatologists, gastrointestinal and oncological surgeons, imaging and interventional radiologists, pathologists, and outcome researchers. These specialists share office and clinical areas, providing an environment that is friendly to patients and conducive to collaboration in discovery and teaching. DDC research focuses on technology development, evaluation of methods for investigation and treatment, and outcomes. Research facilities include a computer network and informatics laboratory and a technical research laboratory located in the Thurmond Biomedical Research Building. Close association with the research and development divisions of U.S. and multinational instrument manufacturers fuels the production of prototype instruments and accessories that are made available for initial testing within the DDC. New concepts of diagnosis and treatment generate ideas for commercial development. The transfer of technologies from other specialties is also facilitated. Equipment is tested on the bench and in models. When appropriate, new techniques and equipment are brought to clinical trial. The DDC emphasizes performance improvement and clinical research studies. Close associations with the Department of Biostatistics, Bioinformatics & Epidemiology, Clinical Trials Unit, and the Hollings Cancer Center have generated numerous projects. In addition to traditional outcome parameters (success rates and morbidity), studies involve important issues such as quality of life, health care utilization, and patient satisfaction. The multidisciplinary nature of the DDC is particularly pertinent to the comparison of “competing” techniques.

Family Services Research Center (rev date 02/07)
http://www.musc.edu/psychiatry/research/fsrc/abt_fsrc.htm

The overarching purpose of the Family Services Research Center (FSRC), established in 1992, is to increase the effectiveness of the state and nation's mental health and substance abuse services for children, adolescents, and their families. The primary strategy to further this purpose is rigorous research on the development, validation, and dissemination of clinically effective and cost effective mental health and substance abuse services for youths presenting serious clinical problems and their families. FSRC projects have included numerous community-based randomized trials with challenging clinical populations (e.g., violent and chronic juvenile offenders, youths presenting psychiatric emergencies, substance abusing juvenile offenders, maltreating families). Dissemination studies for multisystemic therapy and other evidence-based treatments are being conducted in multiple states and nations. The FSRC has received the Annie E. Casey Families Count Award as well as the Points of Light Foundation President's Award in recognition of excellence in community service directed at solving community problems.The Family Services Research Center (FSRC) in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at MUSC currently has more than 40 full time employees, including 10 who are doctorally prepared. The FSRC has approximately $10 million per year in federal research grants and training, consultation, and/or policy contracts.

General Clinical Research Center (GCRC) (rev. date 01/07)
http://www.gcrc.musc.edu/index.shtml

General Clinical Research Centers (GCRCs) are specialized, JCAHO-accredited patient units that facilitate patient-oriented research for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and provide medical scientists with critical resources to advance understanding human diseases and enhance therapeutic interventions. The National Center for Research Resources of the NIH supports approximately 75 GCRCs in U.S. medical institutions. MUSC's GCRC has had NIH support since 1977. The primary purpose of the GCRC is to support investigator-initiated, peer-reviewed, clinical research projects within the institution as well as pilot studies that may lead to future NIH or other sources of peer-reviewed clinical research grant support.All faculty members, residents, postgraduate fellows, medical students and nurses at MUSC may utilize the GCRC. The Dean of the College of Medicine (J.G. Reves, MD) serves as Principal Investigator of the GCRC. Kathleen Brady, MD, PhD, Professor of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Director of the Clinical Neurosciences Division and Director of the Women’s Research Center, serves as Program Director. An Advisory Committee composed of health professionals from a broad spectrum of disciplines and clinical specialties reviews research protocols and helps allocate GCRC resources to support approved studies. For inpatient studies, the GCRC utilizes “scatter-beds” on the service best suited to the needs of the study, including the Institute of Psychiatry and the MUSC Children’s Hospital. Specialized clinical research staff includes experienced nursing, dietary, computing, biostatistical, and administrative personnel. GCRC facilities and resources include a 9,200 ft2 clinical unit with 8 examination rooms, 3 procedure rooms, a dental suite, and a bone densitometry suite. Nutritional services support investigations involving dietary interventions, nutritional supplementation, energy balance, metabolic disorders, or testing of therapeutic strategies to address the obesity epidemic. Biostatistical, data management, and bioinformatics cores give clinical investigators ready access to expertise in these special areas. A blood drawing station and sample preparation laboratory ensure expert sample handling and processing. A specialized molecular core laboratory provides services and expertise to support studies requiring basic molecular biology (e.g., DNA sequencing) as well as population-based studies (e.g., d-HPLC screening). The core lab includes a PhD-level molecular biologist to help investigators incorporate molecular techniques in their investigations. A specialized cell isolation laboratory within the GCRC is in the process of being validated and certified by the FDA to support isolation and processing functions for pancreatic islet cells, hematopoietic stem cell and progenitor cells, dendritic cell generation, and tumor vaccine preparation. The GCRC also serves as a site for clinical research training and pilot study implementation. Staff and faculty members participate in clinical research training programs and clinical practicums in the center. Designated staff members assist with protocol development, completion of regulatory documents, and subject recruitment.
[For a description of the GCRC Dental Resource, please see information under the header of College of Dental Medicine.]

Heart and Vascular Center (rev date 10/07)
http://www.muschealth.com/heart/
MUSC Heart & Vascular Center offers a complete range of cardiovascular services with subspecialty services in: Interventional Cardiology, Electrophysiology (arrhythmias), Cardiac Imaging, Congestive Heart Failure, Heart Transplantation, Cardiac Surgery, Vascular Services, Interventional Radiology and Pediatric Cardiology. The expert staff includes a highly specialized surgical team whose experience ranges from valve replacements and coronary bypasses to aortic aneurysms and heart transplants. MUSC performed South Carolina's first heart transplant in 1987 and remains the only comprehensive transplant center in the state. The center offers the most advanced heart and vascular imaging equipment, including a 64 slice CT. The center has one of the most sophisticated programs in the country for the treatment of patients with cardiac arrhythmias, including ablation of atrial fibrillation and magnetically driven catheters for pacemaker or ablation applications. Additionally, MUSC Heart & Vascular Center offers the full spectrum of detection, monitoring and therapies for circulatory disorders, including arteriosclerosis, aneurysm, carotid stenosis, and advanced venous disorders.  An integrated multidisciplinary approach is used for imaging, endovascular and surgical treatment of these disorders.

Hollings Cancer Center (rev date 6/08)
http://hcc.musc.edu/
The Hollings Cancer Center (HCC) is the focus of cancer care and research activities at MUSC across all six colleges (Medicine, Pharmacy, Dental Medicine, Nursing, Graduate Studies and Health Professions). The HCC opened its first 86,000 ft² facility in 1993. Since that time clinical volume has grown from 15,000 patient visits per year to more than 80,000 in FY2008 and cancer research extramural funding has more than tripled to $31.2 million with two-thirds from the National Institutes of Health. To accommodate the expanding clinical activities and provide additional space for the growth of basic and translational research, MUSC built a 7-story tower annex to HCC in 2006, bringing total dedicated MUSC cancer space to more than 200,000 ft² (including 98,000 ft² of research laboratories and animal facilities).  In addition, cancer clinicians and investigators utilize substantial facilities for interdisciplinary research, training and patient care across the campus and at the nearby Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center. The goals of the Hollings Cancer Center are to: 1) create an environment where cancer research will be fostered from basic concept to clinical/community intervention; 2) develop epidemiologic, environmental, and behavioral research to reduce the cancer burden and disparities in a rural, underserved population; 3) train the next generation of basic clinical and prevention researchers; 4) lead the coordination of state-wide efforts in research, education and clinical care; and 5) obtain National Cancer Institute (NCI) designation. Toward these goals, the HCC has committed significant resources to: 1) recruiting and supporting basic and clinical investigators who can obtain and maintain investigator-initiated research grants from the NCI; 2) developing shared research resources to provide access to critical instrumentation and technologies; and 3) enhancing laboratory and other types of space dedicated to cancer-related activities. HCC research membership includes more than 97 faculty researchers representing 23 departments in multiple colleges. Formal research programs include Lipid Signaling in Cancer, Cancer Genes & Molecular Regulation, Developmental Cancer Therapeutics, Cancer Immunology and Cancer Prevention & Control. Future recruitments will be housed in two new buildings, the Drug Discovery Building and the Cancer Genomics and Bioengineering Building, to be completed in 2010 and 2011 respectively. HCC supports a robust array of shared research resources including: Biostatistics, Clinical Trials, Flow Cytometry and Cell Sorting, Lipidomics, Cell and Molecular Imaging, Cancer Biorepository, Cancer Proteomics, Animal Models (including gene knockout/knockin mouse services, transgenic mouse services, xenografts, animal carcinogenesis, and a range of small animal imaging technologies), Drug Discovery/Screening, Cellular Therapy/Immunology Monitoring, and Drug Metabolism and Clinical Pharmacology. 

Hollings Marine Laboratory (rev. date 01/07)
http://www.hml.noaa.gov/

The Hollings Marine Laboratory (HML) is a 78,000 ft2 research facility located at Fort Johnson, a 15-minute drive from MUSC’s main campus. HML is a collaborative effort among five governmental agencies and universities – the National Ocean Service (NOS, a division of NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR), MUSC’s Marine Biomedicine and Environmental Sciences Center (MBES), and the Grice Marine Laboratory of the College of Charleston.  This $46 million marine laboratory is an advanced facility to support interdisciplinary approaches to investigating the health of the marine environment and its relationship to human health. Research foci include marine genomics, eco-toxicology, analytical chemistry, marine animal health, coral diseases, marine natural products, environmental microbiology, and integrated marine ecosystem assessments. Specialized facilities include a Genomics Core including state-of-the-art robotics for production of microarrays, a Bioassay Facility, a Microbiology Core with BSL2+ and BSL3 laboratories, Tissue Culture Facilites, an Environmental Chemistry Core, and a Structural Chemistry Core that includes includes a state-of-the-art Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Facility with 800 MHz and 700 MHz instruments. These core activities are supported by marine environmental challenge rooms for experiments with isolated organisms under controlled environmental conditions, aquatic production facilities for large scale production of marine organisms for laboratory use, and cryogenic specimen banks where animal tissues from around the world are held in liquid nitrogen tanks as a repository for studying contaminant loads and biochemistry. MUSC’s Marine Biomedicine and Environmental Sciences Center is an active participant in HML (see http://www.musc.edu/mbes.home.htm) through support of individual faculty and research groups and a robust doctoral training program with 25 students currently enrolled.

The Hollings Marine Laboratory and its federal, state and academic partners host one of the nation’s three National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Centers of Excellence for Oceans and Human Health. Here basic, applied and medical researchers work collaboratively to address major problems facing the health of the nation’s coastal waters and the residents who live in or visit the coastal zones.  The NOAA Center focuses on new technologies relevant to estuarine and near coastal environments where human-environment interactions are numerous and severe. The center includes six scientific core activities: Environmental Chemistry, Ecotoxicology and Aquatic Production, Specimen Banking and Quality Assurance, Marine Microbiology, Marine Genomics, and Monitoring and Assessment.  Center scientists are engaged in five long-term research projects to: (1) characterize the input and bioeffects of pharmaceuticals and other emerging contaminants; (2) develop novel technologies to detect and track human pathogens in estuarine and coastal waters and biota; (3) evaluate genomics technology as a tool for reliably assessing the health status of key estuarine organisms and their responses to multiple stressors (natural and anthropogenic), including disease; (4) evaluate factors and mechanisms that influence the degree to which marine organisms are vectors for disease pathogens; and (5) evaluate risks and benefits to humans associated with farmed versus wild seafood products.  In addition, the Monitoring and Assessment Core conducts field validation studies that demonstrate the public health value of – and provide an ecosystem context for – the findings and technologies developed by the specific research projects, while at the same time conducting a regional assessment of the ecological status of critical nursery habitats. This core is also responsible for the framework for forecasting environmental and human health risks across estuarine habitats, watersheds and regions to build national capacity for designing and implementing future estuarine monitoring and assessment programs, including early warning indicators of threat to public, organism, or ecosystem health.

Murray Center for Research on Parkinson’s Disease and Related Disorders (rev date 01/07)
The William Edwards Murray Center for Research on Parkinson’s Disease and Related Disorders was formally dedicated in June 2003. It is administered through the Department of Neurosciences and the Center on Aging and can be characterized as a multidisciplinary research center with a translational approach, focusing on movement disorders. Major components include the Parkinson’s Outreach and Education Program, Autonomic Function Laboratory, and Cognitive Testing Laboratory. As the research branch of the MUSC Movement Disorders Program, this center’s mission is to find the causes of Parkinson’s disease and related disorders, create new treatments, and ultimately find a way to detect and prevent the illness before symptoms develop.  The center is a member of the Parkinson’s Disease Study Group, a national consortium of university-based movement disorder clinical centers, and participates in the NINDS Consortium for Neuroprotection (www.parkinsontrial.org) as a Parkinson’s Disease Clinical Trial Center as a Parkinson’s Disease Clinical Trial Center.  MUSC also serves as the Statistical Coordinating Center for the NINDS national network of clinical centers, and has developed new mathematical models to help demonstrate efficacy more rapidly and with smaller numbers of patients. With regard to education and outreach, the Murray Center, in partnership with the Parkinson’s Association of the Carolinas (PAC) (www.parkinsonassociation.org) has developed an outreach program for PD patients in North and South Carolina, as a direct result of the Parkinson Outreach and Education Training Project that was funded by the Fullerton Foundation in 2002.  In collaboration with the SC Geriatric Education Center, the AME Church, and WE MOVE, the Murray Center and PAC have also developed self-help resources for patients and families with movement disorders, featuring a comprehensive web-based and print program for the education of caregivers and primary care physicians in the recognition and care of Parkinson’s disease.  Basic mechanisms underlying PD and related disorders are the focus of neurophysiological, environmental, and genetic studies.  Center investigators are using functional brain imaging to see what areas of the brain are activated by simple motor tasks in normal and ill patients. They are also recording and analyzing physiological data from deep within the brain through placement of deep brain stimulators in patients with parkinsonism and dystonia in order to understand how abnormally firing neurons can cause motor dysfunction. Deep brain stimulation and the functional neurosurgery program also provide the unique ability to study behavioral, cognitive and mood changes associated with PD.  Two current studies are examining the effects of subthalamic stimulation on frontal lobe function (e.g., working memory, impulse control, insight) and analyzing data from pallidotomies and deep brain stimulation to understand the physiological underpinnings of mood modulation. Another study is investigating the relationship between homocysteine levels and cognitive decline. Studies focusing on environmental and genetic factors in PD have demonstrated for the first time that low birth weight is associated with an increased risk of PD in biologically susceptible individuals, e.g., individuals with fewer dopamine cells at birth and/or who have been exposed to environmental toxins. The Murray Center has also initiated the first comprehensive statewide investigation of the occurrence of PD in African Americans.   

Neuroscience Institute (rev date 01/07)
http://www.musc.edu/neuroscienceinstitute/

Established in 2000 as a partnership of the Departments of Neurosciences and Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, the mission of the Neuroscience Institute is to create a nationally known center of neuroscience research, education and treatment by facilitating interdisciplinary collaboration in the MUSC neuroscience community. With members at MUSC as well as the University of South Carolina, Clemson University, and Greenwood Genetic Center, the Institute is a resource for anyone in the state with an interest in cutting-edge neuroscience. Recently, the Neuroscience Institute has worked with biomedical and biotechnology institutions in Georgia to establish the GA/SC Neuroscience Consortium to develop inter-institutional research programs. Major statewide educational activities include Brain Awareness Week and the Frontiers in Neuroscience Research Day in March each year. In addition, the Neuroscience Institute has established a Brain and Genetic Bank to provide researchers with resources to study neurological disorders at the translational level. The Institute’s focus is to bridge basic neuroscience disciplines with clinical neuroscience through multidisciplinary research in a number of areas, including stroke, spinal cord injury, neurodevelopment, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and addictive disorders.

Phenomics Center of South Carolina (rev date 10/07)
The Phenomics Center of South Carolina is intended to facilitate integration of research efforts at MUSC, South Carolina State University, the University of South Carolina, and Clemson University with the goal of understanding the complex phenotypic consequences of genetic effects at the level of the whole organism. The center receives support through a substantial grant from the National Science Foundation that will enable recruitment of five new tenure-track research faculty members and acquisition of high-resolution small animal magnetic resonance imaging instrumentation and accessories. The Phenomics Center is working in conjunction with the Department of Neurosciences and the Hollings Cancer Center to establish a comprehensive Animal Imaging Center at MUSC to provide imaging modalities to facilitate translational research.

Proteomics Center (rev. date 08/07)
http://proteomics.musc.edu/
Proteomics is the study of all the proteins produced in a living system from the information encoded in the genome. Availability of the complete genome for an organism sets the stage for the larger task of interpreting the biological significance of the information. Proteomics is key to this interpretation. The study of proteomics is expected ultimately to lead to understanding cellular function at the molecular level and how the functions go awry in pathogenesis, providing a basis for design of new diagnostics, interventions and medical therapies. The MUSC Proteomics Center serves as a focal point for proteomics research in the institution. The center’s mission is to promote and facilitate application of proteomic analysis to research, provide research training in proteomics methodologies, and advance technologies for proteomic analysis. MUSC has a range of funded activities in proteomics, the largest being the Cardiovascular Proteomics Center (CPC), a program for proteomics science and technology development funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of NIH. This program includes research project groups and core technology facilities with aims to develop new, generally applicable technologies for proteomic analysis and apply them to generate new discoveries in specific areas of cardiovascular research. These efforts employ a synergistic combination of contemporary two-dimensional gel electrophoresis in a high throughput facility, an extensive protein mass spectrometry facility, and state-of-the-art methods of biological systems analysis and machine learning. MUSC is also the administrative coordinating center for ten cardiovascular proteomics sites that comprise the NHLBI Proteomics Initiative.

Proteomics facilities and resources at MUSC include two-dimensional gel proteomics facilities, a well-established protein mass spectrometry (MS) facility, state-of-the-art methods of biological systems analysis, and machine learning capabilities. Major MS instrumentation includes two ThermoFinnigan LTQ ion trap MS (ITMS) instruments, a ThermoFinnigan LCQ ITMS, an ABI Mariner electrospray ionization an ABI Mariner electrospray ionization (ESI) time of flight (TOF) MS, ABI Voyager DE and STR matrix assisted laser desorption ionization (MALDI) TOF MS instruments, a Bruker Autoflex III MALDI-TOF, an ABI QSTAR quadrupole TOF, and ABI 4700 and 4800 TOF-TOF instruments. A Bruker Autoflex III TOF-TOF is dedicated to MS tissue imaging. Ancillary equipment includes an HPLC with each ESI instrument as well as stand-alone capillary HPLC instruments with two Probot MALDI plate spotters and a Sputter Laser Capillary Puller and Polartron Sputter Coater to make ESI emitters. Facilities are also available to produce monolithic columns by photopatterned in situ polymerization in capillaries and polymer microfluidic devices. A Packard Multiprobe II robot is available for in-gel digestions and plate spotting. Machine and electronic shops support the technical facilities. The Nephrology Gel Proteomics Facility, which serves as a core resource for Cardiovascular Proteomics Center, includes BioRad equipment for large and small format 2D gel separations, gel image analysis and spot picking, robotic in-gel digestions, and peptide mapping using a Micromass M@LDI MALDI-TOF MS. Pre-separation facilities include liquid phase isoelectric focusing (BioRad Rotofor), HPLC, and a continuous flow zone electrophoresis apparatus. The University Gel Proteomics Facility includes equipment for large and small format gel separations as well as multiple wavelength scanning capability. This facility offers ’DIGE’-type multiple fluorescent labeling capability. The Bioinformatics Core for the Proteomics Center includes a Hewlett Packard Proliant Series blade server with 16 dual processor 3.06 GHz CPUs, with 4 to 8 Gb RAM and up to 73 Gb mirrored hard disk per machine. Five Dell PowerEdge dual processor servers are maintained, each with at least 2 GHz CPU and 2 Gb RAM. BioRad PDQuest, GE Healthcare DeCyder, and Nonlinear Phoretix software packages as well as a locally developed XML-based data management system are available via this facility.

Resource Centers for Minority Aging Research (RCMAR) (rev date 01/07) (NOT FUNDED)
http://scrcmar.musc.edu/index.asp
In 1997, the National Institute on Aging (NIA) established the Resource Centers for Minority Aging Research (RCMAR) initiative as part of the effort to reduce health disparities between minority and non-minority older adults. The RCMAR mission is to decrease these disparities by:

• Increasing the number of researchers who focus on the health of minority elders.
• Enhancing diversity in the professional workforce by mentoring minority academic researchers for careers in minority elder health research.
• Improving recruitment and retention methods to enlist minority elders in studies so that research can accurately identify and work toward solutions to health disparities.
• Creating culturally sensitive measures that assess the health status of minority elders with greater precision, and increase the effectiveness of interventions to improve their health and well-being.

MUSC’s goal is to improve the process of health care delivery for older African Americans by addressing issues and interventions related to providers and provider/patient interactions. RCMAR investigators focus on developing measurement tools and testing recruitment/retention approaches needed to test interventions. The long-range RCMAR goals are to use the RCMAR research structure to develop interventions that will improve the health and well-being of diverse older populations in the State of South Carolina and reduce the health disparities experienced by them. Through its core resources and mentoring and outreach activities, the South Carolina RCMAR continues to:

• Maintain a mechanism for mentoring research careers focused on the health of older African Americans and Latinos.
• Enhance the cultural diversity of the workforce conducting research on the health of older African Americans and Latinos in South Carolina.
• Conduct research on and deploy strategies for recruiting and retaining African Americans in social, behavioral, economic, epidemiologic, and/or biomedical interventional research dealing with the health of the elderly.
• Facilitate innovative strategies to support enduring research careers in minority health and aging, and recruit established researchers to undertake research on minority health and aging.
• Improve the research methods and tools necessary to conduct rigorous and comparable research in diverse elder populations.
• Advance scientific knowledge leading to a decrease in health disparities.

Disseminate research results to scientific and nonscientific communities addressing the resolution of health disparities through the ultimate improvement of the health of older African Americans.

Storm Eye Institute (rev date 10/07)
http://www.muschealth.com/eyes/

S Storm Eye Institute (SEI), established in 1961, is the most comprehensive eye center in South Carolina. SEI offers a full range of educational, clinical and research services related to eye care. With 26 full-time clinical and research faculty representing every major subspecialty in ophthalmology, SEI is the state's only source of care for some of the most complex and unusual eye diseases and disorders. In addition, SEI serves as a major educational support unit for MUSC medical school students and for specialty training of interns, residents and fellows in ophthalmology. Furthermore, trainees in family medicine, internal medicine, and pediatrics receive education in the recognition and referral of eye conditions. SEI is a major eye research center, focusing on retinal cell biology, degenerative diseases of the retina, cataract and intraocular lens, glaucoma, infectious diseases and refractive surgery.

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