Federal Grant Supports Biomedical Research at CofC

Directors at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced a grant of more than $18 million to support biomedical research in South Carolina. The funds will benefit students and faculty at colleges and universities around the Palmetto State, including the College of Charleston.

Implementation of this grant will be supervised by the South Carolina IDeA Networks of Biomedical Research Excellence (SC-INBRE), a coalition of 14 universities and colleges across the state. This grant represents the fourth consecutive renewal of funds from the NIH to support biomedical work here, and means that the College will receive approximately $100,000 per year for the next five years.

According to Jim Deavor, chair of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry – and the CofC  campus director for SC-INBRE – this grant is a boon for students at the College.

“The NIH SC-INBRE program provides for approximately 15 students per year to perform cutting-edge biomedical research with CofC faulty for 10 weeks each summer,” he explains. “These students come from the departments of biology, chemistry, physics and psychology and are mentored by our faculty on projects that include biochemistry, biopolymers, microbiology, molecular biology and neuroscience.”

Deavor sees the grant as an important resource augmenting future opportunities for CofC students.

“With this training,” he says, “our students can be even better prepared for continuing on to graduate or medical school. In addition, many students end up presenting their findings at state, regional and national scientific conferences and have papers published in leading scientific journals.”

For additional information about the NIH grant, visit SC-INBRE online.