This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. Primary support for the subproject and the subproject's principal investigator may have been provided by other sources, including other NIH sources. The Total Cost listed for the subproject likely represents the estimated amount of Center infrastructure utilized by the subproject, not direct funding provided by the NCRR grant to the subproject or subproject staff. The University of South Carolina Beaufort (USCB) proposes to expand the USCB faculty to include expertise in biomedical fields necessary for training of premedical and other pre-professional students, and to develop a cluster of faculty whose research interests lie in the area of structural biology. The recent addition of pre-professional advisement to the USCB curriculum has stimulated intense interest among the students in pre-medical and pre-dental curricula. To meet these teaching needs, the faculty needs to be expanded to include more expertise in the areas of biochemistry and anatomy. In addition, the South Carolina Tissue Engineering Initiative will require students trained particularly in the area of structural biology. Having a group of faculty with similar interests will allow researchers to be optimally productive. Groups of faculty with similar interests a open the door to collaborative research, something that has particular value at an institution with a heavy teaching load. We propose to develop a cluster of faculty with interests in structural biology, to include the PI and two new hires, and to augment this cluster with a group of external advisors who will also act as mentors to the new hires. To develop a research program in structural biology, focused on tissue engineering, that will train students from diverse backgrounds in research theory and technique. While the new tenure-track faculty hires will be expected to develop independent research programs, they may also play a role in the SC Tissue Engineering initiative. Students from USCB will be recruited as research assistants, while students from the nearby Technical College of the Lowcountry will work in program laboratories as interns and research technicians. In order to provide the necessary infrastructure and environment for the new faculty and their students, USCB will establish an Imaging Core Facility, containing a laser scanning confocal microscope, a phase/fluorescence microscope, and inverted tissue culture microscopes. This facility will be available to all faculty in the department. In addition, a partnership with the Medical University of South Carolina will be implemented, allowing USCB faculty access to the world class imaging and structural analysis equipment at MUSC, including X-ray crystallography, NMR, protein purification and crystallization, electron microscopy, and histology. Students from USCB will be recruited to serve as research assistants in the laboratories of the new hires, and will be involved in all aspects of research, from experimental theory and design to publication of results, working side-by-side with their mentors in the daily conduction of experiments. In addition, USCB has established a connection with The Technical College of the Lowcountry (TCL), a small two year institution with campuses in close proximity to the north and south campuses of USCB. Students at TCL, even more than at USCB, come from impoverished homes, and from minority racial groups (48% minority students in 2008). In response to the growing need for a trained workforce in the biotechnology industry, TCL has recently begun a 2 year certificate program to train entry level technicians. The proposed partnership, which will establish internships for TCL students in the laboratories of USCB faculty, will result in a well trained biotechnology workforce in the Lowcountry. This partnership will be overseen at TCL by Dr. Joseph Bailey, the head of the biotechnology program. In addition to the proposed training program, USCB and TCL have formed several other partnerships and agreements that are relevant to this proposal. A new joint program has begun (PASSPORT) that allows students who apply to USCB but are lacking certain high school course requirements, who are otherwise qualified for admission, to attend TCL for one or two years to make up the coursework. These students are USCB students while at TCL, and are advised by USCB personnel. They switch to classes at USCB when the required courses are completed. In addition, TCL envisages establishing a 2 year Associate of Applied Science degree which could lead to an articulation with a 4 year university within South Carolina;TCL's proximity to USCB (the two Bluffton campuses are within one mile of each other) makes USCB an ideal partner for such an agreement. Since many of the minority applicants to USCB need a little additional help with coursework to be competitive for admission, these agreements are expected to enhance the ability of our local minority students to meet USCB requirements, and thereby increase the minority enrollment at the university. We anticipate that these agreements will also increase enrollment of minority students in USCB's STEM related degree programs, and increase the pool of minority students interested in working in the structural biology laboratories of this program.
Showing the most recent 10 out of 241 publications
