This award will provide funding for the renovation of space for the Biochemistry Department at the Medical University of South Carolina. Vacated space, located in the Basic Sciences Building, will be renovated into modern research laboratories and biochemical support units. Renovations will include asbestos abatement, improving the HVAC system and installing new casework and fume hoods to construct modern research laboratories, with accompanying shared biochemical support areas, and a transgenic animal facility. The project is the first step in the re-building of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology into a strong central core resource that will significantly enhance many diverse disciplines including genetics, physiology, kinetics, immunology, pharmacology, organic chemistry, and biophysics. The renovation will be a vehicle in recruiting a structure- function biochemist and other faculty with expertise in areas such as protein biochemistry, enzymology, crystallography, and micro-sequencing synthesis. Because of the fundamental nature of biochemistry as a discipline, the improved research infrastructure will impact researchers at all levels of education. The university's proactive participation in research training programs for postdocs, graduate students, undergraduates, and high school teachers and students will be augmented through the re-building of its biochemistry program.
