Two more centers OK'd
Prostate, medication centers gain approval
Two more Centers of Economic Excellence recently were approved by the program's board. The Center for Prostate Cancer Disparities Research and Center for Medication Safety and Efficacy bring the state's total number of centers to 44.
Also known as the state's endowed chair program, the Centers of Economic Excellence was created by the Legislature in 2002 to invigorate the state's economy and create high-paying jobs. The program uses education lottery funds, matched with federal money and private investments, to lure top professors to the state's research universities.
The program, which must be authorized annually by the Legislature, was vetoed by Gov. Mark Sanford in June. But the House and Senate overrode that veto with few detractors.
The annual appropriations for 2008-09, however, was reduced to $10 million from $30 million, according to the Office of State Budget. Currently, $190 million has been marked as match money for endowed chairs.
The Center for Prostate Cancer Disparities Research is a three-way collaboration among Medical University of South Carolina, University of South Carolina and South Carolina State University.
"African-American men develop prostate cancer at a rate three times the rate of white men," said Judith Salley, chairwoman of S.C. State's Department of Biological and Physical Sciences and co-director for the center.
S.C. State is connected to rural communities, where researchers hope to raise awareness of prostate cancer and encourage black men to participate in research, she said. "It's all about trust and lack of exposure," Salley said.
MUSC's Hollings Cancer Center will be the primary institution for the center. Marvella Ford, a researcher at Hollings and center co-director, said they will work to increase prostate cancer screening and access to clinical trials for black men in South Carolina. The center has been approved for $3.6 million in lottery funds.
Following approval, the next step for center organizers is to identify and recruit professors and raise money, which the program will match with lottery funds.
The Center for Medication Safety and Efficacy, which has been allotted $2 million in match funds, is a partnership between MUSC and USC. The center is designed to increase drug safety and decrease medication errors by identifying adverse reactions.
Dr. John Raymond, provost at MUSC, said that improved drug information could reduce health care costs in the state by 10 percent during the next decade.
Reach Jill Coley at 937-5719 or jcoley@postandcourier.com.
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