RIMI Program

Infrastructure Components

Creation and Enhancement of Facilities for Biomedical Research

Through the support of the RIMI Program we now have a core of biomedical research   facilities of approximately 6,000 square feet located on the first and second floors of Alumni Hall.  The facility includes six individual research labs with connecting faculty offices and two smaller lab-office spaces.  Seven additional laboratories constitute common shared facilities available to all researchers.  These include a cold room, microscope room, radioisotope lab, tissue culture lab, molecular biology lab, darkroom, and equipment room.  These research facilities contain substantial state-of-the-art instrumentation.  An Animal Facility is located in the basement of Alumni Hall with ventilated cage racks and an automated cage washer. The existing Animal Facility was substantially upgraded including new heating/air conditioning (HVAC) unit, new humidity control, new ceiling, and additional tiling on the walls.

Identify and Employ New Highly Qualified Biomedical Scientists

We continue to hire biomedical scientists as new faculty members.  The most recent faculty member to be hired was Dr. Bassam Fraij.  His area of interest is cancer research, specifically human tissue transglutaminase isoforms.  He has extensive training in biology, biochemistry, protein chemistry, and molecular biology.  Dr. Fraij's research interests compliment the current core of research faculty that emphasizes reproductive biology. 

Faculty Development

To encourage faculty to develop competitive proposals a Faculty Development Workshop was offered by the RIMI External Evaluator, Dr. Akbar Aghajanian-Saba.  It was entitled, "Developing Proposals for Research, Academic Development, and Institutional Building."

Visiting Research Scientist Program

A Visiting Research Scientist Program has been established by the Office of Sponsored   Biomedical Research.  Presentations of three visiting scientists who recently met with faculty and students were:

Short Course in Endocrinology;  Dr. Richard Falvo, Department of Cell and Molecular Biology,  University of North Carolina Chapel Hill

Alligators, C. elegans and Whooping Cranes as Models for Genetic Risk and Genotoxicology;  Dr. Travis Glenn, Institute for Biological Research and  Training,  University of South Carolina, Columbia

RNAi Unlocking the Mystery of Gene Silencing;  Dr. Omar Bagasra, Center for Biotechnology, Claflin University

Develop Collaborative Research Projects Between Investigators at Benedict College and the University of South Carolina School of Medicine

Research: "Estrogen, Gene Expression, and Gonadal Development." Dr. George L. McCoy (Principal Investigator) and Dr. Charles A. Blake (Lead Scientist).

Research: "The Role of Estrogen in Luteal Function." Dr. Rush H. Oliver (Principal Investigator) and Dr. Holly A. LaVoie (Lead Scientist).

See RIMI Faculty Publications, Presentations and Grants page for more details.

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