For Immediate Release                                                            Monday, November 10, 2003 NIH Awards Benedict College $4.3 Million Dollars Enhanced Infrastructure and Collaborative Research Projects with USC The National Institute of Health (NIH) recently announced that Benedict College’s Program Project grant application entitled “Research Infrastructure at Benedict College” will be funded for $4,338,742 during a 5-year period.  The first year of support with a budget of $899,994 will start immediately.  Dr. David H. Swinton, President of Benedict College, is Principal Investigator on this Program Project grant. Dr. George L. McCoy is Program Director of the grant.  He reports directly to Dr. Swinton.  Dr. McCoy, Professor of Biological and Physical Sciences, is responsible for enacting the grant and a number of new programs he initiated in consultation with Dr. Swinton. A Program Project grant is a major large grant that contains a number of components.  Dr. McCoy arranged the grant into Cores.  The different cores are Administrative, Faculty, Research Support, Student Activities, Office of Sponsored Biomedical Research, and Collaborative Research. Funds are available to support a large number of diversified activities that are designed to increase the competitiveness of biomedical researchers at Benedict College and to enhance the educational experience of the College’s students in the life and physical sciences.  Some of the funds are earmarked to support the hiring of one new assistant professor and two postdoctoral associates to complement the research interests in reproductive biology of two recently hired assistant professors and more senior faculty members.  Biomedical researchers will occupy and utilize state-of-the-art faculty and core laboratory facilities.  Benedict College students will be trained by a senior lab manager in a centralized core facility to work in faculty member laboratories.  A Health Careers Advisor will monitor student laboratory experiences and organize and oversee tutoring of students in gateway science courses (such as organic chemistry) that form the basis for more advanced study and the formal training of students in preparation for taking the Graduate Record Examination and applying to graduate school.  An office of Sponsored Biomedical Research will be established, and a grants officer will assist in the application for extramural grants. The Program Project grant required association with a major research institution.  Dr. Charles A. Blake, Professor of Cell and Developmental Biology and Anatomy, at the USC School of Medicine assisted Dr. McCoy with the planning and writing of the grant. Dr. Blake is an internationally recognized expert in reproductive neuroendocrinology.  He and Dr. McCoy, whose research interests and expertise have centered on effects of environmental pollutants on reproduction, will continue their collaborative research projects between the two institutions.  The title of their subgrant is “Estrogen, Gene Expression, and Gonadal Development.” Their research compliments that of the second collaborative research project between the two institutions.  Dr. Holly A. LaVoie, Assistant Professor of Cell and Developmental Biology and Anatomy at the USC School of Medicine, is an expert on the molecular biology of the ovary.  She and Dr. Rush H. Oliver, Assistant Professor of Biological and Physical Sciences at Benedict College, will conduct collaborative research on “Role of Estrogen in Luteal Function.”  Dr. Oliver is nationally recognized for his research on the cell biology of the ovary. Dr. Blake will coordinate activities at the University of South Carolina with those at Benedict College.  Dr. Blake and Dr. Clarke F. Millette, a professor in the same department as Dr. Blake, have trained Benedict College students during the past 6 years.  This activity as well as the sharing of other activities and resources between the two schools will be continued. The Program Project grant will receive the advisory support of several faculty members and personnel at both Benedict College and the University of South Carolina.  In addition, Dr. Larry R. Faulkner, Vice President for Medical Affairs and Dean of the School of Medicine, has continued his support of collaborative research and grants between the two institutions. Dr. McCoy stated that this multi-million dollar award is expected to have a significant impact on Benedict College along three lines.  First, the research programs of faculty members in the sciences at Benedict College will benefit very positively, leading to further increases in research productivity and extramural funding.  Second, Benedict College students will benefit greatly from an enhanced educational experience in the sciences and training for postgraduate studies that will function to make them more competitive for matriculation into graduate programs in the biomedical sciences.  Third, the interactions between Benedict College and the University of South Carolina School of Medicine will have very positive effects on the research experiences and productivity of the two institutions. For more information, you may contact Dr. George McCoy, Professor and RIMI Program Director at 803-253-5282 or McCoyg@benedict.edu.