Presbyterian College Awarded $500,000 to Fund Biomedical Research

By: Presbyterian College Media

Presbyterian College is one of only 15 primarily undergraduate institutions in South Carolina to be awarded a grant supporting biomedical research.

The $500,000 award from the National Institutes of Health to the South Carolina IDeA Networks of Biomedical Research Excellence (SC INBRE) supports faculty and student research. The award lasts for five years.

“The resources this grant provides allow students and faculty to pursue projects they otherwise could not,” said biology professor Dr. Stuart Gordon.

The award will also fund a cold room in Lassiter Hall, the home of the biology department. The cold room will provide additional research space for students and faculty. The award also supports research supplies and stipends for students and faculty members.

More opportunities for student research

Only colleges and universities who are members of SC INBRE are eligible for the research awards. PC has been a member since 2015.

“INBRE has increased the number of research opportunities at PC,” Gordon said. “It offers tangible means for research to be genuinely valued and encouraged. As a result, the number of students and faculty participating in research has doubled.

“It has provided opportunities for faculty, and the students they mentor, to explore new areas of inquiry.”

A Focus on Biomedical Applications

Since PC has been a member of SC INBRE, three physics faculty members have focused more of their research on biomedical applications.

“They have, in turn, brought quantitative skills to PC’s INBRE program, and others have benefited from this,” Gordon said.

“INBRE funding has been critical to attracting new faculty members including three active researchers in biology, by providing resources for them to continue their research.

“PC’s membership in the SCINBRE network was instrumental to the establishment of the major in computational biology.”

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