From social work to neuroscience, we take an interdisciplinary approach to addressing
key health issues in South Carolina, including cancer, heart disease and diabetes,
and work on ways people can make their own families and communities healthier.
Our researchers from the School of Public Health, School of Medicine Columbia and College of Social Work are investigating the everyday causes and prevention of chronic illnesses such as
diabetes and heart disease, as well as treatments. Our cancer research focuses on
prevention, screening and treatment for a variety of cancers as well as our College of Nursing work on racial disparities in cancer mortality and access to care. Our researchers
measure the effectiveness of our innovative telepsychiatry program, which brings 24-hour
emergency mental health treatment to all of South Carolina as a possible model for
future treatment.
Centers and Institutes
Here are just a few of our health sciences research centers and institutes. The Office of the Vice President for Research maintains a comprehensive list of university-wide centers and institutes.
The center is dedicated to alleviating the burden and suffering endured by South Carolinians
affected by breast cancer. The center’s researchers have a strong history and continuing
interest in cancer control from prevention to survival. A focus of the center is identifying
and intervening on factors that produce an unequal burden of suffering, particularly
among minority populations. Federally funded work by Sue Heiney and Swann Adams includes
behavior interventions for breast cancer prevention and survival, development of a
mammography screening registry in South Carolina and examining social connection in
African-American communities.
The Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine is one of the 11 national centers
of excellence funded by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine,
an institute of the National Institutes of Health. CAM is dedicated to understanding
the mechanisms by which various plant-derived products can be used as preventive or
therapeutic modalities in the treatment of inflammatory and autoimmune diseases.
The Center for Colon Cancer Research was originally established to provide new investigators
with guidance, financial support and front-line research technologies in their quest
for improved methods of prevention, diagnosis and treatment of colorectal cancer.
The Center for Colon Cancer Research encourages collaboration among investigators with
common interests across disciplines, from public health to microbiology.
A National Institutes of Health Center of Biomedical Research Excellence, the Center
for Dietary Supplements and Inflammation integrates faculty from six of the university's colleges to conduct research on the mechanism of regulation of inflammation by dietary
supplements during chronic inflammatory processes associated with cancer, obesity,
hypertension, diabetes, Alzheimer's and several other autoimmune diseases.
The Cancer Prevention and Control Program is dedicated to discovering the underlying
causes of cancer disparities in South Carolina — some of the largest disparities in
the world. The program addresses genetic, lifestyle-related and environmental causes
of cancer; screening for early detection and primary prevention of certain cancers;
access to care and cancer survivorship. Discoveries are shared with people and organizations
who are willing and able to make a difference in the fight against cancer.
The Disability Research and Dissemination Center supports a broad complement of scientists
throughout the United States who are pursuing fellowships and research projects in
the areas of birth defects, disability, health and prevention. Disability prevention
and intervention research administered by DRDC ranges from theoretical to applied
and includes numerous interdisciplinary teams and collaborations across specialties
and professions.
The mission of the institute is to eliminate health disparities through community,
academic and other strategic partnerships in South Carolina and beyond. The institute was created to enhance and facilitate the university’s public and provide
partnerships focused on improving the health status of communities locally, nationally
and globally.
