News and Events

Closing the Gap on Prostate Cancer in S.C.:
Center of Economic Excellence to address major health issue for African-Americans
USC, MUSC and SC State to partner on important new initiative

Columbia, SC—Prostate cancer screening and early detection can mean the difference between life and death for African-African men, who are more likely to get prostate cancer and die from it than men of other races, according to the American Cancer Society.

To address this problem, the board that oversees the state’s Centers of Economic Excellence (CoEE) Program has approved $3.6 million in S.C. Education Lottery funds for a new Center of Economic Excellence in Prostate Cancer Disparities Research. The Center is three-way collaboration among the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), the University of South Carolina (USC) and South Carolina State University (SCSU). This is the first CoEE for which SCSU has been a partner.

“The engagement of multiple universities, including a historically black university, makes this a true collaboration,” says USC Interim Vice President for Research Dr. Rose Booze. “South Carolina has great strength in health disparities research at all three participating institutions.”

According to MUSC Hollings Cancer Center (HCC) researcher Dr. Marvella Ford, project co-director for the CoEE, “The new Center will work to increase prostate cancer screenings and access to clinical trials for African-American men in South Carolina. It is designed to help make South Carolina a world-class leader in this emerging area of medical research and will serve as a training ground for students and junior faculty.” The Center will be housed on the MUSC campus. Working with Ford on the project are co-directors Dr. Saundra H. Glover from USC and Dr. Judith Salley from SCSU.

“Prostate cancer research is undergoing a period of intense growth, with the aim of reducing mortality due to this disease,” MUSC Provost Dr. John Raymond explains. “A major problem faced by prostate cancer researchers in this state is a lack of inclusion of African-Americans in the studies being conducted. Despite the fact that prostate cancer mortality rates in South Carolina are three times greater for African-Americans than for Caucasians, African-Americans are significantly underrepresented in clinical trials according to the HCC Cancer Registry. With this new Center, we will actively work to close the gap, so that all men in South Carolina are being screened and treated for prostate cancer.”

Renowned scientists will be recruited to fill three CoEE endowed chair positions at the Center. These scientists will conduct prostate cancer clinical trials at the Center and lead a team of junior researchers. Together, these researchers will look at aspects of obesity and lifestyle modifications as contributing factors to prostate cancer and examine factors that influence African-American men in being screened and seeking treatment. The new Center will also work with partners around the state to carry out clinical trials.

“There is a huge disparity in the incidence of prostate cancer and mortality rates in South Carolina, where men are diagnosed with prostate cancer at significantly higher rates than men in other areas of the U.S., according to the International Agency on Research for Cancer,” Raymond says. “On a national level, African-American men have an incidence rate of prostate cancer that is 55 percent higher than that of Caucasians. In contrast, in South Carolina, the prostate cancer incidence rate is 80 percent higher for African-Americans than for Caucasians. We believe that screening and prostate cancer early detection is key in reducing mortality rates among African-American men who tend to be diagnosed at younger ages and who may have more aggressive forms of the disease.”

Raymond believes that the Center will have a positive economic impact on South Carolina as a whole. First, the state could see a significant reduction in lost work productivity and medical expenditures as a result of improved levels of prostate cancer early detection and treatment. Second, world-class scientists who will lead the center have the capacity to attract large amounts of extramural funding to the state from corporations or federal agencies. These grant funds will result in the immediate creation of new jobs. Third, the new Center will help build the universities’ academic strength, so they can attract the best and brightest junior faculty and graduate students. Fourth, the enhanced clinical trials and ongoing prostate screening research will lead to diagnostic tests and cancer screenings that can be commercialized—moving discoveries from “bench to bedside,” which can stimulate the state’s economy.

“Through this Center, we can fuel South Carolina’s knowledge economy and create high-paying jobs for our citizens, which is why the CoEE program exists,” says CoEE Review Board Chair Paula Harper Bethea. “At the same time, we can save and improve lives in every corner of South Carolina and all around the world.”

About the CoEE Program
The S.C. Centers of Economic Excellence Program was established by the South Carolina General Assembly in 2002, funded through South Carolina Education Lottery proceeds. The legislation authorizes the state's three public research institutions, Medical University of South Carolina, Clemson University and the University of South Carolina, to use state funds to create Centers of Economic Excellence in research areas that will advance South Carolina's economy. Each Center of Economic Excellence is awarded from $2 million to $5 million in state funds, which must be matched on a dollar-for-dollar basis with non-state funds. The program also supports CoEE endowed chairs, world-renowned scientists who lead the Centers of Economic Excellence. By investing in talent and technology, the CoEE Program is designed to fuel the state's knowledge-based economy, resulting in high-paying jobs and an improved standard of living in South Carolina. For more information, visit www.sccoee.org.

To receive award funding for a CoEE, the three research universities submit proposals that undergo a three-tier review process. Each proposal is first subjected to a technical review by field experts. After studying the technical review scores, the CoEE Review Board decides which proposals qualify for evaluation by an onsite review panel. This external review panel comprises mainly senior research officials from Association of American University institutions. After receiving recommendations from the panel, the CoEE Review Board votes on which new Centers of Economic Excellence to fund.
 

Council encourages efforts to
eliminate disparities, promote health.

USC research associate Dr. Crystal Piper has been elected to the American Public Health Association’s Governing Council for the Community Health Planning & Policy Development Section.

Piper is a Columbia native who works for the Institute for Partnerships to Eliminate Health Disparities and the Rural Health Research Center. Additionally she is an adjunct faculty member at Benedict College.

Founded in 1969, the CHPPD Section serves a wide array of health professionals in providing a means to share information and debate critical issues related to planning, and to learn how policy is shaped at the local, state and national levels.

The section’s mission is to encourage planning and policy development to eliminate disparities and promote healthy communities.

Growing up in South Carolina, Piper observed racial disparities first hand. “I often witnessed the continuous struggle of African Americans in the areas of poverty, education, housing, social justice and health care,” she said.

“I made a steadfast commitment to seek a career that would benefit my family and my community. I knew a career in public health would fulfill my quest to helping this country resolve health care issues, improve the quality of care, and make a difference,” she said.

Piper earned a bachelor’s degree from South Carolina State University in 2001. In 2002, she earned a master’s degree in public health and, in 2003, a master’s degree in health administration, both from the Des Moines University Osteopathic Medical Center.

She earned her doctorate in Health Services Policy & Management from the USC Arnold School of Public Health in 2007. Her dissertation was titled Examination of Racial Disparities in Childhood Asthma Management Practices in the United States.

To further her goal of becoming a nationally recognized independent investigator of health disparities and vulnerable populations, she is concentrating on studying health disparities and chronic disease among women, children, and rural populations.

She currently has six publications in the American Journal of Public Health, Ethnicity & Disease, the Journal of Health Disparities Research & Practice, and the Journal of Health & Social Policy.

Lecture honors longtime leader in battle to improve
the health of South Carolinians

A respected leader in the battle against cancer among minorities and the medically underserved will deliver the first James A. Clyburn Lecture at the University of South Carolina on April 25.

Dr. Lovell A. Jones, director of the Center for Research on Minority Health at the University of Texas, will speak at 9 a.m. in the auditorium of the Arnold School’s Public Health Research Center, 921 Assembly Street. The lecture is open to USC students, faculty, staff and the public.

The lecture series honors U.S. Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., who has served South Carolina's Sixth Congressional District since 1993. The Sumter native was an active member of the 1960s civil rights movement and was S.C. Human Affairs Commissioner from 1974-1992. He currently is House Majority Whip for the 110th Congress.

Dr. Saunda Glover, Arnold School associate dean for health disparities and social justice, said the lecture series is a "joint initiative between Claflin University and the Institute for Partnerships to Eliminate Health Disparities at the University of South Carolina. It will bring together researchers and public health professionals in an interactive forum to discuss ways and means to eliminate the public health disparities that continue to plague South Carolina and the rest of the nation."

Glover, who also is director of the Institute for Partnerships to Eliminate Health Disparities, said the continuing series will, in turn, touch on disparities facing South Carolina's minority residents including cancer, stroke, obesity, HIV/AIDS and high blood pressure.

Clyburn, along with Sen. Ernest F. Hollings, D-S.C., helped secure funding to establish the Institute for Partnerships to Eliminate Health Disparities in 2003.

"His commitment to the elimination of health disparities is long-standing. Hence, the naming of the lecture series in honor of his service to the health needs of the people of South Carolina, the Southeast and the nation," said Glover.

Jones' efforts in combating cancer in minorities complements "an area of research strength of the health sciences at USC and an area where we have made significant efforts to join with community stakeholders to begin to focus on solutions," Glover said.

Jones, whose research center is part of the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, is the founding co-chair of the Intercultural Cancer Council, the nation's largest multicultural health policy group focused on minorities, the medically underserved and cancer.

He has edited "Minorities & Cancer," one of the few comprehensive textbooks on this subject. He is the founding chair of "Minorities, the Medically Underserved and Cancer," the nation's largest multicultural conference which provides a forum for exchanging the latest scientific and treatment information.

This biennial conference brings together people from all ethnic communities and social strata to share strategies for reducing the incidence of cancer among these populations. Jones also has spearheaded regional hearings on cancer and the poor for the American Cancer Society.

In 2002, Jones, along with Dr. Armin Weinberg, the other cofounder of the Intercultural Cancer Council, received the Humanitarian Award from the American Cancer Society.

Between 1980 and 2007, Jones received more than $20 million in research funding for studies in which he was the principal investigator.

A question and answer period and a reception in the lobby of the PHRC will follow Jones' address at USC.

Abstracts describing disparities research due by April 16

Researchers studying South Carolina’s wide array of health disparities are invited to submit examples of their work for a poster session following the inaugural James A. Clyburn Lecture on April 25, 2008.

Site of the session will be the first floor of the Arnold School's Public Health Research Center on Assembly St. The area is outside the auditorium where Dr. Lovell A. Jones will lecture beginning at 9 a.m.

"At the University of South Carolina, there are hundreds of researchers across campus studying health disparities and delivering effective programs to improve the health status of South Carolinians and end health disparities," said Dr. Heather Brandt, an organizer of the poster project.

"In addition to well documented disparities among African Americans, we are facing new challenges, including renewed attention to the rural residents of our state as well as the growing Hispanic population."

"There are many common, underlying associations when examining health disparities across groups; however, for each group, there remains unique challenges," said Brandt.

USC faculty members, research staff, and students are eligible to participate in the poster presentations. Posters submitted by community partners describing community-based research and practice conducted in partnership with the University of South Carolina also are welcomed.

Abstracts describing health disparities research and/or practice are limited to 300 words or less. Contact information (name, affiliation, mailing address, telephone number, and email address) for the corresponding author should be provided.

Abstracts that describe efforts to address health disparities previously presented at conferences and/or published in peer-reviewed journals are allowed (provided there are no restrictions by the conference and/or journal).

All abstracts submitted will be accepted for the poster session on the basis of receipt date and time as long as space allows. Abstracts received after reaching the maximum will be included in the booklet. There will be no formal review of abstracts. Submission of an abstract implies that at least one of the authors will put up the poster by 8:30 a.m. and be present for the poster session during the reception from 11:00 am to noon on April 25.

The maximum poster size is four feet (height) by eight feet (width) in landscape orientation. Additional information will be released as part of the confirmation process.

Please complete the abstract submission form and return by noon on April 16 to Jessica Bellinger (bellingj@mailbox.sc.edu) or Shalanda Bynum (sabynum01@aol.com). Emailed submissions are preferred; however, submissions may be faxed to (803) 777-6290.

Contact the poster session organizers for more information: Heather Brandt, 777-456 or 1hbrandt@sc.edu; Shalanda Bynum, 777-3439 or sabynum01@aol.com; Jessica Bellinger, 777-0716 or bellingj@mailbox.sc.edu.

Forging Solutions through Research and Practice
As part of the James E. Clyburn Health Disparities Lecture Series at the University of South
Carolina on Friday, April 25, 2008, the following call for abstracts describing research and
practice to address health disparities is issued.

A poster session at the James E. Clyburn Health Disparities Lecture Series on Friday, April 25,
2008 will be held on the first floor of the Public Health Research Center at the University of
South Carolina. The poster session will showcase health disparities research and practice being
conducted by University of South Carolina faculty members, research staff, and students.
Posters submitted by community partners describing community-based research and practice
conducted in partnership with the University of South Carolina are also welcomed. This poster
session is an opportunity to share health disparities research and practice with others who are
interested in efforts to address and eliminate health disparities.

Abstracts describing health disparities research and/or practice are limited to 300 words or less.
Contact information (name, affiliation, mailing address, telephone number, and email address)
for the corresponding author should be provided. Abstracts that describe efforts to address
health disparities previously presented at conferences and/or published in peer-reviewed journals
are allowed (provided there are no restrictions by the conference and/or journal).

All abstracts submitted will be accepted for the poster session on the basis of receipt date and
time as long as space allows. Abstracts received after reaching the maximum will be included in
the booklet. There will be no formal review of abstracts. Submission of an abstract implies that
at least one of the authors will put up the poster by 8:30 am and be present for the poster session
during the reception from 11:00 am to 12:00 pm on Friday, April 25, 2008. The maximum
poster size is four feet (height) by eight feet (width) in landscape orientation. Additional
information will be sent out as part of the confirmation process.

Please complete the abstract submission form and return by 12 pm on April 16, 2008 to Jessica
Bellinger (bellingj@mailbox.sc.edu) or Shalanda Bynum (sabynum01@aol.com). Emailed
submissions are preferred; however, submissions may be faxed to (803) 777-6290.

Click here to download the form

Contact the poster session organizers for more information:
Heather Brandt, PhD (803) 777-4561 hbrandt@sc.edu
Shalanda Bynum, MS, MPH, PhD(c) (803) 777-3439 sabynum01@aol.com
Jessica Bellinger, MPH, PhD(c) (803) 777-0716 bellingj@mailbox.sc.edu

The W.K. Kellogg African American Public Health
Fellowship and Development Program
Fall 2007 Faculty and Student Development Symposium
November 15, 2007
Embassy Suites Hotel
Columbia, SC

Our day began with heavy winds and lots of clouds which made hauling boxes, folders, and other program materials quite challenging for the staff from USC’s Institute for Partnerships to Eliminate Health Disparities (IPEHD). Despite the weather, we managed to maneuver through the overcast sky and high winds to successfully shed light on the ever-evolving topics of health disparities, infectious diseases, research and the essentials of teamwork.

The W.K. Kellogg Fellowship Program is in its fifth year of introducing African-American students and faculty to public health and health disparities research. A symposium is held twice annually to bring together students and faculty from South Carolina’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities’ (HBCU’s). These colleges include: Allen University, Benedict College, Claflin University, Morris College, and South Carolina State University.

A networking luncheon, as well as research, student development, and leadership development workshops were held. The symposium allowed students and faculty to gain further insight into topics related to public health careers, health disparities, research, and professional development. Faculty and staff from these various institutions gained new perspectives and approaches surrounding research and developments in public health.

Student sessions at this semester’s event were designed to prepare the students for a future career in public health and to function in leadership and team roles in a professional work setting. Betty Parker, from Sharper Image Solutions, lead an interactive workshop entitled Building Successful Teams. Workshop discussion and activities were designed to train participants on 1) how to better communicate as a team so that there is clarity and understanding among team members; 2) how to think critically as a team and work more efficiently to resolve problems; and 3) ways to choose a team leader and share responsibilities equally.

An interactive exercise allowed students to be placed into groups, and each group had to select a team leader. The team leader had to lead a blind-folded team member to and from a destination, by verbally communicating ways to avoid obstacles encountered along the way. Following the activity, students processed the exercise and shared what they had observed, regarding leadership styles, the importance of leadership and effective communication, leadership that motivates, and confronting and avoiding obstacles.

Dr. Stephan Singleton led a discussion designed to encourage students to pursue a career in public health. Dr. Singleton is a Veterinarian, Clinical Instructor, and Post Doctoral Fellow for the Veterinary Public Health Center for Animal Health and Food Safety at the University of Minnesota. Currently pursuing a graduate degree in public health with a focus on food safety and bio-security, she is a Claflin University graduate and a home-grown South Carolinian. She discussed emerging infectious diseases (EIDs) that originate from animals, birds, and insects, locations where EIDs have been found in recent history; what was done to eradicate them; and how to prevent and control emerging EIDs.

During concurrent sessions for HBCU faculty and staff, workshop participants were enlightened about research initiatives and pilot studies made possible through funds provided through the USC Kellogg Project. Currently funded principal investigators provided an update on the status of their projects, which included two faculty from Allen University: Dayna Campbell, M.S. Ph.D (c), and Dr. Lady June Cole, Ph.D. Dayna Campbell discussed Racial Disparities in Co-Morbidity and Survival Patients in South Carolina; and Dr. Lady June Cole, discussed her research on Prenatal Death Classification Error and Disparities in Infant Mortality. Dr. Kifle Markos, from Morris College, provided an update on Prostate Cancer Screening Awareness Level Comparison Study: The Case of African Americans Residing in Three Counties in South Carolina. In addition to the updates provided by the Kellogg Pilot Study Researchers, Dr. Edith Williams from the University of South Carolina’s Institute for Partnerships to Eliminate Health Disparities and the Arnold School of Public Health’s Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics discussed Inflammatory Biomarkers and Subclinical Atherosclerosis in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: The Breakfast with a Buddy Biomarkers of Lupus Study

As the program came to its final moments, the sun started to penetrate through the windows and reflect off of the ballroom chandeliers. You couldn’t help but to reflect upon the valuable information shared and received during today’s symposium. It is our hope that symposium participants were inspired by what they received throughout the day and are now more committed to pursuing careers and research opportunities in public health and eliminating health disparities.

Authored by:
Melanie Sweat, MPH (c); Gwen Preston, M.Ed.; and Andrea Williams, M.Ed.
November 2007
 

Glover named Associate Dean for Health Disparities and Social Justice
Posted 02/19/2007

Dr. Saundra Glover says her new role at the Arnold School of Public Health will allow her to enhance her longtime efforts to address South Carolina’s multitude of health disparities in minority communities.

Glover says her appointment as associate dean for health disparities and social justice means that the research she conducts and the programs she directs will not only confront health problems, but also “the economic, the social and the political inequities of the same population.”

In announcing the appointment, Dean Donna Richter said, "Dr. Glover will be a valuable addition to the administration of the Arnold School. Her experience and insight in addressing health disparities will guide us in continuing to recognize that these problems are often rooted in the social injustice that pervades many underserved communities. Dr. Glover is poised to move the Arnold School to the next level in our ongoing efforts to eliminate health disparities in our state and around the nation."

As director of the Institute for Partnerships to Eliminate Health Disparities, Glover has already worked to establish research, training and outreach relationships between USC and the state’s historically black colleges and universities, through the W. K. Kellogg African American Public Health Fellowship and Development Program and the African American Faculty Development Institute.

Nationally and internationally known for the work that she has done with health disparities, Glover has presented at numerous conferences, workshops and seminars.

Today those relationships have never been more important. “We can’t do anything without creating "a culture of partnerships,” she said.

Those partnerships also include organizations and individuals in the local communities where public health programs touch people’s lives “It is my desire and goal that the communities we touch will have a voice through my role,” she said.

Glover says she hopes to use academic research to help make changes in people’s lives and rid the perception in some communities that residents are only subjects to be studied.

“The perception is the big university comes in, gathers the research, publishes the results in some journal but nothing changes in the community,” she said.

SHARING RESEARCH RESULTS

Glover wants the fruit of her research efforts to first be shared with students in the classrooms at USC and the historically black colleges and then with the communities through the public schools, churches and other community groups so that we begin to see positive impact on the well-being of individuals and families.

The black community – its female residents in particular -- has a long list of disparities, but Glover says cervical cancer and HIV/AIDS are a particular focus of her current efforts.

African American women have about a 50 percent higher incidence of cervical cancer than Caucasian women and are about 2.6 times more likely to die from the disease. HIV/AIDS cases also are growing at an alarming rate among African American women.

Glover is principal investigator of Project EXPORT (Excellence in Partnership for Community Outreach, Research on Health Disparities, and Training), a collaboration formed between USC and Claflin University to address critical health disparities—such as those found in the rates of cervical cancer and HIV/AIDS.

That five-year effort is supported by a $7.5 million grant from the National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities, part of the National Institutes of Health.

Glover is also co-principal investigator of the W.K. Kellogg-funded MATCH Project (Mobilizing Against Threats to Community Health) which is aimed at preparing underserved and disenfranchised communities against the threat of new and emerging infectious diseases.

Glover has been on the Arnold School faculty for 15 years. She earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from South Carolina State University in 1986. She later moved to Columbia to study business at USC, receiving her master's and doctorate. She has over 50 publications in the field of health services research and health disparities.

She joined the Arnold School in 1991, teaching business and finance to students in the Department of Health Services Policy and Management.

An Orangeburg County native, she is married to the Rev. Samuel B. Glover. He is director of the S.C. Department of Probation, Pardon and Parole Services and associate pastor of First Nazareth Baptist Church. Dr. Glover is the mother of three: daughter Crystal and sons Sam, Jr. and Jared and the grandmother of Samuel, III.

Kellogg Program gives head start for minority students interested in public health studies

Minority students interested in public health are getting a head start thanks to a program operated by the Arnold School of Public Health and five of the state’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities. 

Supported by a $2.7 million grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the African American Public Health Fellowship and Development Program is designed to increase the number of African Americans entering graduate training programs and careers in public health, said Program Director Andrea Williams. 

“Our goal is for these students to come to graduate school at USC’s Arnold School, but even if they go elsewhere, we want to see them in the field of public health,” said Williams, who also is associate director for USC’s Institute for Partnerships to Eliminate Health Disparities. 

The institute, headed by Dr. Sandra Glover, is an arm of the Arnold School. 

This summer found 16 students from S.C. State University, Allen University, Claflin University, Benedict College and Morris College participating in a Summer Enrichment Program on the USC campus as part of the Kellogg initiative. 

All of the institutions are members of South Carolina’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).  Missing is Vorhees College which was part of the program when it started five years ago, but dropped out because of a staffing shortage, Williams said. 

Each of the HBCUs has a Kellogg advisor/coordinator to recruit and advise students about the enrichment program which provides the student participants with a $7,500 annual stipend for undergraduate education expenses. 

The qualifications for a Kellogg fellowship are more detailed but, in general, applicants must meet citizenship and academic standards, agree to complete public health classes at their schools, join the Public Health Student Alliance on their campus, and participate in local workshops.  Participants also do individual public health research - primarily on the issue of obesity, a particular problem in South Carolina. 

Attending the summer program is another requirement of the students. They reside on the USC campus for two weeks during which time they complete a series of intensive class assignments.  Williams says this summer’s session offered workshops and classes in GRE preparation, public health research, scientific and academic writing, oral communications and personal and leadership development. 

Classes were taught by faculty from the HBCUs, the Arnold School, and the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control. 

Gwen Preston, Institute assistant director and coordinator of student and faculty development programs, said the Kellogg program helps students understand that  public health is a distinct discipline apart from traditional medical practice. 

“It’s our job to make sure that the students understand we’re dealing with preventive rather than reactive measures when it comes to diseases,” she said. 

The program is also a good training opportunity for faculty at USC and the HBCUs.  Dayna Campbell, who teaches at Allen University, and Brandi Wright, a doctoral candidate at USC, were on the staff of this summer’s institute.  

Preston said the presence of Campbell and Wright was a plus for the institute because the students find it easy to relate to two young women not much older than themselves.  

A companion summer program is also available to high school students interested in public health programs, said Preston. 

Thirty-six students participated in this year’s companion program which offered a series of workshops on public health disciplines taught by Arnold School faculty and staff from DHEC.  These students also were offered SAT preparation classes.