CURRENT PROGRAMS

Coordinating Center of Excellence in the Social Promotion of Health Equity through Research, Education, and Community Engagement (CCE-SPHERE)

Coordinating Center of Excellence in the Social Promotion of Health Equity through Research, Education, and Community Engagement (CCE-SPHERE) is the second major grant received by the Institute for Partnerships to Eliminate Health Disparities (IPEHD) from the National Institutes of Health. It will allow the University of South Carolina, Claflin University, and the Orangeburg Community to continue the work started in its previous Center of Excellence in Cancer and HIV Research. Both projects focus on advancing research, education and training, and community outreach/community engagement.

For more information please visit the website at http://www.sc.edu/CCE-SPHERE/

The Prostate Cancer Disparities Center of Economic Excellence (CoEE)

In 2005 460 African American men died in South Carolina as a result of prostate cancer. In fact, South Carolina ranks third in the nation for the number of men who die from prostate cancer. For generations, African American men have been the most impacted by this disease and are usually diagnosed with the most aggressive form of the illness and at younger ages. African American men are also three times more likely to die from the illness than other populations.

In order to address cancer disparities that exist in South Carolina, the Cancer Disparities Research Center of Economic Excellence (CoEE) was created in 2008 by the South Carolina Legislature. The purpose of the Center is to stimulate health disparities research as well as to generate the most comprehensive and coordinated cancer research effort ever conducted in the state. The Center will attract the talents of the best cancer researchers, research institutions, and public health professionals who will conduct clinical trials aimed at reducing prostate cancer in South Carolina.

For the Center to be successful, researchers will network with community leaders to bridge the gap of cancer disparities, with a focus on prostate cancer, though efforts based on education, screenings, and programs emphasizing proper nutrition, healthy lifestyles and timely access to quality and affordable healthcare. Most importantly, these efforts will ultimately change and save lives of African Americans in South Carolina.