University of South Carolina Greenville School of Medicine plans to open a research facility on Main Street in Greenville, the high-profile part of two new initiatives launching this year.
data innovation bio hub BioHub researchers will use the data to identify health disparities and inequities that impact the health of people living in South Carolina. These disparities may be due to individuals' socioeconomic status, race, ethnicity, gender, and more.
Dr. Marjorie Jenkins, dean of the University of Southern California School of Medicine in Greenville, explained that the biohub is part of the school's increased focus on student research over the next decade. Currently, more than 95% of the university's medical students participate in research electives.
“Student research not only gives you research experience, but it also gives you the tools to apply your research to practice,” Jenkins says.
The School of Medicine plans to lease space in the Main Street Lab at 2 N. Main St. for the bio hub. The downtown lab space is Hughes Development Co., Ltd..
Bob Hughes, chairman of Hughes Development Corp., said: main street lab Built as a hub for Greenville's life sciences community. Other tenants at the lab include Kiyatec, SCbio, and Summit Tech Solutions.
“I couldn’t be more excited that the Greenville School of Medicine Biohub will be located there,” Hughes said. “That's exactly the type of innovation we wanted to catalyze.”
Primary care acceleration track
USC School of Medicine Greenville is committed to solving South Carolina's current primary care physician shortage. The state is projected to have a shortage of 815 family physicians by 2030, according to the medical school.
In July, the School of Medicine Primary care acceleration trackan accelerated pathway for students to earn a Doctor of Medicine degree.
Students who complete this accelerated track graduate from USC School of Medicine in three years. After graduation, students will participate in Prisma's three-year primary care training program in family medicine.
Upon completing training, each new primary care physician will sign a four-year contract agreeing to practice medicine in South Carolina in exchange for full tuition reimbursement. The School of Medicine plans to invest $3.9 million to pay for student scholarships.
The first group to begin the Primary Care Accelerated Track will consist of six medical students. Jenkins said the school intends to expand this pipeline over the next 10 years.
“This is a great program model to put primary care physicians where they are needed most in South Carolina,” Jenkins said.
Lifestyle disease curriculum certification
At USC School of Medicine Greenville, lifestyle medicine is integrated into the curriculum and learning experience. The medical school is the first in the country to incorporate nutrition, physical activity, and health behaviors into the curriculum for all four years of her life.
USC School of Medicine Greenville recently received “Platinum Plus” designation from the American College of Lifestyle Medicine due to the significant level of lifestyle medicine curriculum taught at the school. The school is one of her first two in the county to earn this certification.
Primary care physician shortage
There are currently 2,732 primary care physicians in South Carolina. The state is projected to have a shortage of 815 primary care physicians by 2030.
This shortage leaves South Carolina with 67 medically underserved communities.
medical school graduate
A total of 740 students have graduated from USC School of Medicine Greenville since it opened in 2012.