Partner Organization Profiles

Clemson University

Clemson University’s goal is to become a top 20 public university by 2010. Based on faculty strength, opportunities for external funding, and alignment with South Carolina’s economic development needs, Clemson emphasizes these areas: Advanced Materials, Automotive and Transportation Technology, Biotechnology and Biomedical Sciences, Family and Community Living, General Education, Information and Communications Technology, Leadership and Entrepreneurship, and Sustainable Environment.Clemson’s national reputation is growing. In 2001, it was named TIME Magazine’s Public College of the Year. In 2009, U.S. News and World Report ranked Clemson 22nd among national public universities. The Carnegie Foundation classifies Clemson as a Doctoral/Research University-Extensive, a category comprising less than four percent of all universities in America.In recent years, Clemson has more than doubled external research support and generated 11 spin-off companies that created more than 100 jobs. Through such initiatives as the South Carolina Bioengineering Alliance and a partnership with the Greenville Hospital System, Clemson supports the state’s biomedical industries.

Greenville Hospital System University Medical Center

Greenville Hospital System University Medical Center (GHS) is a not-for-profit, patient-centered, teaching and research institution. It is one of the largest health systems in the Southeast and the Upstate's only academic medical center. The 1,268-bed system is home to five campuses, 14 medical residency and fellowship programs and South Carolina’s first patient simulation center. GHS provides patients a sophisticated network of expertise and technologies through its tertiary medical center, research and education facilities, community hospitals, wellness centers, physician practices and numerous specialty facilities in upstate South Carolina.

Its flagship hospital -- Greenville Memorial Hospital -- was ranked among the nation’s top 50 hospitals in U.S. News' 2009-10 America’s Best Hospitals publication. The five specialty areas cited were diabetes and endocrine disorders, digestive disorders, heart & heart surgery, neurology and neurosurgery, and orthopaedics. GHS is also one the 100 Most Wired hospitals and health systems for 2009 and one of the 25 Most Wireless by Hospitals & Health Networks. Its also ranked among the nation’s top 100 integrated healthcare networks.

GHS has approximately 600 active clinical trials that are investigating new therapies, medications, medical devices, vaccines or new ways of using existing treatment. Areas include oncology, pediatric oncology, women’s health, cardiology and vascular disease. GHS also participates in applied basic science to support the development of new medical devices and drug therapies in oncology, reproductive endocrinology and vascular surgery.

Medical University of South Carolina

The South's first medical school, the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) is among the country’s major academic healthcare centers. Its mission is to preserve and optimize human life through education, research, and healthcare. Each year, MUSC prepares approximately 2,400 students in its doctoral, master’s and baccalaureate degree programs, including 500 interns, residents, and fellows receiving specialty training.

MUSC's research enterprise is on the rise, ranking among the top ten for National Institutes of Health research growth as reported by the Chronicle of Higher Education. These activities advance economic development by introducing new technology and fostering links with industry and other academic institutions. In 2009, MUSC faculty garnered more than $217 million in research funding including National Cancer Institute status, a National Institutes of Health Clinical Translational Science Award (CTSA) and a National Science Foundation award in partnership with the South Carolina Research Authority. The university has active research collaborations with hospitals throughout South Carolina, including its partners in Health Sciences South Carolina.

MUSC is committed to meeting the needs of underserved populations. The Association of American Medical Colleges honored MUSC with its prestigious Outstanding Community Service Award.

Palmetto Health

Palmetto Health is South Carolina’s largest, most comprehensive not-for-profit health system, composed of three primary campuses—Palmetto Health Richland, Palmetto Health Baptist, Palmetto Health Baptist Easley —and a fourth expansion campus, Palmetto Health Parkridge, in Northwest Columbia.

Each year, Palmetto Health hospitals treat nearly a half million patients, welcome more than 6,800 babies, treat almost 80,000 pediatric patients and 3,000 cancer patients, accommodate more than 150,000 emergency department visits, perform more than 50,000 mammograms, and make more than 33,000 home care visits.

Palmetto Health Richland is a regional community teaching and tertiary medical center that treats patients from every county in the state. It is home to the state’s only freestanding children’s hospital, the state’s only freestanding heart hospital, the state's only Gamma Knife Center, a robotic surgery center, a Level III NICU and one of four Level I trauma centers in South Carolina. Palmetto Health Baptist is one of the state’s most respected acute care hospitals, offering behavioral care, obstetrics, oncology, orthopaedics, surgery, a Level III NICU and women’s services.  Among the services currently offered at Palmetto Health Parkridge are ambulatory surgery, imaging and lab services and Convenience Care, an extended hours physicians’ office where appointments are not needed.

Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System

Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System is an integrated healthcare delivery system that provides high quality care to patients in the Upstate of South Carolina.

Clinical trials at Spartanburg Regional are strictly controlled studies of new and emerging therapies. These studies test whether a new drug, prevention strategy or a new screening test is safe and effective in people.

In 1983, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) named Spartanburg as one of 50 sites for a Community Clinical Oncology Program (CCOP). Today, the program at the Gibbs Cancer Center is called the Upstate Carolina CCOP and remains one of eight original programs, continuing to give area patients all the benefits of a major research hospital. Gibbs is the only cancer center in South Carolina to have a direct affiliation with an NCI-designated facility—M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.

Spartanburg Regional is nationally recognized for excellence in nursing and is among less than three percent of hospitals nationwide that have achieved Magnet designation. The latest technology, combined with highly trained professionals results in outstanding patient care.

University of South Carolina

With more than 200 years of history and tradition, the University of South Carolina's research enterprise is on the rise; it is one of only 62 public universities to receive the Carnegie Foundation’s highest designation for research. The Wall Street Journal recently recognized South Carolina as one of eight flagship universities with rising academic quality. In 2005-06, the University garnered a record $173.3 million in federal, state, and private funding for research, outreach, and training programs.

Working with government, business and community leaders, the University has developed a unified plan to establish Innovista, a research and innovation district near the University's main campus in Columbia. Innovista represents a new vision for research by creating a vibrant, urban community where students, researchers and those from the private sector will live, work, learn, and play. Innovista will represent South Carolina’s five core research areas—biomedical and public health, Future Fuels™, nanoscience and nanotechnology, software and technology, and the environment—while including other initiatives and business partners that serve the knowledge economy.