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Arnold School of Public Health

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Centers, Institutes and More

Our service and outreach activities impact various populations across South Carolina and beyond. The Arnold School houses and partners with a wide range of centers, institutes and other programs that conduct original research, engage in translation and dissemination, and connect directly with the public through clinical and other interactive services. These groups reflect our strengths as a School of Public Health and enable us to make a targeted and lasting impact on the populations whose lives we strive to improve.

Addiction Research Group

The Addiction Research Group is a team of interdisciplinary scholars who are working to advance understanding, prevention, and treatment of addiction through innovative research, interdisciplinary collaboration, community engagement, and legal and policy development.

Alzheimer's Disease Research Center

The Alzheimer's Disease Research Center (ADRC) is a multi-institutional collaboration between the University of South Carolina, Medical University of South Carolina, and Clemson University to effectively address the problems and challenges experienced by those with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias and their families and caregivers.

Arnold Healthy Kids Initiative (AHKI)

The AHKI research group is a multidisciplinary group of researchers working on issues related to childhood obesity. Located in the Department of Exercise Science, AHKI faculty have expertise in public health, physical education, pediatric psychology, and nutrition. The goals of AHKI are to advance the science of measurement of obesogenic behavior, uncover etiology of obesity and test interventions to prevent and treat childhood obesity. 

Big Data Health Science Center

A University of South Carolina Excellence Initiative, the UofSC Big Data Health Science Center (BDHSC) serves as a campus-wide interdisciplinary enterprise that conducts cutting-edge research and discovery, offers professional development and academic training, and provides service to the community and industry. 

Cancer Prevention and Control Program (CPCP)

CPCP conducts the majority of cancer research for the University of South Carolina with the aim of reducing the burden of cancer by eliminating cancer disparities and making effective methods of preventing and controlling cancer available to all. We are committed to integrating service, education and research in engaging the community.

Carolina Consortium on Health, Inequalities, and Populations (CHIP)

The Carolina Consortium on Health, Inequalities, and Populations (CHIP) brings together a collaborative group of interdisciplinary scholars conducting innovative research aimed at understanding and addressing the social processes that influence population dynamics and health inequalities.

Center for Community Health Alignment

The Center for Community Health Alignment (CCHA) has a strong understanding of health equity and the impact social determinants play on health. Our mission at the Arnold School is to use evidence-based models and meaningful engagement strategies to co-create solutions with community leaders that address health inequities.

Center for Effectiveness Research in Orthopaedics (CERortho)

John Brooks (Health Services Policy and Management) is the SmartState Endowed Chair for the Center for Effectiveness Research in Orthopaedics (CERortho), which conducts research in tissue-engineered materials and implantable devices that will help the thousands of people who suffer from orthopaedic maladies each year.

Center for Environmental NanoScience & Risk (CENR)

CENR is a SmartState™ Center that investigates the effects and behaviors of manufactured and natural nanoparticles in the environment and the subsequent effects on environmental and human health. We also work on the development of low hazard and low risk nanotechnologies for the benefit of public health.

Center for Healthcare Quality (CHQ)

Xiaoming Li (Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior) is the SmartState Endowed Chair in Clinical Translational Research for the Center for Healthcare Quality, whichworks to improve the safety, effectiveness, and affordability of healthcare in South Carolina.

Center for the Study of Aphasia Recovery (C-STAR)

C-STAR aims to improve aphasia treatment effectiveness as well as identify patient factors that can be used to improve diagnosis of language impairment, guide aphasia treatment, and predict prognosis. C-STAR houses researchers who examine the effects of behavioral treatment, brain stimulation, and residual brain function (brain plasticity) on recovery from aphasia. 

Children’s Physical Activity Research Group (CPARG)

CPARG brings together faculty, staff and students from various disciplines who are dedicated to expanding the body of knowledge on physical activity and its promotion in children and adolescents. We strive to enhance the health of young people by generating the knowledge needed to design and implement effective public health policies.

Clinical Exercise Research Center

CERC is equipped for state-of-the-art measurement of metabolic and cardiorespiratory responses and adaptations to exercise in human subjects. A fully automated system for measurement of metabolism is included. This facility is also equipped with the state-of-the-art DEXA machine for body composition and bone mineral analysis. We have full phlebotomy capability and provides assay analyses. This facility provides an important resource for conducting undergraduate and graduate student research projects.

Consortium for Latino Health Studies

The Consortium coordinates and promotes multidisciplinary research related to Latinos in South Carolina and the Southeast. We also foster the dissemination of research findings and their application/translation into practice and policy, support teaching related to Latinos, and collaborate with other entities involved with the state’s growing Latino population.

Center for Applied Research and Evaluation (CARE)

The Center for Applied Research and Evaluation (CARE) offers collaborators experience and expertise to help partners understand where you are and where you can go.  We aim to create a culture of data-driven action within CARE, our partners, and our larger community. From the evaluation of small projects to complex mixed method research designs, we have the flexibility and the capability to handle a wide variety of needs

Disability Research and Dissemination Center (DRDC)

DRDC is a partnership among the University of South Carolina, the State University of New York Upstate Medical University and the American Association of Health and Disability. Our purpose is to conduct research, train professionals, complete specific projects and disseminate knowledge related to birth defects, disabilities, human development and blood disorders.

Global Health

The Arnold School has been involved in global health initiatives and growing our international presence through education, research and outreach programs since 1975. Our goal is to respond to global health challenges by promoting collaborative research among students, faculty and stakeholders around the world.

Institute for Infectious Disease Translational Research

The mission of the Institute for Infectious Disease Translational Research is to uncover key scientific evidence of emerging or persisting infectious diseases and to develop innovative solutions for prevention, mitigation, and treatment of these pathogens.

Montgomery Speech-Language-Hearing Clinic

The Center provides a variety of diagnostic and treatment programs for individuals of all ages with communication disorders. We train future speech-language pathologists and researchers while providing our patients with the highest quality evaluation and treatment to improve social, educational and vocational participation. 

Non-Communicable Disease Policy and Communications Research (NCDPCR)

NCDPCR research focuses on how media and policies influence perceptions and behaviors related to non-communicable diseases (NCDs). We focus primarily on media and policy interventions because of their broad reach and potential to significantly influence tobacco use and unhealthy eating, behaviors that account for much of the preventable NCD burden around the world. 

Nutrition Consortium

The Consortium partners with community groups, public agencies, other research institutions and professional organizations to lead nutrition and health disparities research and activities. Our interdisciplinary researchers work to understand how nutritional components interact with a variety of contexts, including political, physical, economic and social structures. 

Oceans and Human Health Center on Climate Change Interactions (OHHC2I)

The goal of OHHC2I is to enhance our knowledge of the roles climate change may play in affecting Vibrio bacterial infections and production of toxins from freshwater cyanobacteria, both of which may adversely affect human health.

Office for the Study of Aging (OSA)

OSA promotes healthy aging through program development, evaluation, education/training and research. We seek to improve long-term care service delivery for South Carolina’s older adults by providing evidence-based information to policy makers, health care professionals and the public.

PASOs

PASOs is a community-based organization that helps the Latino community and service providers work together for strong and healthy families. Our community health programs include prenatal education, outreach on women’s and family health topics, connection to needed resources, increasing access to health care, cultural competency and development of community leaders.

Patient Engagement Studio

PES brings together patients and caregivers, community groups, health system innovators and clinicians, and academic researchers to produce meaningful research and innovation that advances health and research outcomes. Our researchers, patient experts and students are working hard to answer questions that are meaningful and patient-centered to ultimately improve patient-centered health outcomes.

Prevention Research Center (PRC)

PRC is a part of the Prevention Research Center Program of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and sponsors projects that encourage people of all ages to become more physically active. Committed to improving the health of individuals, families and communities, we promote physical activity through community intervention, training, dissemination and applied research.

Research Center for Child Well-Being (RCCWB)

RCCWB is an NIGMS/NIH Center of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) focused on prevention research impacting the well-being of children ages 2 to 10, with the dual goal of (1) reducing risk for social, emotional, and behavioral problems, and (2) decreasing unhealthy lifestyle behaviors. As a joint venture by the Arnold School and the College of Arts and Sciences, the RCCWB seeks to accelerate the scientific trajectories of promising early-career faculty.

Rural and Minority Health Research Center

The Rural and Minority Health Research Center at the University of South Carolina focuses on investigating persistent inequities in health status within rural and minority populations in the United States, with an emphasis on inequities stemming from socioeconomic status, race and ethnicity, access to healthcare services, and other macro level factors. We strive to make our research useful to organizations and individuals working to improve the health status and quality of life of rural and minority communities.

Scholars in Health and Alzheimer's Research for Equity

SHARE (Scholars in Health and Alzheimer’s Research for Equity) is an equity-driven training and mentorship program that prepares early-career scientists to address how social determinants of health influence disparities and outcomes related to Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias in underrepresented and minority communities.

South Carolina Cancer Prevention and Control Research Network (SC-CPCRN)

The Cancer Prevention and Control Research Network is a national network of academic, public health, and community partners who work together to reduce the burden of cancer, especially among those disproportionately affected. Its members conduct community and partner-engaged cancer research across its eight network centers, crossing academic affiliations and geographic boundaries.

South Carolina Center of Excellence in Addiction

In response to the evolving addiction crisis impacting communities across the state, the S.C. Center of Excellence in Addiction was established by Clemson University, the University of South Carolina, the Medical University of South Carolina, the S.C. Department of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services, and the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control. The Center operates as one collaborative institution jointly owned and operated by the universities and state agencies.

Technology Center to Promote Healthy Lifestyles (TecHealth)

TecHealth is a SmartState™ Center comprised of an interdisciplinary team of research scientists and students. We are dedicated to creating and utilizing innovative technology to encourage healthy lifestyle behaviors, which can solve some of the most pressing chronic health problems facing the citizens of South Carolina.


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