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The concept that would eventually
develop into the Greenwood Genetic Center took shape in the thoughts and
discussion of two students of human genetics at Johns Hopkins Hospital in
1971. They dreamed of establishing a center which would put into practical
utilization the technology and principles of human heredity they were
learning under the exciting tutelage of Rodney Howell, Victor McKusick,
and George Thomas. It was not possible to determine where such a Center
would find a home (only that it would be in the South), when it could be
established (the country's economy was edging toward recession), nor its
exact organizational nature (early responses from medical universities in
the South were not encouraging). Undaunted by these uncertainties, Roger
Stevenson and Harold Taylor made plans for a Center that would be
accessible to families needing genetic services, contemporary in its
technology, and compassionate in philosophy. Several years passed before
Stevenson and Taylor's dream would materialize into the nation's first
independent Center to provide comprehensive genetic services.
A series of circumstances in 1973 and 1974 set the stage
for the Center's birth and location in Greenwood. The potential for
establishing the Center in Greenwood became obvious to Stevenson while a
guest in the home of his lifelong friend, Fred Williams, who had recently
moved to Greenwood to begin his practice of orthopedic surgery. Williams,
along with R.B. Curry, Jr., Greenwood businessman and trustee at Self
Memorial Hospital, and William Klauber, radiologist and regional health
planner, initiated plans for bringing the Center to Greenwood. They
ignited interest in the Genetic Center concept in the community and worked
through the spring and summer of 1974 to secure support for the project.
They located site options for construction of facilities, laid groundwork
for major funding sources, arranged for long-term capital financing, and,
along with Robert Erwin, Greenwood attorney, served on the Founding Board
of Directors.
Life was breathed into the Center with the announcement,
on August 7, 1974 of a major grant from the Self Foundation. The
Foundation's Trustees further negotiated with the SC Department of Mental
Retardation and Governor John West to secure state support for development
and operation of the Center. This unique support structure of private and
public resources has continued to the present.
Arriving in Greenwood on October 3, 1974, Stevenson
brought drawings in hand for the first Center building and plans in mind
for a lifetime of work. So complete were the plans, that the Center's
development seemed to progress naturally through the organizational period
with clinical and educational programs beginning in the spring of 1975 as
facilities were being constructed. The Spring Street facility, occupied in
July 1975, provided 7,500 square feet of space for a clinic, offices,
library, conference room and laboratories. It served the Center as the
base of operations until July 1984.
Taylor arrived from Baltimore in April 1975 to begin the
tasks of recruiting and training personnel for the laboratory, overseeing
construction of the laboratory and placing laboratory procedures in
operation. Activities of the laboratory expanded rapidly; so rapidly in
fact, that space within the lab became a problem within three years. New
laboratories, named in honor of James Cuthbert Self, were constructed on a
beautiful 8 acre site in the Medical Center area provided by Greenwood
Mills. These laboratories were placed in operation in August 1980.
Clinical development was likewise rapid with satellite
clinics established at the Anderson Family Practice Center (1975), Whitten
Center in Clinton (1975), Greenville General Hospital (1976), Spartanburg
General Hospital (1977), Midlands Center in Columbia (1978), Shriners
Hospital for Crippled Children (1979), Pee Dee Center in Florence (1981),
Saleeby Center in Hartsville (1981) and Self Memorial Hospital (1981).
Patient visits have grown steadily from the opening of the clinic to
present.
The Center joined with the Medical University of South
Carolina and the University of South Carolina School of Medicine in 1979
to form the South Carolina Consortium of Regional Genetic Centers. Through
the Consortium, the Centers share clinical and laboratory expertise,
provide educational programs, and plan for the delivery of genetic
services in South Carolina. The expertise of the clinical and laboratory
units have been shared beyond the state's borders through consultative
services with Shriners Hospital for Children and by providing laboratory
testing for other genetic units.
Faculty development posed perhaps the greatest challenge
to the fledgling organization. Growing patient numbers, as well as a
commitment to education and research necessitated the recruitment of
additional physicians, laboratory technologists and genetic counselors.
Yet, the Center's fragile nature made competition with academic centers
for the limited number of available genetics workers difficult. The
arrival of Richard Schroer from Bowman Gray School of Medicine, to join
the staff in 1978, marked the beginning of the Center's faculty growth.
Robert Saul came from Duke University a year later, Mary Phelan from
Medical College of Virginia in 1982, Curtis Rogers from Greenville
Hospital in 1983, JoAnn Kelly from Washington University in 1984, and
Charles Schwartz from the University of Utah in 1985. These faculty
members took the lead in developing important programs for the Center.
Opening in 1996, the J. C. Self Research Institute of
Human Genetics is a state and national resource where scientists seek a
greater understanding of the causes, treatment, and prevention of birth
defects and mental retardation. The Institute is taking a leading role in
genetic research in South Carolina. Whether mapping part of the vast
unknown areas of the human genome, studying the effects of a single gene
gone awry, or putting into practice a strategy for families to avoid
hereditary disease, scientists at the Institute hope their work will bring
the next generation closer to the goal of having all babies born healthy
and free of physical and mental disabilities.
Research at the Institute is divided into two major
Centers: The Center for Molecular Studies and The Center for Anatomic
Studies. The primary research focus in the Center for Molecular Studies is
gaining a greater understanding of mental retardation, discovering new
mechanisms which contribute to genetic disease, and developing new
strategies for prevention. The Center for Anatomic Studies devotes its
resources toward understanding the mechanisms by which birth defects occur
and how they may be prevented.
In 1999, the Center received a $3.5 million grant from
the S.C. General Assembly to establish the South Carolina Biotechnology
Incubation Facility, a 22,000 square foot west wing addition to the J.C.
Self Research Institute of Human Genetics. About 8,000 sq. ft. of the
facility is used for laboratory modules and related office space which is
available for defined periods of time to promising projects and companies.
The building also includes a library, conference facility, and space for
central services and other support activities. Economically viable
projects will spin-off into separate operations in the surrounding
Biotechnology Park.
The Greenwood Genetic Center provides administrative
support and consultation for the incubation facility through its Division
of Technology Advancement, which was established in 1999. The South
Carolina Biotechnology Incubation Program operates under the supervision
of a Board of Governors, with funds for the incubation facility coming
from state appropriations via the S.C. Department of Commerce and the
Greenwood Economic Alliance.
Major Milestones of the Greenwood Genetic Center:
- 1974: Founding of the Greenwood Genetic Center
- 1975: Completion of Spring Street building to house
clinics, laboratory, and library; satellite clinic system initiated
- 1977: Statewide Genetic Associate program established
- 1979: South Carolina Genetic Conferences initiated
- 1980: Completion of James Cuthbert Self Genetic
Laboratories
- 1982: Volume I of Proceedings of the Greenwood
Genetic Center published
- 1982: Third David W. Smith Conference on
Malformations and Morphogenesis hosted by the Center
- 1984: Completion of Center Main building to house
clinics, offices, library, and conference areas
- 1984: Accreditation of postgraduate and postdoctoral
training programs offered by the Center
- 1984: Maternal serum prenatal screening instituted
- 1985: Establishment of Recombinant DNA Laboratory
- 1986: Department of Medical Genetics established at
Self Memorial Hospital
- 1987: Eighth David W. Smith Workshop on Malformations
and Morphogenesis hosted by the Center
- 1988: Completion of major addition to the James
Cuthbert Self Genetic Laboratories
- 1989: Establishment of the Division of Genetic
Research
- 1990: DNA Diagnostic Laboratory established
- 1992: Office of Development established
- 1992: Thirteenth David W. Smith Workshop on
Malformations and Morphogenesis hosted by the Center
- 1992: Neural Tube Defects Surveillance, Prevention
and Research Program initiated
- 1994: Division of Genetic Education and Fetal
Pathology section established
- 1995: Completion of the J.C. Self Research Institute
of Human Genetics
- 1995: Genetics Endowment of South Carolina
established
- 1997: Eighteenth David W. Smith Workshop on
Malformations and Morphogenesis hosted by the Center
- 1998: Partnership with S.C. Chapter March of Dimes
established
- 1999: Scientific Advisory Board holds first meeting
- 1999: $3.5 million grant from the South Carolina
Department of Commerce to construct The South Carolina Biotechnology
Incubation Facility on the Center's campus.
- 2000: Establishment of the Division of Technology
Advancement; Board of Governors named for South Carolina Biotechnology
Incubation Program.
- 2001: Completion of the South Carolina Biotechnology
Incubation Facility
- 2002: Twenty-third David W. Smith Workshop on
Malformations and Morphogenesis hosted by the Center.
- 2004: Charles E. Schwartz, Ph.D., named Director of
Research and Head of the J.C. Self Research Institute of Human Genetics
- 2005: Clemson University and Greenwood Genetic Center
announce Genetics Collaborative
- 2005: 12th International Workshop on Fragile X and
X-Linked Mental Retardation hosted by the Center
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