CIU to hold opening for new health science lab

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Columbia International University will open a new 2,700-square-foot Health Science Lab this week as part of ongoing expansion of the school’s health care program.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony for the lab will be held 11 a.m. on Friday. The lab is located near the Jones Center at CIU’s Monticello Road entrance.

CIU’s emphasis on health science includes a new major in Biomedical Science and a new residential nursing program offering a Bachelor of Science in nursing.

The lab will provide space for more than a dozen courses including biochemistry, genetics, cell biology, anatomy and physiology. It features state-of the art equipment including Leica microscopes for observing cells and tissues at high magnification, a spectrophotometer used for chemical analysis and measuring chemical or enzyme reactions, and gel electrophoresis for analysis of DNA and proteins.

David DeWitt, CIU’s dean of science programs, is a neuroscientist who comes to the school from Liberty University with 25 years of experience in higher education instruction and nine years as the chair of a department of biology and chemistry. He said the new Biomedical Science major will be a rigorous program to prepare graduates for medical school as well as dental, pharmacy and other related professional programs.

“I am very excited to contribute to CIU’s mission to educate students from the biblical worldview with an emphasis on health and science,” DeWitt said. “These new well-equipped labs will help CIU contribute to the STEM and health care workforce in South Carolina and the world.”