"This center will be a marriage of all aspects of science and treatment, from basic science and clinical research to patient care and public health research, all part of the quest to treat and ultimately cure sickle cell disease," said lead investigator Dr. James F. Casella in a statement.
The new facility will add new efforts to old, combining a proposed faculty scholar in sickle cell disease and a summer program of research for high school students with an existing urgent care center, opened earlier this year, for treating sickle cell patients with acute pain and an adult sickle cell center focusing on chronic care.
The center will also offer counseling and education services to patients and their families.
Sickle cell disease is caused by a mutation in the hemoglobin genes resulting in a genetic blood disorder. Sickle-shaped cells get stuck in blood vessels, causing stroke and organ damage. In the U.S., more than 72,000 people have sickle cell anemia, mostly African Americans.
