Lowvelo Bike Ride Funding

Jessica Baxter (right) with her SC CHEC mentor, Shannon Phillips, Ph.D., RN
LOWVELO
Where The
Money Goes
How rider-raised dollars are
supporting the next generation
of researchers
It was never a question. Jessica Baxter
was going to college. It was something her
mother always pushed for her children.
“I come from a single-parent household and
I’m the youngest of three, so college is a
huge deal,” said Baxter. “I wasn’t opposed to
going but, of course, with college, there is a
financial aspect, and we are really dependent
on scholarships and financial aid to cover
most of the cost.”
Baxter was already doing a good job of
securing the funds to get her education —
and doing so on merit. As part of the Honors
College at South Carolina State University
(SCSU), she had some scholarship money
helping with her tuition. But in 2021, the
biology major (with a minor in chemistry)
got a boost when she was awarded a
LOWVELO Scholarship.
“Getting the LOWVELO scholarship
completely allowed me to not have to
pay for school at all for the past couple
of years, which has caused a huge financial
relief on my family,” said Baxter.
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MUSC Hollings Cancer Center’s
LOWVELO is all about funding lifesaving
cancer research. As South Carolina’s only
National Cancer Institute-designated cancer
center, the innovative research happening
at Hollings impacts patients across the
state and beyond. With 100% of every
participant-raised dollar benefiting cancer
research, LOWVELO’s riders and donors
directly support the Hollings researchers
who are advancing cancer care. It also funds
fellowships and scholarships to help train the
next generation of researchers — researchers
like Baxter.
In 2022, Baxter applied for and was invited
to be part of the South Carolina Cancer
Health Equity Consortium (SC CHEC) at
Hollings. This is a 10-week summer program
that aims to attract and catalyze a new
generation of diverse biomedical scientists.
The program exposes student fellows to
current health statistics, disparity gaps in
health outcomes, key leaders in biomedical/
biobehavioral research, and provides
hands-on experience in laboratories that are
working to understand the science
behind cancer.
In the program, undergraduate juniors and
seniors engage with investigators at Hollings
to gain exposure to the latest advances in
biomedical research spanning basic, clinical
and population science with an emphasis on
cancer disparities in South Carolina.
During her internship, Baxter spent her
first summer studying prostate cancer on
campus at SCSU and her second summer at
Hollings studying a link between sickle cell
disease and cancer. It’s opened her eyes to
the world of research. Although Baxter hopes
to continue her education by becoming a
physical therapist, she now sees that research
can help in so many areas of medicine and
plans to make it part of her career as well.
Baxter said her LOWVELO scholarship has
been a key in her college journey.
“It's already opened so many doors of
opportunity,” said Baxter. “Of course, it's
helped financially, but it's also helped me
build connections with people who are
invested in students who are upcoming
and who could potentially be the next
researchers. It's taught me just how amazing
research is and how many different ways
there are to do it. It makes me excited for
what I'm going to do and how far my career
could go.” ◗
HOLLINGS HORIZONS Fall 2023

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