A part of the proceeds from each ticket to Michelin Challenge Rugby will benefit autism research being conducted at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC),  Michelin announced recently. The international rugby match, to be held on Aug. 9 at Blackbaud Stadium in Charleston, features leading French rugby team ASM Clermont-Auvergne and the U.S. national team,  the USA Eagles.
Tickets start at $20 can be purchased online at www.tickets.com.
ESPN Classic will broadcast the match live at 7 p.m.  
 “The latest research shows that autism affects one in 150 children and one in 94 boys. What’s more, the costs to each family dealing with autism are in the millions of dollars, and continue to rise,” said Herb  Johnson, director of community relations for Michelin North America. “While researchers such as those at MUSC continue to make progress fighting this condition, we want to join them in the fight. Michelin  Challenge Rugby gives us the ideal opportunity to do that.”
Dr. Lindsay DeVane, professor and vice chair for research in the Department of Psychiatry, is one of several investigators at MUSC working to better understand the causes and improve the treatment of children with autism. His research in the Children’s Research Institute and with collaborators in the department of pediatrics is aimed at finding new treatments and improving existing drug therapies for children with this disease. Through simple blood tests to determine a genetic “fingerprint,” medications can be matched to specific individuals that work best and cause the fewest side effects in that child.
“This approach to treatment, called pharmacogenetics, represents the future of individualized medicine not only for autism but for most diseases that are treated with drugs,” Dr. DeVane said.
Tickets to the international exhibition match start at $20 and are available at www.tickets.com. A limited number of VIP tickets are also available that include access to the Three Lions Club (at Blackbaud Stadium) and include complimentary food and beverages. For groups of 10, VIP tickets or for more  information, call the Blackbaud Stadium box office at 843-971-4625.