GREENVILLE, S.C. - Nian Chen was quick to grab her book of research notes, turn from her vials and beakers and ask for Sen. Joe Lieberman's autograph Thursday.

Chen welcomed the Democratic presidential hopeful to a lab at Greenville Hospital System's Cancer Center.

"I really appreciate his interest in research," said Chen, an assistant biology professor at Converse College in nearby Spartanburg. "We're not getting enough financial support."

Lieberman, D-Conn., praised Chen for her work and said the cancer center is an example of his proposed $150 billion American Center for Cures.

The 10-year plan would speed development of cures for chronic diseases by funding research and encouraging faster drug development, he said.

"I believe political campaigns ought to be about new ideas, ought to be about the future," said Lieberman, one of nine Democrats vying for president.

Lieberman wants to distinguish his health care priorities from that of his rivals by focusing on cures for ailments such as cancer, heart disease and multiple sclerosis.

"What we're not doing is investing enough money in focusing the effort to take the breakthroughs in the laboratory and bring them to the medicine cabinet or to the bedside to not just treat diseases but actually cure diseases," he said.

"If we could do this, we could not only extend people's lives and have people be free of the fear of chronic disease, but we could actually cut our health care cost."

Lieberman walked hallways lined with research articles and illustrations at the cancer center in Greenville, which opened in 1998, asking doctors and administrators questions on an hourlong tour.

The center takes research in molecular biology and medicine and applies it to treatment beyond chemotherapy and radiation therapy.

"I saw some thrilling work going on here," he said. "This couldn't be a better place for me to visit."

Lieberman's campaign stop in the Upstate also included a meeting with black ministers at Springfield Baptist Church.

The Democratic Party's 2000 vice presidential nominee said South Carolina's first-in-the-South Democratic primary on Feb. 3 is crucial.

"I think it's going to be important to the Democratic Party because it's going to bring into the nominating process for the Democratic candidate for president next year a broader group of people who haven't been involved at this early stage before where they could really have an affect on who the nominee," is, he said.

Like other Democratic candidates, Lieberman took a shot at the Bush administration on the economy.

"The last time I looked, 44,000 South Carolinians had lost their jobs since George Bush became president," he said. "That's not a good record."