MUSC Leads State in Biomedical Research Funding

Contact: Heather Woolwine
843-792-7669
woolwinh@musc.edu

Sept. 15, 2016

CHARLESTON, SC – The Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) continues to lead the state in biomedical research with more than $259 million in grant support from outside sources, including more than $109 million from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

In addition to increases in federally funded research, MUSC noted marked increases in corporate-sponsored research since 2014, with this year’s total at more than $70 million.

"This year, our total extramural grant funding topped more than $250 million for the first time in MUSC's history,” said Kathleen Brady, M.D., Ph.D., MUSC vice president of research. “The projects funded range from innovative nanoparticle approaches and drug delivery to broad outreach campaigns designed to build healthier communities and determine the best approaches to reach rural and underserved communities with state-of-the-art medical treatment. This is a testimony to the excellence, innovation and hard work of the MUSC research community and its dedication to the health of South Carolina and the nation."

Interesting ongoing research at MUSC includes:

Researchers are cautiously optimistic about a brain cancer treatment involving a virus being tested at the MUSC Hollings Cancer Center. Neuro-oncologist David Cachia, M.D., said he doesn’t want to raise false hope, but he is fascinated by the possibilities.
Researchers harness power of viruses to fight cancer

SmartState Center of Economic Excellence AT&T Distinguished Endowed Chair in Cancer Equity and Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences professor, Chanita Hughes-Halbert, Ph.D., serves as the contact principal investigator for the MUSC Transdisciplinary Collaborative Center. Hughes-Halbert is also program leader for the Cancer Control Research Program at the Hollings Cancer Center, and is an expert in cancer prevention and control, minority health, and developing and implementing health interventions into clinical and community settings.
Pressrelease

Great discoveries do come in small packages. Few know that better than Ann-Marie Broome, Ph.D., who feels nanotechnology holds the future of medicine with its ability to deliver powerful drugs in tiny, designer packages. Her latest research finds the perfect application: targeting cancerous brain tumor cells. Results from her recent paper published online in the international journal Nanomedicine – Future Medicine found that a lipid nanocarrier engineered to be small enough to get past the blood-brain barrier could be targeted to deliver a chemotherapeutic drug more efficiently to tumor cells in the brain

For more in-depth information about MUSC’s research and programs, visit Research.

About MUSC

Founded in 1824 in Charleston, MUSC is the oldest medical school in the South, as well as the state’s only integrated, academic health sciences center with a unique charge to serve the state through education, research and patient care. Each year, MUSC educates and trains more than 3,000 students and more than 850 residents in six colleges: Dental Medicine, Graduate Studies, Health Professions, Medicine, Nursing and Pharmacy. The state’s leader in obtaining biomedical research funds, in fiscal year 2019, MUSC set a new high, bringing in more than $284 million. Find out more about our academic programs.

As the health care system of the Medical University of South Carolina, MUSC Health is dedicated to delivering the highest quality and safest patient care while educating and training generations of outstanding health care providers and leaders to serve the people of South Carolina and beyond. Patient care is provided at 14 hospitals with approximately 2,500 beds and five additional hospital locations in development, more than 350 telehealth sites and connectivity to patients’ homes, and nearly 750 care locations situated in all regions of South Carolina. In 2021, for the seventh consecutive year, U.S. News & World Report named MUSC Health the No. 1 hospital in South Carolina. Learn more about clinical patient services.

MUSC and its affiliates have collective annual budgets of $4.4 billion. The nearly 25,000 MUSC team members include world-class faculty, physicians, specialty providers and scientists who deliver groundbreaking education, research, technology and patient care.