NIH Researcher-Physician to Address MUSC Graduates

April 19, 2018

CHARLESTON, SC – John F. Tisdale, M.D., a renowned authority on sickle cell disease, will address MUSC’s 2018 graduating class during commencement ceremonies on May 19. Approximately 644 candidates are expected to receive their degrees from MUSC’s six colleges: Dental Medicine, Graduate Studies, Health Professions, Medicine, Nursing, and Pharmacy.

A graduate of the College of Charleston and the Medical University of South Carolina, Tisdale was one of four clinicians featured during a three-part documentary on the Discovery Channel last fall entitled, “First in Human.” The documentary followed the physicians and their patients during experimental clinical trials at the National Institutes of Health. He and his research team successfully cured an African-American woman of sickle cell disease. To date, his team has enrolled more than 100 patients with sickle cell disease, testing curative approaches developed in his laboratory. These trials include new approaches to bone marrow transplantation from related donors as well as genetically manipulating a patient’s own bone marrow followed by transplantation, and in the majority of cases, they have achieved success.

He did his internship and residency at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine and was chief resident at the Nashville Veterans Administration Medical Center. He joined the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute in 1994, where he has been a hematology fellow, senior staff fellow, and Clinical Investigator. In 2011, the College of Charleston presented him with the Alumni of the Year Award and the Pre-Medical Society’s Outstanding Service Award in Medicine. He is a member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation and is a member of the American Society of Hematology.

Tisdale will receive a Doctor of Medical Science, honoris causa honorary degree.

Also receiving honorary degrees will be:

• Shawn A. Jenkins, M.B.A., former chief executive of software company Benefit focus and major donor to the MUSC Shawn Jenkins Children’s Hospital and Pearl Toureville Women’s Pavilion, Doctor of Humane Letters.
• Max D. Ray, Pharm.D., former director of MUSC’s Division of Clinical Pharmacy and currently dean emeritus of the College of Pharmacy at the Western University of Health Sciences, Doctor of Science, honoris causa.

Following is a breakdown of graduates by college and demographics, including May, August, and December graduates:

About MUSC

Founded in 1824 in Charleston, MUSC is the state’s only comprehensive academic health system, with a mission to preserve and optimize human life in South Carolina through education, research and patient care. Each year, MUSC educates over 3,100 students in six colleges and trains 950+ residents and fellows across its health system. MUSC leads the state in federal and National Institutes of Health and research funding. For information on our academic programs, visit musc.edu.

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. In 2024, for the 10th consecutive year, U.S. News & World Report named MUSC Health University Medical Center in Charleston the No. 1 hospital in South Carolina. To learn more about clinical patient services, visit muschealth.org.

MUSC has a total enterprise annual operating budget of $7.1 billion. The 31,000 MUSC members include world-class faculty, physicians, specialty providers, scientists, contract employees, affiliates and care team members who deliver groundbreaking education, research, and patient care.