Research

The School of Medicine (SOM) faculty conduct research that changes lives in South Carolina, across the nation, and around the world. Researchers work collaboratively with colleagues throughout the university from a variety of academic disciplines, as well as with peers around the United States.

Major research funding for the school includes significant grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Science Foundation (NSF), and the Duke Endowment.  Our faculty also receive research and contract awards from pharmaceutical companies to pursue both basic and translational/clinical research as well as to conduct trials.  Some examples of major research funding include:

1. A $6 million NIH grant that will study the effect of botanicals on inflammatory and autoimmune diseases.  This Center is directed by Dr. Prakash Nagarkatti, Carolina Distinguished Professor and Associate Dean for Basic Science at the School of Medicine and Dr. Mitzi Nagarkatti, Chair of the Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology.  It is one of 11 Centers in the nation. Visit the Center website here. 
2. A 5-year NIH grant that provides $16 million for the SC INBRE (the IDeA Networks of Biomedical Research Excellence) to support a network of ten colleges and universities in the state, including USC, to develop biomedical research programs in areas such as regenerative medicine, biochemistry and molecular biology. This project is led by SOM faculty member, Dr. Lucia Pirisi-Creek, Professor, Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology.  Visit the Center website here
3. A $10.7 million NIH grant to the University's Center for Colon Cancer Research.  This is one of the Centers of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) in which several faculty members from SOM participate.  Visit the Center website here  
4. The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded $20 million to establish a statewide alliance in the field of tissue biofabrication, aimed at the development of human organs.   SOM faculty working in the areas of tissue engineering actively participate in this research. Visit the Center website here  

In addition, SOM is actively participating in state-funded Research Centers of Economic Excellence that are devoted to cancer, cardiovascular disease and stroke, brain imaging, biomedical ethics, health services and primary health care.  One such Center that SOM is engaged in is research to improve the independence and mobility of senior citizens through a program called SeniorSMART®.  Also, Stroke Center of Economic Excellence was established with support from Health Sciences South Carolina.  Recently, SOM successfully recruited a leading stroke expert to the Center: Souvik Sen, MD, MS, MPH, as an Endowed Chair of Department of Neurology.