Charleston, SC Economic Development

New endowed chair, $5 million grant put S.C. at forefront of cardiac research

Mar. 25, 2008
Charleston Regional Business Journal
By Dan McCue
The recruitment of an internationally acclaimed cardiovascular researcher and a $5 million grant from the BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina Foundation to support his work promise to put South Carolina at the forefront in this field.

The announcement of Dr. Martin Morad’s appointment as the state’s newest endowed chair was made this morning at the Statehouse in Columbia and was hosted by Health Sciences South Carolina.

Morad, who will soon begin working on the world’s first biological heart pacemaker, has been named the BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina Endowed Chair in Cardiovascular Health, a new position in the HSSC Center of Economic Excellence for Regenerative Medicine.

His appointment includes a unique three-way faculty appointment at the Medical University of South Carolina, where he will be based, the University of South Carolina and Clemson University.

Morad is considered an expert in “excitation contraction coupling,” an area of cardiac calcium signaling. His research focuses on the complex interactions and signaling that regulate heart function.

Morad believes that understanding this process will lead to new therapeutic approaches to treat congestive heart failure and other cardiac pathologies, including the possible creation of a biological pacemaker derived from genetically engineered cells.

His recruitment is part of the South Carolina Centers of Economic Excellence Program, a state initiative that grants awards to South Carolina’s three research universities to create Centers of Economic Excellence, along with endowed professorships, in technology-related fields that are likely to enhance the state’s economy.

Each state award must be matched dollar-for-dollar with funds from private, federal or municipal sources.

“This proves what a tremendous magnet for talent South Carolina and Health Sciences South Carolina has become, thanks to the vision of our General Assembly in its creation and funding of the Centers of Economic Excellence program,” said Jay Moskowitz, president and CEO of Health Sciences South Carolina. “For Dr. Morad to leave a prestigious appointment at Georgetown University in favor of Clemson, MUSC and USC is a tremendous affirmation.”

Moskowitz also thanked BlueCross BlueShield for its donation, saying “This investment in South Carolina’s intellectual infrastructure and the Centers of Economic Excellence program is absolutely critical to our state’s ability to compete in the global economy.”

In his new role, Morad will work in close collaboration with the USC School of Medicine in the area of cell biology; MUSC in the areas of cardiology, cardiac development and cell biology; and Clemson in the areas of tissue engineering and scaffolding.

MUSC President Ray Greenberg said the effort to recruit Morad was years in the making.

“I could not be more thrilled about the opportunity to recruit such a distinguished scientist and wonderful human being to South Carolina,” Greenberg said. 		related information