MUSC to receive $20 million grant from the National Institutes of Health

The Medical University of South Carolina will receive a $20 million National Institutes of Health grant that focuses on turning research into applicable treatment for patients and the community.

The NIH Clinical and Translational Science Award to MUSC is one of the largest NIH grants for South Carolina and will be spread out over a five-year period, said MUSC President Ray Greenberg.

Funding should start this summer with the possibility of renewal after the first five years, said John Raymond, MUSC provost and vice president for academic affairs. The money will be used to fund 11 programs at MUSC and other partnership institutions, such as the University of South Carolina, Clemson University, Health Sciences South Carolina and the South Carolina Research Authority.

The grant allows these groups to provide first-class research, training for the next generation of researchers and “takes research from the bench to the bedside to the community,” said Jerry Reves, dean of the MUSC College of Medicine.

MUSC joins 45 other institutions across the country as part of the CTSA consortium, including Duke, Vanderbilt and the University of North Carolina. The CTSA program will eventually include 60 institutions across the country.

“This gives MUSC a seat at the table” on important discussions about national health care issues, Raymond said. The CTSA program also fosters collaboration and research among different disciplines, such as health economists, social workers and physicians, he said.

Not only will this result in better outcomes and treatment for patients, but it will also result in products like new drug treatments, educational software and medical devices, Raymond said.

The CTSA program at MUSC will be led by Kathleen Brady, director of MUSC’s clinical neuroscience division.