MUSC receives $7.6 million in federal funds to promote

Charleston, SC, (August 3, 2007)- U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) has announced that the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) will receive more than $7.6 million in medical research grants.

"These grants are evidence of the high quality of research being conducted by faculty at the Medical University," said MUSC President Ray Greenberg, M.D., Ph.D. "MUSC set yet another record this past year for all universities in South Carolina, with more than $190 million in research funding. This research is addressing the most important health needs of the people of South Carolina, and it is creating high-paying jobs for our citizens."

The grant awards from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services include:

* $2,208,151 for oral health research.
* $2,190,000 for lipidomics and pathobiology research.
* $2,003,401 for general clinical research.
* $384,797 for heart and vascular disease research
* $292,000 for drug abuse and addiction research.
* $251,120 for cancer biology research
* $208,050 for kidney disease, urology and hematology research.
* $73,000 for neurological disorder research.

The grant for approximately $2.2 million this year in oral health research is the renewal of the CoBRE (Center of Biomedical Research Excellence) grant in the College of Dental Medicine and is the largest grant the college has ever received. For more information about the results of CoBRE work with South Carolina's oral health disparities issues, visit http://oralcobre.musc.edu/public/grantees.php.

The second largest grant is also related to the CoBRE program, and involves the study of lipidomics (the role of fats and related molecules in health and disease), for which MUSC is considered one of the world leaders in that discipline. For MUSC's translational research future, the third grant will serve as the cornerstone for MUSC's CTSA (Clinical and Translational Science Award) grant proposal for the National Institutes of Health, which will be submitted in partnership with the University of South Carolina and the Medical College of Georgia in coming months.

All grants were awarded to MUSC after evaluation through peer-review channels and will serve a variety of necessary research goals across health care disciplines. MUSC Provost John Raymond, M.D., said, "The award of these competitive grants affirms the intellectual strength and dedication of our faculty and research staff, and highlight the tremendous return on investment to the state given by the MUSC research enterprise."

**About MUSC
**Founded in 1824 in Charleston, The Medical University of South Carolina is the oldest medical school in the South. Today, MUSC continues the tradition of excellence in education, research, and patient care. MUSC educates and trains more than 3,000 students and residents, and has nearly 10,000 employees, including 1,300 faculty members. As the largest non-federal employer in Charleston, the university and its affiliates have collective annual budgets in excess of $1.3 billion. MUSC operates a 600-bed medical center, which includes a nationally recognized Children's Hospital and Children's Research Institute and a leading Institute of Psychiatry. For more information on academic information or clinical services, visit www.musc.edu or www.muschealth.com.

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