Fall 2014

RESEARCH INKLINGS

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The MUSC College of Health Professions is the recipient of a $10.8 million COBRE grant from NIH. The grant established the South Carolina Research Center for Recovery from Stroke (SCRCRS), under the direction of Steven Kautz, PhD, chairman of the Department of Health Sciences Research and co-director of the Center for Rehabilitation Research in Neurological Conditions (CRRNC). Dr. Kautz has dedicated his career to making stroke rehabilitation more effective and developing interventions that will help these individuals regain their independence and return to their lives and careers.

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MUSC President David Cole, M.D., FACS, said of the award, “This COBRE grant award reflects a significant collective expertise on the forefront of stroke rehabilitation research at MUSC. We are very excited about the potential impact the SCRCRS will be able to make in the field of stroke rehabilitation because of this award. The College of Health Professions and the outstanding team involved in the grant deserve high praise – this level of investment from the NIH is a strong statement to the state and nation of the potential impact this research center will unquestionably have.”

Inside Research INKlings

Stroke Recovery Research Center

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According to Dr. Kautz, the center will invest substantially in advancing the fields of neural plasticity, rehabilitation and brain stimulation. This combination will best position the team to make a substantive impact on the practice of stroke recovery. “We believe that the future for stroke recovery will be pairing great new physical experience-based interventions with treatments to enhance the brain’s plasticity, be those treatments cell-based, like stem cells, or new drugs or other nervous system manipulations like harnessing electrical or magnetic brain stimulation.”

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Steven Kautz, PhD Mark George, MD Truman Brown, PhD Robert Adams, MD

§ P2 - Stroke Recovery Research Center § P3 - Healthcare Simulation Center § P4 - HCC Awarded $3.4M § P5 - Multi-site Clinical Trials § P5 - Dr. Alan Diehl § P6 - SC Compound Library § P7 - MUSC Proposal Library § P7 - Research Town Hall Meeting § P7 - Oral Health Symposium § SCTR & SCOR Pilot Project Program Funding Opportunity § P8 - Pathology Residency Program,

Nationally Ranked

Research INKlings Fall 2014

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Stroke Recovery Research Center

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The COBRE grant allows a team of senior investigators with different skills to all work together to train and mentor the cadre of junior scientists involved in the grant who will then become skilled in multiple areas giving them the multidisciplinary toolbox they will need to become the next leaders in the field. They will be developing and translating new, mechanism-based interventional strategies in an effort to improve functional recovery from stroke.

Junior scientists for the Stroke Recovery Research Center include: Colleen A. Hanlon, PhD Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry (Project 1: Investigating the Neurobiologic Basis for Loss of Cortical Laterality in Chronic Stroke Patients); Mark G. Bowden, PhD, PT, Assistant Professor in the Department of Health Sciences and Research (Project 2: Excitatory and Inhibitory rTMS as Mechanistic Contributors to Walking Recovery); Wuwei (Wayne) Feng, MD, MS, Assistant Professor in the Department of Neurosciences (Project 3: Optimizing Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Current and Electrode Montage for Stroke Patients); Andy Y. Shih, PhD, Assistant Professor in the Department of Neurosciences (Project 4: Microvascular Function and Neuroplasticity after Stroke); Chris Gregory, PT, PhD, Assistant Professor in the Department of Health Sciences & Research; and (Project 5: Treating Depression and Enhancing Locomotor Recovery Post-stroke).

Dr. Kautz believes the grant represents a significant step forward in stroke recovery research and the ability to create a maximally synergistic approach, offering hope not only to the people of South Carolina but well beyond. “Rehabilitation is critical to long-term recovery and while research related to the prevention and treatment of stroke is

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plentiful, research to help those left with chronic disabilities after stroke has long been underemphasized.”

The center is divided into four distinct scientific cores that

define the work of the center as well as a fifth core that

concerns administration of the grant, duties of which fall to Dr. Kautz.

v Quantitative Behavioral Assessment and Rehabilitation Core, Steven Kautz, PhD, will evaluate where a patient

is pre/post rehabilitation to generate new ways to

quantitatively diagnose patients with the goal of

providing clinicians with meaningful biomarkers of

behavior.

v Under the leadership of Mark George, MD, Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, researchers in the Brain Stimulation Core plan to develop unique tools and methods to measure brain function and plasticity in the journey of figuring out how to induce brain changes to potentially treat damage caused by a stroke.

v Truman Brown, PhD, Professor in the

Department of Radiology and Radiological Science leads the Neuroimaging Core, designed to leverage resources from the Center for Biomedical Imaging. Using sophisticated imaging techniques; the core will show how treatments and research trials may work to augment the brain’s plasticity.

v Robert Adams, MD, Professor in the

Department of Neurosciences, will direct the Clinical & Translational Tools and Resources Core. The Stroke Clinical Registry Database is the centerpiece of this core and creates a powerful research tool and informational clearinghouse for researchers.

Research INKlings Fall 2014

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Promising technology born at the Medical University of South Carolina Healthcare Simulation Center is now available as an improvement to Laerdal Medical’s SimMom, a manikin that simulates childbirth for medical training. The MUSC Foundation for Research Development (FRD) filed the patent application for the adaptation and exclusively licensed it for commercial purposes to Laerdal, which recently made the new module available to the public. “Simulation offers an effective way to train medical students and other health care professionals for real-life situations, ultimately producing better patient outcomes,” said FRD Executive Director

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Michael Rusnak. “This enhancement of SimMom’s capabilities will improve obstetrics training worldwide and is yet another accomplishment for MUSC’s Healthcare Simulation Center, which has quickly emerged as a leader in the evolving field of medical simulation.” Dr. John J. Schaefer III directs both the MUSC Healthcare Simulation Center and the statewide network HealthCare Simulation of South Carolina, a MUSC SmartState Endowed Chair program. His wife, Dr. Carol Simmons, is an obstetrician and adjunct assistant professor at MUSC. They co-invented the new module, which automates SimMom’s birthing process so the delivery of the manikin’s Birthing Baby no longer has to

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be replicated manually by an instructor. The automatic delivery module allows for greater standardization of scenarios and assessments and offers cost savings because SimMom trainings can be done more quickly and with fewer instructors. Elegant in its simplicity, the new module is easy to use, yet can be adapted through software to simulate a range of scenarios from a typical delivery to complex and even dangerous situations for mother and baby. For more information regarding SimMom and the automatic delivery module, please visit http://www.laerdal.com/us/SimMom.

MUSC Healthcare Simulation Center to improve training for labor and delivery

Research INKlings Fall 2014

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Hollings Cancer Center Awarded $3.4 Million

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The National Cancer Institute (NCI) has awarded a new five-year grant to Hollings Cancer Center (HCC) researchers to conduct multi-site cancer clinical trials and cancer care delivery research studies, specifically those that include significant representation of minority and underserved communities.

The grant was awarded under the NCI Community Oncology Research Program (NCORP), a national network of investigators, cancer care providers, academic institutions, and other organizations that provide care to diverse populations in community-based healthcare practices across the United States. Funding for the HCC program is $3.4 million to be awarded over five years.

“This is important for the entire state of South Carolina,” commented Chanita Hughes-Halbert, Ph.D., Principal Investigator for the grant, “as we will now have greater access to the latest therapeutic forms for cancer treatment, greater access to top clinical trials,

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and we will provide expertise to develop new strategies for how cancer care is delivered to everyone represented in our communities.”

Dr. Hughes-Halbert is Program Leader for Cancer Control at the Hollings Cancer Center, and AT&T Distinguished Endowed Chair in Cancer Equity, SmartState Center of Economic Excellence, at the Medical University of South Carolina.

This project has multiple program directors/principal investigators and they include: Marvella E. Ford, PhD, Professor, Department of Public Health Sciences; Carolyn D. Britten, MD, Associate Professor, Division of Hematology & Oncology in the Department of Phase I Director of the Clinical Trials Program at the Hollings Cancer Center Medicine; and Andrew S. Kraft, MD, Professor, Division of Hematology & Oncology in the Department of Medicine.

Multi-site Clinical Trials and Cancer Care Delivery Research Studies

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Research INKlings Fall 2014

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HCC Award: Multi-site Clinical Trials and Cancer Care Delivery Research Studies

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Cancer care delivery research within NCORP focuses on diverse and multi-level factors (e.g. social, financing systems, process, technology, and others) that affect access to and quality of care in the community. According to Worta McCaskill-Stevens, M.D., Director of NCORP, this program allows NCI to take advantage of recent advances in the understanding of cancer and bring this new knowledge into clinical trials conducted in the community, where most patients receive their care.

The NCORP network, she explains, will identify and evaluate the critically needed interventions that reduce cancer risk and

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incidence, enhance cancer patients’ quality of life, and increase access to clinical trials and cancer care delivery research for minority, rural, and other underserved patient populations.

The HCC received this grant as one of 12 NCORP Minority/Underserved Community Sites, designated for sites that have a patient population comprised of at least 30 percent racial/ethnic minorities or rural residents. A total of 53 NCORP grants were awarded, with only 12 designated as Minority/Underserved Community Sites.

Dr. Alan Diehl joins HCC as Associate Director for Basic Sciences

Alan Diehl, PhD, joined Hollings Cancer Center as the HCC Associate Director for Basic Sciences. Dr. Diehl was recruited from the Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute at the University of Pennsylvania to serve as the SmartState Chair in Lipidomics & Pathobiology and as Professor of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology.

He earned his PhD from the University of Missouri-Columbia and completed post-doctoral work at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Using state-of-the-art techniques including genomics, proteomics, and mouse models, Dr. Diehl’s laboratory has identified novel molecular targets essential to the development of new cancer therapies.

In addition, the Hollings Cancer Center has recruited the following faculty members:

• Nancy Demore, MD, Professor, Department of Surgery, Breast Surgery, from UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center

• Nathan Dolloff, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Cell & Molecular Pharmacology, from Penn State University

• Linda E. Kelemen, MSc, ScD, Associate Professor, Department of Public Health Sciences, from Alberta Health Services-Cancer Care

• Yi “ Benny” Yang, MD, Assistant Professor, Department of Microbiology & Immunology, from New York University School of Medicine

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Dr. Charles Beam, Emeritus Professor of Chemistry at the College of Charleston donated over 1,000 synthetic samples to the South Carolina Compound Library (SCCL). This donation will add significantly to our growing compound library, which is being built into a world-class collection that will fuel drug discovery in South Carolina. The samples being donated represent many years of research by Dr. Beam and his students, and will serve as a fitting tribute to his career.

During his career, Dr. Beam had thirty-five years of continuous external funding while at an undergraduate institution-a record many at Carnegie Research Universities would envy. He is the finest exemplar of a research mentor at the undergraduate level in the state. As part of its mission, the South Carolina Center for Therapeutic Discovery and Development is creating the South Carolina Compound Collection (SCCL), which is comprised of small, drug-like molecules that can be used in biological screens to identify starting points for drug discovery projects. The goal in creating this library is to offer an in-house collection of validated analogues that are representative of the best compounds made by academic and industrial chemists in South Carolina. Compounds are added to the collection through commercial purchases, donations of compound collections from South Carolina academic and industrial sites, and samples from researchers at MUSC and USC. All compounds are annotated and stored in the searchable SCCL database along with any associated physical and biological data. All researchers that contribute compounds to the SCCL

will receive an annual report that contains the screening data for their respective compounds.

South Carolina Compound Library Receives Inaugural Donation, Dr. Charles Beam

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The MUSC Research Town Hall is planned for Tuesday, November 4th from Noon - 1:00 pm in the Bioengineering Building Auditorium.

Topics include: Annual Funding Report, Research Administration Updates, Office of Research Integrity Metrics, and Grants & Mentor Infrastructure Development.

We look forward to seeing everyone there!

Research Town Hall Meeting

Proposal Library The Office of Research Development (ORD) and SCTR Institute are pleased to announce the Proposal Library. The library is a repository of recent, successful proposals (e.g., NIH R01, K23, K08, U01) that will serve as a resource for MUSC investigators. The library includes basic, clinical and translational applications. To gain access to the proposal library, please click here to complete the form. ORD and SCTR are grateful to the MUSC faculty who so graciously donated their proposals to this library. If you would like to contribute a proposal, please e-mail Karen Harper.

The MUSC Oral Health Symposium will be held on Friday, November 21 from 9:00– 3:00 pm in the Bioengineering Building Auditorium, Room 110. Poster presentations and networking sessions will be held in the Bioengineering and Drug Discovery Lobbies.

The symposium will feature presentations by internationally respected researchers on the topics of bioengineering and regenerative medicine, cancer biology, and public health disparities. The scientific program will include oral and poster presentations related to oral health and a networking session aimed at stimulating interactions among basic, clinical and public health scientists. The program will be structured to encourage interaction among participants and stimulate development of new collaborative research teams that will be eligible to apply to the Center for Oral Health Research Pilot and Feasibility Program.

The symposium will feature William V. Giannobile, DDS, MS, DMSc, Chair, Department of Periodontics & Oral Medicine, Najjar Endowed Professor of Dentistry and Biomedical Engineering, and Director, Michigan Center for Oral Health Research. His keynote address is titled, "Future Prospects for Oral and Periodontal Bioengineering."

Oral Health Symposium

Fall 2014

Pathology Residency Program Nationally Ranked

MUSC Pathology Residency Program was ranked 16th nationally and 3rd in the south. The peer review process included over 50,000 nominations submitted by board-certified physicians to U.S. News & World Report and Doximity as part of a larger initiative to create a discovery tool for senior medical students. Congratulations to our Department of Pathology on this wonderful recognition, especially Steven L. Carroll, MD, PhD, Professor and Chair of the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Nicholas I. Batalis, MD, Associate Professor Director, Pathology Residency Program Associate Director, Education Division, and David N. Lewin, MD Professor Associate Director, Pathology Residency Program.

SCTR’s Pilot Project Program aims to facilitate new and innovative, high-impact translational research with emphasis on diseases demonstrating significant prevalence in South Carolina. The primary objectives of pilot funding are to support new and innovative, scientifically meritorious projects to collect critical preliminary data for submission of extramural grant applications and to publish research findings. Discovery Grants pre-applications are due by noon on November 21, 2014. For more information, please visit the SCTR Pilot Project Program webpage for the RFA and more details.

In order to catalyze women's health-related research throughout MUSC, the Specialized Center of Research (SCOR) on Sex and Gender Factors Affecting Women’s Health is pleased to announce a request for pilot project proposals focused on sex and gender-related issues in neuroscience. The pilot program will provide short-term start-up funds (up to $15,000) to promising postdoctoral fellows and junior faculty (less than 5 years from post-doctoral training/terminal degree) to collect initial data for an R03, R21, or R01 submission. The project must focus on a neuroscience-related topic and explore either sex/gender differences or disorders/treatments as they uniquely relate to women. The project can be either clinical or basic science, but consistent with the NIH Roadmap Initiative and the vision of MUSC's South Carolina Clinical & Translational Research (SCTR) Institute are especially encouraged. Applications are due by noon on November 3. For more information visit www.musc.edu/scor or contact Sarah Gainey (smithsar@musc.edu).

SCOR Request For Pilot Projects

SCTR Pilot Project Program Funding Opportunity

Research INKlings is an on-line newsletter prepared by the Office of Research Development providing research news, policy changes and

other relevant information for MUSC faculty, staff and students.