Department of Drug Discovery and Biomedical Sciences Newsletter

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Spring, 2016 Newsletter A Message from the Chair The year 2015 was a highly productive period for faculty and students in the Department of Drug Discovery and Biomedical Sciences (DDBS). It was also a period that produced many changes in the operation of the department. The Board of Trustees at both MUSC and USC-Columbia voted to dissolve the South Carolina College of Pharmacy, such that the pharmacy programs at each location would be free standing. The South Carolina College of Pharmacy (SCCP), which was formed more than 10 years ago, will be phased out over the next 4 years, and students entering our pharmacy program in fall of 2016 will be students of the MUSC College of Pharmacy. As you can imagine, this "demerger" process has required DDBS faculty and staff to revisit policies, procedures and teaching assignments to create a MUSC-only academic environment, while continuing to maintain the joint program until 2019 for students who were previously accepted into SCCP. In August of 2015, Dr. Rick Schnellmann stepped down as chairman of DDBS to focus on research after 12 years of dedicated service. At that time, I assumed duties as Interim Vice-Chair of the joint department, while Dr. Kim Creek at USC assumed the duties of chairman. As the demerger continues, the Vice-Chair position will become the DDBS Chair slot in the demerged MUSC College of Pharmacy.

During 2015, DDBS faculty expanded their research capabilities with the addition of two new faculty. Dr. Mark Hamann is a natural products chemist who joined us from the University of Mississippi in October, bringing with him an active laboratory pursuing the identification of new therapeutic agents from natural sources. In addition, Dr. Eduardo Maldonado, a research assistant professor in the department, assumed a tenure track position as Assistant Professor in July. Dr. Maldonado has initiated a research program to study the effect of ion channel regulation of Warburg metabolism in hepatocellular carcinoma. The department maintained a rigorous research agenda during 2015, as evidenced by the amount of external funding garnered by DDBS faculty. Grant funds were awarded to DDBS faculty from NIH ($2,955,127), private foundations ($187,023) and the SmartState™ Endowed Chair program ($287,154). When added to funds from internal competitive grant programs ($50,618), DDBS had a research funding base of $3,479,922. We look forward with anticipation to a productive, successful 2016.

Patrick M. Woster, Ph.D. Professor, Interim Vice-Chair and SmartState™ Endowed Chair in Drug Discovery


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