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$42.9 million in funding supports 5 research projects Within the last two weeks, MUSC received more research funding than it did for the entire year in 1993.  Five major projects, related to an extension of the human genome project, lipid research, oral health, a women's research center, and health disparities, garnered $42.9 million. That exceeds fiscal 1993's total by $1.5 million.  “Nine years ago notwithstanding, the increase just this year over last is astounding,” said Dillard Marshall,  director of research and sponsored programs. “Looking at the first quarter of this fiscal year, research dollars coming to the university were 45 percent above what they were the first quarter last fiscal year.” Total research funding for last  fiscal year was $131 million. The largest of the recent awards, a $15.2 million grant to develop a Cardiovascular Proteomics Center, was announced Oct. 9 by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The NHLBI is funding nine other centers across the United States, including Johns Hopkins, Stanford and Yale universities. The grant is the largest competitive grant or contract that MUSC has ever received from the National Institutes of Health. The other new MUSC awards are: a $10.9 million grant to establish a Center in Lipidomics and Pathobiology an $8.7 million grant to develop a Center in Oral Health Research a $4.4 million grant to establish a Women's Research Center, and a $3.7 million grant to promote research to reduce health disparities “The receipt of this unprecedented quantity of competitive funding is a stellar achievement and a reflection of the caliber of our research faculty,” said John Raymond, M.D., associate provost for research and interim provost. “The results of this funded research will contribute towards the improvement of the health and well-being of our citizens for generations to come.” Kenneth J. Roozen, Ph.D., director of MUSC's Foundation for Research Development said, “The receipt of these grants represents a milestone for the Medical University. Winning multi-investigator awards is a sign of maturity in terms of institutional reputation and quality. When we compete successfully for awards such as program or center grants, we receive awards that bring individual faculty together, and the funding is significantly greater than that under individual grants. Importantly, these awards also support multi-user facilities and/or equipment that cannot be afforded by single investigators. Investigators working under such awards tend to feed off each other, resulting in an intellectual synergy that explodes into a wealth of new information.” Proteomics Proteomics is the new frontier of biomedical research following the sequencing of the human genome, explained Daniel R. Knapp, Ph.D., professor of Cell and Molecular Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics. Dr. Daniel R. Knapp, professor of Cell and Molecular Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics. Knapp is principal investigator on the seven-year, $15.2 million Cardiovascular  Proteomics Center grant.   “Proteomics is the study of all of the proteins produced in a living system from the information encoded in the genome,” said Knapp. “The availability of the genome sequence sets the stage for the larger task of interpreting the biological significance of the information. Proteomics will be key to this interpretation. The study of proteomics is expected to ultimately lead to understanding cellular function at the molecular level and how the functions go awry in disease, providing a basis for design of new medical therapies.”  MUSC will also compete for an additional contract to serve as the national coordinating center for the 10 NHLBI Proteomics Centers throughout the country.  Lipidomics, Pathobiology Center The $10.9 million grant to establish a center in Lipidomics and Pathobiology will support MUSC investigators in their efforts to understand the role of a class of fatty molecules, known as sphingolipids, in regulating cell growth, cell death and cell aging. The five-year Center of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) grant is funded by the National Institutes of Health. Lina Obeid, Boyle professor of medicine and professor of biochemistry, is principal investigator for the grant. “With this grant, we hope to develop a premier center that defines the function of these fatty acid molecules in human disease, especially cancer, aging, neurologic disease and fungal pathogenesis,” said Yusuf Hannun, M.D., Ralph F. Hirschmann chair and professor of biomedical research, deputy director of the Hollings Cancer Center and co-investigator on the grant.  “The functions of this abundant class of molecules has been an enigma,” said Hannun, “and hence the name derived from the Greek Sphinx. The members of the COBRE group at MUSC  have been at the frontiers of developing an understanding of how these molecules participate in regulating several fundamental aspects of human cell function.” The center will emphasize the mentoring of junior faculty and the development of specific shared research facilities for use by the entire MUSC research community. Oral Health The five-year, $8.7 million grant to develop a Center in Oral Health Research at MUSC is the largest single award in the history of the university's College of Dental Medicine. The Center of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) grant is funded by the National Institutes of Health. “Our primary goal,” said principal investigator Steven D. London, DDS, Ph.D., director, Division of Oral and Community Health Science, and associate dean for research,  “is to develop a multidisciplinary and interactive center in MUSC's College of Dental Medicine that advances knowledge in oral health by supporting investigators from several different disciplines and enhances their research competitiveness.” The research will concentrate on issues in which significant disparities exist nationally and in South Carolina, particularly among African Americans.  Emphasis will be on oral cancer, oral health education, and the relationship between oral health and general health, with a focus on individuals with diabetes. Women's Health  The $4.4 million, five-year grant to establish a Women's Research Center (WRC) at MUSC will promote cross-disciplinary research in issues relevant to women's health. It is funded by the Office of Research on Women's Health in partnership with NIH.  Specifically, under the direction of Kathleen Brady, M.D., Ph.D., and Carrie Randall, Ph.D., the WRC will be comprised of four research components, two clinical and two basic science, that will engage in interdisciplinary and collaborative research to study relapse to drug abuse. Brady is professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences and director of clinical programs, Neurosciences Institute, and Randall is professor of psychiatry and director of the Charleston Alcohol Research Center. Health Disparities The $3.7 million, five-year grant to promote research to reduce health disparities supports a partnership between MUSC and South Carolina State University and focuses on disorders such as hypertension, diabetes, lipid abnormalities and obesity which are major contributors to health disparities. Sabra C. Slaughter, Ph.D., chief of staff, MUSC and James H. Walker Jr., Ph.D., acting executive director, 1890 Research and Extension Office, South Carolina State University are its principal investigators. Its goal is to build capacity for health disparity research in minority-serving institutions and promote participation in biomedical and behavioral research. “Eliminating health disparities is a complex matter and will require collaborative approaches,” said Slaughter. “The center grant is designed to foster multidisciplinary approaches to multifaceted problems.” Support comes from NIH's National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities.       Catalyst Online is published weekly, updated as needed and improved from time to time by the MUSC Office of Public Relations for the faculty, employees and students of the Medical University of South Carolina. Catalyst Online editor, Kim Draughn, can be reached at 792-4107 or by email, catalyst@musc.edu. Editorial copy can be submitted to Catalyst Online and to The Catalyst in print by fax, 792-6723, or by email to petersnd@musc.edu or catalyst@musc.edu. To place an ad in The Catalyst hardcopy, call Community Press at 849-1778.