Return to Main Menu

CRI makes room for research expansion by Heather Woolwine Public Relations With the opening of the Children’s Research Institute (CRI) forthcoming, MUSC’s research capabilities will continue to soar to unprecedented heights with the recruitment of the country’s leading pediatric researchers. One such investigator arrived in the Palmetto State July 1.  Dr. Sakamuri Reddy Sakamuri Reddy, Ph.D., professor and new director of the Osteoclast Center in the CRI, hailed from the University of Pittsburgh, Pa., and brought with him approximately $2 million in NIH and Department of Defense funding. “The CRI is fortunate to have Dr. Reddy as an accomplished senior investigator to help chart a course of excellence and national prominence in bone disease research and education,” said Bernie Maria, M.D., CRI executive director. “His recruitment is a prime example of the positive impact that the CRI and its researchers will have on the academic mission and the local economy.” Born in India, Reddy received his undergraduate and master's degrees in biology, chemistry, and biochemistry before doctorates in biology, English, and biochemistry, all from Sri Venkateswara University in his native country. In 1988, he accepted a position as a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Medicine/Division of Hematology and Department of Cellular and Structural Biology at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, Texas. He remained there as an assistant and then associate professor until his move to the University of Pittsburgh in 2001. His relocation to Charleston began the next phase of his research career. Reddy’s mission at MUSC is to study bone diseases and metabolism at the molecular level, and to continue specific research on the osteoclast, or bone-dissolving cell, and associated disorders such as osteoporosis and Paget’s bone disease. “We want to continue learning more about the biology of the cell and why it can cause excess bone loss associated with several bone diseases,” Reddy said. “Hopefully through future discoveries pertaining to that biology, we can better understand how to treat bone diseases and congenital bone fractures like those associated with spinal muscular atrophy, a debilitating childhood disorder.”  Reddy and his colleagues conducted research that resulted in the discovery of an osteoclast inhibitory peptide and his plans at MUSC include research involving this peptide during the next five years. A grant is also pending to determine if Reddy will receive NASA funding to study bone loss in space and whether or not the peptide can enhance the bone strength of astronauts. “The opportunity to come to the Children’s Research Institute and MUSC seems to have been meant to be,” Reddy said. “Dr. (Lyndon) Key (Department of Pediatrics chair) is the key for my discovery of this institution. He has an incredible reputation among the medical and research community, and not only is Charleston a beautiful city, but MUSC has a top ranked hospital and academic institution. It’s a wonderful resource for a scientist like me.” Residing in Mount Pleasant with his wife, Srilatha, and 7-year-old son, Sashank, the author of more than 50 publications and member of numerous professional organizations not only anticipates a rich scientific environment to continue his work, but an opportunity to impart his knowledge on future scientists. “I’m excited and look forward to the opportunity of watching and helping young scientists grow,” he said.   Friday, Aug. 6, 2004 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.