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National leader takes helm of research Stephen M. Lanier, Ph.D., was named associate provost for research, the chief executive research officer at MUSC. His appointment was effective Dec. 1 and marks a return to MUSC where he spent 10 years before leaving to assume leadership positions at Louisiana State University (LSU).   Between 1991 and 2001, Lanier started his first faculty position in the Department of Cell and Molecular Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics at MUSC. He rose rapidly through the faculty ranks, when he assumed the position of chair of the Department of Pharmacology at LSU Medical Center in New Orleans.   Lanier also was appointed as the Lederle Laboratories/David R. Bethune Professor of Pharmacology at LSU. In slightly more than five years at LSU, he built an extraordinarily strong and integrated department with emphasis on areas in cellular and physiological pharmacology.   The position of associate provost had been unfilled at MUSC for more than four years as a consequence of the string of state budget cuts that occurred between 2000 and 2004.   “It is now time for a national leader to assume the helm of our research enterprise as we enter a period of extraordinary challenge and opportunity for biomedical research,” said MUSC Provost John Raymond, M.D. “Our major challenges are the flat or declining budget from the National Institutes of Health and the burden of deferred maintenance in our older research facilities. Our major opportunities are interprofessional research and the impending construction of our Drug Discovery and Development Building and Bioengineering/Cancer Genomics Building.”   Lanier has led a distinguished career as a scientist, having received numerous awards for his research. He has been continuously funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for more than 20 years, and was program director for a highly successful Center of Biomedical Research Excellence Award titled, “Mentoring in Cardiovascular Biology,” at LSU Health Sciences Center. While at MUSC previously, he served as program director of the NIH Postdoctoral Training Grant titled, “Training to Improve Cardiovascular Drug Therapy.”   Lanier received a bachelor of science degree from the Tennessee Technological Institute, and a doctorate degree in pharmacology from the University of Tennessee Center for Health Sciences under the mentorship of K. U. Malik, Ph.D. He received postdoctoral training at Harvard Medical School under the direction of Charles Homcy, M.D., and Robert Graham, M.D.   Lanier’s area of research focus involves various aspects of G protein-coupled receptor signal transduction. He has served on numerous NIH peer review panels, and on the editorial boards of the Journal of Biological Chemistry, American Journal of Physiology, and Molecular Endo-crinology. He has also played significant leadership roles in the American Society of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics.   He has mentored nearly 30 fellows and students who are pursuing active careers in biomedical research and has delivered numerous invited lectures and professorships, and holds three patents. Lanier has nearly 100 full-length publications, nearly all of which were communicated in top tier journals.   Lanier also has shown significant leadership in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. He personally assisted with the placement of numerous scientists from New Orleans, negotiated with NIH and various funding agencies on behalf of the New Orleans research community, and has shown remarkable leadership and commitment to the scientific community. “Steve Lanier is a world-class scholar who is a leader in his scientific field,” Raymond said. “He has shown remarkable organizational and leadership abilities at LSU, and has proven to be a dedicated mentor, an innovative collaborator, and a superb teacher and role model. We are fortunate that Steve has decided to return to MUSC in an executive leadership capacity. I look forward to working with him to implement his vision for our research enterprise.”     Friday, Dec. 15, 2006 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 catalyst@musc.edu. To place an ad in The Catalyst hardcopy, call Island Publications at 849-1778, ext. 201.