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Scientific director inducted into Hall of Fame


by Wally Pregnall
College of Health Professions
Ask James Krause, Ph.D., about his induction into the National Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) Association Hall of Fame and he deflects praise for an outstanding individual achievement to those who make his work possible.
 
One of 17 selected to receive the top honor for SCI contributions, Krause joins such notable inductees as U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy and actor/comedian Robin Williams.
 
Krause, who is associate dean for research (College of Health Professions) and scientific director of the South Carolina Spinal Cord Injury Research Fund (SCSCIRF), stresses that the honor is more than an individual one. Inducted under the Research in Quality of Life category for a career dedicated to identifying factors in the quality of life of individuals with spinal cord injury, he sees the honor as not only validation of his research but of the visionary leadership that attracted him to South Carolina and MUSC.
 
As an established researcher at the renowned Shepherd Center for catastrophic care in Atlanta, Ga., Krause was drawn to MUSC in 2002 because of the SCSCIRF (http://www.scscirf.org).Formed under the leadership of Brian Cuddy, M.D., with legislative support from S.C. Reps. Chip Limehouse (R-Charleston) and Ron Fleming (R-Union); and state Sen. Arthur Ravenel (R-Charleston), the SCSCIRF was enacted in 2000 and financed through $100 surcharges attached to DUI convictions.
 
As scientific director, Krause oversees the Center for Interdisciplinary Spinal Cord Injury Research (CISCIR), designed to bridge the gap between basic and applied research. The center facilitates interdisciplinary research that will lead to increased federal funding, greater notoriety to the state as a leader in SCI research, and discoveries that will enhance the quality of life of South Carolinians and others with SCI.
 
In addition to his own research, projects funded through the SCSCIRF promote optimal interventions for people with SCI, including those that address secondary conditions.
 
Krause stresses that his Hall of Fame induction is acknowledgment by the National Spinal Cord Injury Association of the importance of the work now being done in South Carolina, but he urges credit be allocated to those with the foresight to establish and support the SCSCIRF.
 
The Hall of Fame induction is the capstone of several recent awards that acknowledge the importance of the SCI research conducted by Krause and his colleagues. In recent months Krause also has received the:
  • Patricia McCollom Memorial Research Award (1st ever awarded) from the Foundation for Life Care Planning Research for career contributions of research widely utilized in life care planning.
  • Earl B. Higgins Achievement in Diversity Award nomination, MUSC, 2008.
  • National Association of Rehabilitation Research and Training Centers (NARRTC) Research Award (1st annual award), awarded for the outstanding manuscript published in a peer-reviewed journal by a NIDRR grantee during the calendar year 2007.
  • American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) Research Award (1st annual award) awarded for the outstanding manuscript published in a peer-reviewed journal by an ASIA member in 2006.
In addition to conducting his own research and directing the scientific initiatives of the SCSCIRF, Krause also heads the Program for Motion, Exercise, and Rehabilitative Research (PMERR), an umbrella of programs housed under the College of Health Professions Rehabilitation Sciences program. PMERR was developed to promote and support collaborative research in the areas of movement, exercise, and rehabilitation, and the research it supports dovetails with that of the SCSCIRF. PMERR has strong institutional support from MUSC and the College of Health Professions as exemplified by the recent completion of a new motion analysis lab and commitments to greater research support, further validating Krause’s decision to come to South Carolina.
 
For Krause, induction into the National Spinal Cord Injury Association Hall of Fame and the flurry of recent awards and successes reflect more than individual achievement. They are manifestations that the foundations of spinal cord injury research being built here in South Carolina are yielding national recognition of MUSC and South Carolina as leaders in this critical field. For Krause, that fact is as gratifying as the awards with which he is so deservedly honored.

Editor's note: While James Walker Coleman was generous in his support for spinal cord injury research, he has not been named to the National Spinal Cord Injury Hall of Fame as stated in the Nov. 14 issue of The Catalyst.



Nov. 28, 2008



The Catalyst Online is published weekly by the MUSC Office of Public Relations for the faculty, employees and students of the Medical University of South Carolina. The Catalyst Online editor, Kim Draughn, can be reached at 792-4107 or by email, catalyst@musc.edu. Editorial copy can be submitted to The 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.