Clemson and MUSC Joint Bioengineering Program
A new joint research and research training program between Clemson University and the Medical University of South Carolina was initiated in the fall of 2003 with the recruitment of the first two primary faculty in our bioengineering program. Drs. Anand Ramamurthi and Xuejun Wen were appointed as assistant professors in the Department of Bioengineering at Clemson but permanently located on the MUSC campus. Both work on polymeric biomaterials in relation to regenerative medicine. We plan to add additional faculty to create, in conjunction with MUSC faculty with adjunct appointments in bioengineering, a critical mass at MUSC as a branch of the Clemson Bioengineering Department.
We presently have four Clemson bioengineering graduate students on campus and expect to increase this number to ten in the fall. They take their coursework from Clemson via videoconferencing, and we will also be originating bioengineering courses here that will be transmitted to Clemson. Students enrolled as MUSC students can also take advantage of this program, and students can do a joint MD-PhD or DMD-PhD with the PhD in bioengineering. The bioengineering program adds a new dimension to the research and graduate degree options at MUSC.