Diabetes
Major areas of diabetes research that are conducted at MUSC, and to which the students will be exposed, include identification of the mechanisms of insulin action and resulting metabolic syndrome; the genetics of diabetes and its complications; interactions between lipoproteins and arterial vessel walls to promote plaque formation and ultimately atherosclerosis; diabetic eye diseases; the role and contribution of the kallikrein-kinin system; and the pathogenesis of diabetic vascular and renal disease.
Students also have research opportunities in the MUSC Diabetes Center. The Diabetes Center incorporates patient care for diabetic patients, the DCCT/EDIC Clinical Center at MUSC, and the Diabetes Initiative of South Carolina. The Diabetes Center is a component of the Division of Endocrinology, with a mission to promote the optimal care of diabetic patients through development of model systems, outreach, education and health delivery research. Opportunities are available in basic, clinical, and translational research.
Participating Investigators: Maria Buse, Rosalie Crouch, Brent Egan, Yusuf Hannun, Ayad A. Jaffa, Mark Kindy, Daniel Lackland, Maria Lopes-Virella, Louis Luttrell, Peter Wilson
Renal and Vascular Pathophysiology
Research into the basic mechanisms underlying the causes of renal and vascular dysfunction in disease states such as diabetes, hypertension, and insulin resistance are being studied. Major areas of investigation include identification of the role of G-protein coupled receptors (kinin, angiotensin II, serotonin) and cytokine receptors such as TGF-?II in the initiation and progression of glomerular injury, glomerular hemodynamics and glomerular morphology; genomics and proteomics to identify risk markers of renal disease in humans and animal models of ESRD; and mechanisms of endothelial dysfunction and the role of nitric oxide and reactive oxygen species in the regulation of vascular tone and ultrastructure. Opportunities in both basic and clinical science are available.
Participating Investigators: Scott Argraves, John Arthur, Craig Beeson, Julie Chao, James Cook, George Cooper, Christopher Drake, Brent Egan, Gary Gilkeson, Sergey Krupenko, Ayad Jaffa, Paul McDermott, Donald Menick, James Oates, Lina Obeid, Terrence O'Brien, John Raymond, Francis Spinale, Maria Trojanowska, Mike Zile
Signal Transduction and Human Disease
Delineating the mechanisms that lead to the generation and processing of inter- and intracellular signals in disease processes is a major focus of investigation at MUSC. Major areas include identification of second messenger molecules in sclerosis of renal and vascular cells; G-protein coupled receptor signaling and renal disease; MAPK signaling pathways in the control of transcription factors; TGF-β signaling in promoting fibrosis of renal and vascular cells; normal and modified lipoprotein signal transduction pathways and vascular remodeling; insulin signal transduction pathways and translocation of glucose transporters; novel mechanisms of protein kinase C regulation by diacylglycerol and insulin resistance; and regulation of cellular levels of sphingosine-1-phosphate, a bioactive lipid that works through binding to its G-protein coupled receptor to mediate proliferation, migration, and angiogenesis. These studies have important implications to neoproliferative blood vessels in diabetic retinopathy and nephropathy. Many of the training opportunities in this area of investigation are in the basic science disciplines.
Participating Investigators: Naren Banik, Rosalie Crouch, Yusuf Hannun, John Hildebrandt, Ayad Jaffa, Mark Kindy, Dhan Kuppuswamy, Maria Lopes-Virella, Louis Luttrell, Lina Obeid, Terry O'Brien, John Raymond, Rick Schnellmann, Maria Trojanowska, Rita Young, Shan Ping Yu
Health Disparities
Of special concern to MUSC physicians and scientists are a group of diseases and disorders that exhibit significantly higher rates of incidence, morbidity, and mortality among the residents of South Carolina and in particular the African American population of South Carolina than among other population groups or even African Americans in other parts of the country. Notable among these health concerns are diabetes mellitus, obesity, insulin resistance and coronary heart disease, as well as related conditions involving hypertension, dyslipidemia, macrovascular disease and chronic renal failure. Other on-going studies include the Charleston Study of Kidney Disease in African Americans (AASK Study); Project Sugar that studies positional cloning of diabetes-related genes among Gullah-speaking African Americans from the coastal SC "sea islands"; a research program project grant on "Understanding and Eliminating Minority Health Disparities"; a national "Resource Center for Minority Aging"; and a Multidisciplinary Clinical Research Center for the Study of Rheumatic Diseases in African-Americans.
Participating Investigators: David Bradford, Brent Egan, Esther Forti, Gary Gilkeson, Daniel Lackland, James Oates, Richard Silver, Barbara Tilley, Peter Wilson
New Technologies and Human Disease Research
The disciplines of genomics and proteomics cannot be uncoupled from bioinformatics, the tools to handle and analyze the prodigious amounts of data that continue to emerge from large scale DNA, RNA, and protein projects. The application of these technologies to specific biological problems provides a new model for approaching research into human diseases. Similarly, the rapid progression of imaging tools (magnetic resonance imaging MRI, PET, etc.) has produced powerful machines that provide in vivo chemical, structural, and functional imaging of human and animal anatomy, physiology, and chemistry. Students will have training opportunities in the emerging areas of (1) proteomics - MUSC has exceptional strength in this area and was recently awarded one of ten NHLBI Proteomics Center contracts nationwide, providing $15.3 million over 7 years to enhance and develop innovative proteomic technologies and apply them to relevant biological questions. (2) bioinformatics - a formal training program in bioinformatics spans a spectrum of computational activities including algorithm development for sequence alignment, clustering for microarrays and protein chips, statistical issues in genome analysis, computer-aided diagnostics, and health outcome modeling. (3) functional imaging - MUSC's Center for Advanced Imaging offers students opportunities to study depression and other biobehavioral disorders associated with diabetes and its complications. (4) gene therapy - The rationale for applying gene therapy to human disease is now well established with a number of disease categories directly amenable to therapeutic intervention, but gene delivery issues have hampered the advancement of many studies. New and novel adenoviral and AAV delivery systems, constitute promising and exciting research areas that require further development.
Participating Investigators: Jonas Almeida, Scott Argraves, John Arthur, Thomas Dix, Jian-yun Dong, Mark George, Daniel Knapp, Kevin Schey