MUSC Gazes Cardiac Research Institute

The Division of Cardiology operates a flourishing basic research program led by George Cooper, IV, M.D., professor in the Division of Cardiology and director of the Gazes Cardiac Research Institute. Based in the Strom Thurmond Research Building, the Division occupies research facilities in a building co-owned and operated by MUSC and the Ralph H. Johnson Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center.

The Division of Cardiology's Basic Research Program receives $2.4 million per year from the NIH, $800 thousand from the Department of Veterans Affairs, as well as, additional funding from the American Heart Association and other sponsors. Recently, a $10 million grant was received from the State of South Carolina to establish a Center of Economic Excellence under the leadership of Dr. Michael Zile.

Two cardiology faculty members hold positions supported in part by Endowed Chairs: Michael R. Zile, M.D., is the Daniels Professor of Medicine, and Michael R. Gold, M.D.,
Ph.D., is the Michael E. Assey Professor of Medicine. This year, increased basic research support and opportunities have led to the recruitment of five basic researchers. The basic research program focuses on growth regulation in the adult heart, with a specific focus on the maladaptive growth that causes heart failure.

Dr. George Cooper and Dr. Guangmao Cheng

Total clinical grant funding exceeds $1 million annually. In the past year, faculty members published 31 peer reviewed articles in such publications as the New England Journal of Medicine, the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, the American Journal of Physiology, Circulation, Biochemistry Journal, and the Journal of Clinical Investigation.  An additional noteworthy accomplishment is that Dr. George Cooper, IV, received the Carl Wiggers Award from the Cardiovascular Section of the American Physiological Society in recognition of his career-long research achievements.