The Division has an emerging research arm with established investigators and promising new researchers.  Research faculty members are well published and present their work and conduct workshops at a number of national and regional meetings each year.  Research, conducted at highest scientific standards, targets areas such health care disparities, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, access to care of underserved populations, aging and geriatric care, professional education, and medical informatics. Clinical and Health Services research is conducted in collaboration with Department of Biometry and Biostatistics, Center for Health Services Research, and the Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center.

Clinical Research
The Division of General Internal Medicine and Geriatrics Clinical Research is housed in the Center for Health Disparities Research.  Division members include Leonard Egede, MD, MS, Cheryl Lynch, MD and William Moran, MD, MS.  The General Internal Medicine and Geriatrics fellows enrolled in the Academic Generalist Fellowship is also housed in the Center for Health Disparities Research.

More information on Clinical Research

Basic Research
Within the Division of General Internal Medicine, the Geriatrics section houses a program focused on research in aging biology.  This program is directed by Dr. Lina M. Obeid, Boyle Professor of Medicine, a trained geriatrician as well as a physician scientist.  Other faculty within this program are Drs. Cungui Mao,Sergei Novgorodov, Leah Siskind and Ashley Snider.

The main focus of this program is to understand mechanisms of cell regulation and signal transduction in aging cancer and inflammatory processes by bioactive lipid mediators.

Several ongoing and funded projects are underway.  These include:

1)   Sphingosine Phosphate role in Inflammation (Principal Investigator, Lina Obeid and Co-Investigator, Cungui Mao) NIH/NIGMS

This project focuses on identifying a role for the bioactive lipid Sphingosine-1-Phosphate as a regulator of inflammatory processes. Specifically we have implicated this lipid in activating the COX-2/ PGE2 inflammatory pathway and are studying the mechanisms involved in this regulation.  Disease models being used in this study include rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease and septic shock.

2)   Mitochondrial Ceramide in Chemotherapy-induced Apoptosis (Principal Investigator, Lina Obeid and Co-Investigator, Sergei Novgorodov) NIH/NIA

This project focuses on understanding the role of ceramide in regulating mitochondrial processes of cell death. These studies focus on cancer and on neurodegenerative diseases by ischemia reperfusion.

3)   Regulation of Human Alkaline Ceramidases and Role in Cancer and Aging Biology (Principal Investigator, Lina Obeid) Veteran's Administration Merit Award

This project focuses on understanding the role of a family of enzymes namely the alkaline ceramidases in the regulation of cancer and aging biology.  Ceramide has been shown to be elevated in cellular senescence and in programmed cell death. Understanding how its cellular levels are regulated will have important implications to disease of aging and cancer.

4)   COBRE in Lipidomics and Pathobiology ((Principal Investigator, Lina Obeid and Principal Investigator of Project 5, Cungui Mao) NIH

This program focuses on mentoring several junior investigators to establish independent research programs on the role of bioactive lipids in pathobiology including projects focused on cancer,  neurodegeneration  and angiogenesis.

5) Role of Ceramide in Aging Related Diseases (Principal Investigator, Leah Siskind) VA BLRD CDA-2 (Career Development Award)

A research career development award for retraining in kidney pathology and physiology for the purpose of determining the mechanism(s) by which ceramide induces renal cell death for the long-term goal of developing novel therapeutics to protect the aging kidney from nephrotoxic insults.

6) Targeting BAK Regulation of Ceramide Synthases for the Development of Novel Cancer Therapeutics (Principal Investigator, Leah Siskind) American Cancer Society Institutional Research Grant

Determines which ceramide synthase isoforms are regulated by BAK and (2) to determine if BAK is a direct regulator of ceramide synthases.

7) Role of Lactosylceramide in Renal Aging and Renal Disease COBRE in Lipidomics and Pathobiology  (Pilot Project Investigator, Leah Siskind)

This is a grant to establish a center of excellence in Lipidomics and Pathobiology and to support MUSC investigators in their efforts to understand the role of a class of fatty molecules, known as sphingolipids in regulating cell growth, cell death and cell aging. 

8) The Role of Glycosphingolipids and Sterol Regulatory Element Binding Proteins in Lupus Nephritis (Principal Investigator: Gary Gilkeson.   Co-Investigator, Leah Siskind) VAMC Research Enhancement Award Program                                                                                       

To investigate the regulation of sphingolipid metabolism in the pathology of renal disease.

9) The Role of Sphingolipids in Inflammatory Bowel Disease (Principal Investigator, Ashley Snider)  VA BLRD CDA-2 (Career Development Award)                                            

These studies examine the role of tissue and blood S1P to the pathobiology of inflammatory bowel disease. Two novel SK1 inhibitors will be tested for their therapeutic potential in vivo, through pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic studies. In addition these novel inhibitors will be tested in the animal model of inflammatory bowel disease.

10) COBRE in Lipidomics and Pathobiology  (Animal Core Director, Ashley Snider)                                                         

The overall goal of this COBRE is to develop an interactive Center of Lipidomics and Pathobiology that will promote growth and excellence of research at MUSC.  This involves mentoring of junior investigators in their respective projects in the area of lipidomics and pathobiology, as well as three cores.