University Overview

Research at MUSC (rev. date 9/07)
MUSC encourages research by providing facilities, funds and enthusiastic administrative support. In FY2007 MUSC faculty received 1,063 extramural awards totaling $193.4 million. Federal funding constitutes about 74% of extramural support, with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as the primary funding agency (~$93.4 million in total awards received in FY2007, an 11% increase of FY2006). The Chronicle of Higher Education ranked MUSC 10th among all institutions receiving NIH support in terms of rate of increase in NIH awards (Feb. 6, 2004). MUSC is the only institution in South Carolina listed by the National Science Foundation in the top 100 universities and colleges in the nation in terms of federal research and development expenditures [NSF Division of Science Resources and Statistics, Federal S&E Support to Universities, Colleges and NPOs: FY2003, published June 13, 2006]. NIH data over the past 10 years show that the MUSC College of Medicine has advanced in rankings of U.S. medical schools from 63rd (of 124) in FY1996 to 52nd (of 123) in FY2005, with 7 departments in the top 25 in the nation and top 10 in the South [NIH Office of Extramural Research, Award Data, data released Sept. 1, 2006]. Also based on NIH data, the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) ranks MUSC’s College of Medicine 8th of 34 free-standing public and private academic health centers in the nation.

Endowed research professorships are supported by a statewide initiative launched by the South Carolina General Assembly in 2002 with passage of the South Carolina Research Centers of Economic Excellence Act (COEE). This legislation identified $200 million in state funds to be provided over 7 years, matched dollar-for-dollar with non-state funds, specifically to recruit new research expertise to the three state universities. To date, this has resulted in initiating 14 COEE research professorships at MUSC, bringing the total of all endowed chairs and named professorships to 68. In addition to the obvious benefit of providing substantial resources to recruit senior research leadership and entrepreneurship, the program has dramatically raised the profile of university-based research in South Carolina – especially biomedical and clinical/translational research – and stimulated significant philanthropy to meet match requirements. In FY2006 MUSC saw a 33% increase in private gifts and pledges to a level of $64 million.

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