MUSC Research Administration

As vice president for research, Dr. Timothy Stemmler serves as MUSC's chief scientific officer, overseeing all its associated divisions, which include responsibility for accreditation and regulatory affairs, university-wide promotion of research across all colleges and centers, representing the president and provost on internal and external research matters, and identifying institutional research strategies and benchmarks in relation to the MUSC strategic plan.

Dr. Stemmler received his graduate degree in Biophysical Chemistry from the University of Michigan under the supervision of Dr. James Penner-Hahn and completed his NIH postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Utah under the supervision of Dr. Wesley Sundquist. Prior to joining MUSC, he spent over 25 years at Wayne State University, where he held leadership roles including interim vice president for research, associate dean of the graduate school, and associate dean for research in the college of pharmacy and health sciences.

Dr. Stemmler's research is internationally recognized, particularly his work on iron-sulfur biosynthesis to advance the understanding of protein functional deficiencies in the genetic disease Friedreich's ataxia. His interdisciplinary approach has combined biochemical, biophysical, and structural tools, contributing significantly to scientific discovery and the training of future research leaders.

With consistent funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the American Heart Association, Dr. Stemmler's career reflects a substantial and lasting impact on the scientific community. His research collaborations span over 60 research groups worldwide, underscoring his ability to build meaningful partnerships and foster innovation across disciplines.

Clinical Sciences Research Pathway Leader: Patrick Flume, M.D., is a Professor and Endowed Chair in the Departments of Medicine and Pediatrics. Dr. Flume has a long history of success in performing and leading large clinical trials in cystic fibrosis, bronchiectasis, and non-tuberculous mycobacteria pulmonary infections. He is Director of the MUSC CF Center, Director of the MUSC Therapeutic Development Network (TDN) research site (consistently in the top three performing centers in the network), and has served as a site Principal Investigator in >100 multi-center clinical trials and as the overall PI in >10 trials including the Standardized Treatment of Pulmonary Exacerbations in CF (STOP Program) funded by the CF Foundation. He has led the Pulmonary Clinical Trials Program for the last 10 years, providing supervision to a program that manages an average of 50 active studies at any given time. Many of his prior trainees have continued onto successful research careers in CF.