Supported in part by the South Carolina Clinical & Translational Research (SCTR) Institute, helping connect communities to clinical research statewide.
Expanding Medical Research and Patient Care Across South Carolina
At MUSC, we are committed to providing exceptional patient care and life saving medical research opportunities to patients across the state of South Carolina. Our Regional Health Network (RHN) Research Centers, located in Columbia, Florence, and Lancaster, offer research spaces and experienced staff expanding investigators’ research reach and providing patients with lifesaving clinical trial opportunities that may not otherwise be accessible locally.
Why Choose Our Regional Research Centers for Your Clinical Research?
Patient-Centered Care: Committed to providing high-quality care to patients, ensuring safety and well-being throughout the research process.
Extensive Support to Investigators: Including research coordination services, access to patient populations across South Carolina, regulatory compliance navigation support, and state-of-the-art facilities.
Experienced Research Teams: Our centers are staffed with skilled research coordinators, supported by MUSC Charleston regulatory coordinators, lab technicians, and support personnel, dedicated to facilitating successful clinical trials.
Comprehensive Facilities: Each center has dedicated research spaces to support a wide range of studies, and some locations have additional space such as exam rooms and labs. For specifics, see the Research Center Details.
Governance Committee Review: Our MUSC Health/RHN Research Expansion Governance Committee meticulously reviews each research request to assess feasibility, patient population, resources, and competing studies ensuring studies are well-supported and align with our capabilities
Are you a sponsor or CRO interested in partnering with MUSC for your clinical research? Connect with our Research Opportunities & Collaboration (ROC) team at ResearchOppCollab@musc.edu to learn how we can support your research needs.
Investigators can expand their research reach with the support of our MUSC Health/RHN Research Centers. To get started, submit a request form reviewed by the MUSC Health/RHN Research Expansion Governance Committee. This committee assesses study feasibility, MUSC Health/RHN interest and patient population, required resources and services, and competing studies.
Conducting Research
Documentation related to requesting, receiving approval, and implementing a research project in the RHN. Check back frequently as this document will be regularly updated.
Plan Your Submission: 2026 Governance Committee Schedule
The following schedule outlines the 2026 request submission deadlines and corresponding meeting dates for the MUSC Health/RHN Research Expansion Governance Committee. Investigators should plan submissions accordingly to ensure timely review and approval.
Request & Application Due Date
Committee Meeting Date
June 24, 2026
July 8, 2026
July 29, 2026
August 12, 2026
August 26, 2026
September 9, 2026
September 30, 2026
October 14, 2026
November 4, 2026
November 18, 2026
November 25, 2026
December 9, 2026
Please submit requests by 5:00 p.m. on the due date for consideration at the corresponding meeting.
Director, Office of Clinical Research;Administrator, South Carolina Clinical & Translational Research Institute (SCTR);Project Director, Research Expansion
Associate Vice President for Clinical ResearchPowers Huggins Endowed Chair for Cystic FibrosisProfessor, Pulmonary, Critical Care, Allergy & Sleep Medicine
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.
Royce Sampson, MSN, RN, CRA
Director, Office of Clinical Research;Administrator, South Carolina Clinical & Translational Research Institute (SCTR);Project Director, Research Expansion
Director, Research Innovation and Integration, Office of the Vice President for ResearchDirector, Innovation Sciences Unit, Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral SciencesDirector, Clinical and Translational Science Research Program, MUSC South Carolina Clinical & Translational Research (SCTR)Melvyn Berlinsky Distinguished Endowed Chair in Cancer ResearchProfessor, Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences
The Innovation Sciences Unit is led by Dr. Jennifer Dahne, a Professor within the Addiction Sciences Division of the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences. Dr. Dahne is an academic entrepreneur who has received five small business grants from various NIH institutes (NIMH, NIDA, NCATS, NIMHD) totaling more than $3M. Dr. Dahne has co-founded two faculty-led spinout companies, both of which are in the digital health space. Dr. Dahne has led the development, evaluation, and commercialization of five commercially available digital health products to date. These products have been evaluated via rigorous randomized clinical trials which have accrued more than 1,000 patients. In addition to entrepreneurial ventures, Dr. Dahne directs a research laboratory within the Addiction Sciences Division that has received numerous traditional NIH grant awards including R01, R21, and K23 funding. Dr. Dahne is passionate about translating academic innovations into products that can be widely disseminated and commercialized in order to improve public health.
Constance Guille is the Director of the Women’s Reproductive Behavioral Health Division and Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at MUSC. Dr. Guille completed her psychiatry residency training and subspecialty training in perinatal psychiatry at Yale University. She established the Women’s Reproductive Behavioral Health Division at MUSC. She enjoys spending time with her husband and two daughters.
Dr. Guille has transitioned her research into the area of Perinatal Psychiatry investigating biological markers of postpartum depression. Her clinical practice focuses on the management of mental health problems in pregnancy and postpartum.
