A Message from the Chair
As I reflect on the past year, I am reminded that excellence is not defined by a single accomplishment. It is built through the commitment to improve, innovate and serve others each day. Throughout FY26, our faculty, staff and trainees demonstrated that commitment across every aspect of our mission.
This was a year of substantial growth. Our 351 faculty members cared for more patients and generated more clinical work than ever before in the department's history, a trajectory detailed further in our Clinical Affairs update. We expanded access across South Carolina, from new outpatient locations to expanded telehealth and rural coverage, and earned national distinction as a center of excellence in pulmonary embolism, bronchiectasis and NTM, scleroderma, and polycystic kidney disease care.
Research remained a cornerstone of our mission. Our faculty secured $53.4 million in new awards, advancing work that spans cardiovascular disease, digestive disease, cancer, kidney disease, infectious disease, and autoimmune conditions. We also celebrated the promotion of 24 faculty members and the appointment of new leadership, including Dr. Kurt Prins as Director of the Gazes Cardiac Research Institute and Drs. Thomas Di Salvo and Garth Swanson as inaugural leads of our Heart & Vascular and Digestive Disease Integrated Innovation Institutes.
Education is at the heart of what we do, and this year our faculty's commitment to teaching and mentorship earned recognition well beyond the department. Ten faculty members received MUSC Faculty Awards or College of Medicine Golden Apple Awards, honors that speak to the strength of our educational mission at every stage, from junior faculty developing as teachers to senior mentors shaping the careers of the physicians and scientists who will follow them.
None of this is possible without our people. Our 108 residents, 114 fellows, and 24 postdoctoral trainees represent the future of academic internal medicine, and the generosity of our donors, from a $3 million gift supporting Dr. Federica del Monte's Heart & Brain Program to sustained philanthropic support for our Scleroderma Center, reflects the trust our community places in this department.
As we look to FY27, we remain focused on the work still ahead: improving patient access, supporting our workforce's well-being, and continuing to build a department worthy of the patients we serve.
It is an honor to lead this remarkable team.
Ben Clyburn, M.D.Chair, Department of Medicine
Medical University of South Carolina
