Strategic Growth
2026 Annual Report

Dr. Matthew Belanger is a general cardiologist and Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Cardiology at the Medical University of South Carolina. He earned his medical degree from the University of Connecticut School of Medicine and completed his internal medicine residency at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, a Harvard Medical School teaching hospital in Boston. He then completed fellowship training in cardiovascular disease at the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, where he developed expertise in preventive cardiology, sports cardiology, and cardiometabolic health. Dr. Belanger cares for patients with a broad range of cardiovascular conditions and is currently accepting new patients.

Dr. Prins is a Professor of Medicine in the Division of Cardiology and Director of the Gazes Cardiac Research Institute at MUSC. He trained at the University of Alabama-Birmingham and then completed an integrated research and clinical cardiology fellowship at the University of Minnesota. He also runs a NIH-funded laboratory aimed at understanding and treating right heart failure and pulmonary hypertension.

Dr. Prins cares for patients with multiple cardiovascular diseases. He is particularly interested in right heart failure, tricuspid regurgitation, dyspnea, and pulmonary hypertension.

Dr. Alexander J. Podboy is a board-certified gastroenterologist and interventional endoscopist at MUSC Health, specializing in advanced, minimally invasive treatments for complex gastrointestinal conditions. He completed his residency at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, followed by fellowships in gastroenterology at Stanford University and advanced endoscopy at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. His training established expertise in therapeutic endoscopy, foregut motility disorders, and endobariatric procedures.

In addition to his clinical work, Dr. Podboy conducts research focused on the immune mechanisms underlying achalasia and gastroparesis. He utilizes innovative approaches such as single-cell sequencing and machine-learning models to improve diagnosis and treatment, with the goal of advancing care for patients with complex gastrointestinal diseases.

Dr. Goldstein is an experienced internal medicine physician with over 25 years in clinical practice, leadership, and medical education. Originally from Pennsylvania, she began her career at Penn State Health in Hershey, where she held several key roles, including Associate Program Director for Internal Medicine and Chief Medical Officer. She is deeply committed to quality care, medical education, and improving patient outcomes.

In 2022, she relocated to South Carolina and served with the VA Healthcare System as Chief of Medicine and later as Deputy Chief of Staff. Her clinical focus includes managing complex medical conditions and providing comprehensive, long-term care.

Dr. Emily Nelson is an experienced anesthesiologist at the VA and palliative care physiscian at MUSC. Her interests include cancer pain management, palliative care in the perioperative setting and teaching palliative care communication techniques. She is committed to advancing medical education, multi-disciplinary collaboration, a patient-centered approach to care, and fostering compassionate care. 

 Dr. Sanjay Saha is an internal medicine physician who provides primary care services to patients ages 18 and older.  

Dr. Ryan Schexnaildre is a general internist at MUSC. He earned his medical degree at LSU Health Shreveport before moving to Charleston for his internship and residency. He completed his Internal Medicine Residency at MUSC in 2025 and was awarded General Internal Medicine Outpatient Resident of the Year. 

Dr Brigid Sullivan is an Assistant Professor of Medicine specializing in Palliative Care at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC). She earned her Dr. Dr. Sullivan received her undergraduate degree in Mathematics from the University of Notre Dame before serving in the United States Air Force as a controller on the AWACS aircraft. After completing her military service, Dr. Sullivan attended medical school at MUSC, graduating in 2008, and went on to complete her Family Medicine residency at MUSC in 2011. 

Dr. Jacob Vaught attended the Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine in Blacksburg, Virginia. He went on to complete his residency training in the combined specialty of Internal Medicine and Pediatrics (Med-Peds) at East Carolina University's Brody School of Medicine. After residency, Dr. Vaught joined MUSC's Internal Medicine and Pediatrics clinic, where he enjoys caring for patients across all stages of life-from newborns to older adults. 

Priyal Agarwal, MD, is a medical oncologist specializing in sarcoma and breast cancer care. She received her medical degree with honors from Kasturba Medical College in Manipal, India, followed by an Internal Medicine residency at Michigan State University and a Hematology/Oncology fellowship at the University of Nebraska. She is a member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology. Dr. Agarwal is committed to keeping up with the latest advancements in her field. Her passion lies in providing compassionate and comprehensive care to sarcoma and breast cancer patients. At Hollings Cancer Center, she works collaboratively with a multidisciplinary team to deliver exceptional cancer care for patients. Dr. Agarwal is deeply committed to addressing the unique oncologic and psychosocial needs of young adults navigating cancer. She is passionate about expanding survivorship programs and advancing treatment options through clinical trials, ensuring patients receive comprehensive support throughout their journey.

I am a physician-scientist medical oncologist with a clinical focus on melanoma and cutaneous malignancies.  My research is focused on the development of novel therapeutic strategies to overcome immunotherapy resistance in melanoma and other cancers. In addition to established in vivo and in vitro models of cancer, my lab utilizes novel patient-derived tumor models. Our patient-derived organotypic tumor spheroids (PDOTS) platform involves ex vivo 3D microfluidic culture of multicellular tumor spheroids from tumor explants that retain native tumor-infiltrating immune and stromal elements. PDOTS profiling enables evaluation of tumor-immune dynamics in response to therapeutic pressure using clinically relevant biospecimens for preclinical and clinical applications.

Complex Intervention Unit

Residency: Geisinger Medical Center; Danville, PA
Medical School: St George’s University School of Medicine; Grenada

Dr. Kent is a board-certified physician specializing in Nephrology. He received his medical degree from Thomas Jefferson University. He completed his residency training in Internal Medicine at Bridgeport Hospital - Yale School of Medicine, and fellowship in Nephrology at the University of Maryland Medical Center. Dr. Kent provides general nephrology care in the office, hospital, and outpatient dialysis settings, including home dialysis therapy. He is dedicated to his patients and their success. Dr. Kent is also passionate about medical education and research.

Dr. Ballal is originally from India where she completed her medical school at Kasturba Medical College, Manipal, India. She then moved to the United States for additional training. She completed her residency in Internal Medicine and fellowship in Rheumatology both at Boston University Medical Center, MA. She then moved to South Carolina with her family and joined as faculty at MUSC.