Leadership & Staff

James (Jim) C. Oates, M.D. was appointed to lead the Division following a national search in 2018. Dr. Oates is a graduate of Bates College and the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, where he was a scholar in the prestigious Four Schools Physician Scientist Training Program. He completed an Internal Medicine Residency and Rheumatology Fellowship at Duke University Medical Center. Dr. Oates moved to Charleston with his mentor, Dr. Gary Gilkeson, to complete an additional year of research fellowship training and in 1997 joined the MUSC Rheumatology faculty. Oates is an avid sailor much like his father, Dr. John Oates (Vanderbilt), which may have influenced his decision to move from Durham to Charleston. Dr. Oates was promoted to the rank of Professor of Medicine and has held a number of important leadership positions at MUSC, including Chief of the Rheumatology Section for the Charleston VA Medical Center, Vice-Chair for Research in the Department of Medicine, Chair of the Clinical and Translational Research Center Advisory Committee, and Informatics Medical Director for Research and Reporting. He has also held important leadership positions in regional and national societies, including President, Southern Society for Clinical Investigation (SSCI), President, American Federation for Medical Research, and editorial board member of the American Journal of Medical Sciences.

Dr. Oates’ major research interest is the role of reactive intermediates and endothelial dysfunction in the pathogenesis of lupus nephritis and atherosclerosis, for which he has conducted animal as well as human research. The discovery and validation of potential biomarkers and machine learning models for lupus nephritis outcomes and atherosclerosis are major goals. With funding awards from the NIH, US Department of Veteran Affairs, and various non-federal funding agencies, Dr. Oates maintains an active research program along with his clinical, teaching, and administrative roles. He envisions strengthening the Scleroderma and Lupus Centers with population health approaches, adding a Vasculitis Center, and maintaining the culture of dignity and respect created by Dr. Silver in the last 23 years. In addition to his passion for sailing, Dr. Oates is happiest when spending time with his wife Jennifer, children Evan and Aubrey, and Sherlock, the family dog.

Cassandra Salgado, M.D., MS, is a professor of medicine and public health and serves as director of the Division of Infectious Diseases in the College of Medicine at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC). A nationally recognized leader in hospital epidemiology and infection prevention, she has been instrumental in advancing patient safety and infectious disease control at both institutional and national levels.

Since joining MUSC in 2004, Dr. Salgado has served as the institution’s hospital epidemiologist and medical director of infection prevention, playing a critical leadership role during major public health challenges, including the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2024, she was appointed the inaugural vice chair for Wellness in the Department of Medicine, where she leads strategic initiatives to promote the well-being of faculty, staff, and trainees. She also serves as senior associate dean for Faculty Affairs, Development, and Wellness in the College of Medicine, focusing on retention, engagement, and career advancement. In addition, Dr. Salgado holds the J. Michael Kilby, M.D. Endowed Chair in Infectious Diseases.

A committed mentor, she has guided the development of early-career faculty, medical students, residents, and fellows through extensive service on mentoring committees and one-on-one advising.

Her numerous awards include the 2019 Department of Medicine Education Mentoring Award and the 2023 MUSC ARROW Advancement of Women Faculty Award.

Dr. Salgado’s scholarly work includes significant national contributions to infection prevention and control. She also serves as principal investigator for the Trident HIV/AIDS Care Coalition, supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) and the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (SC DHEC). Under her leadership, the clinic now serves over 1,200 patients annually and continues to expand.

Dr. Salgado earned her Bachelor of Arts in Chemistry and her medical degree from West Virginia University. She completed a combined residency in internal medicine and pediatrics and served as chief resident in internal medicine at West Virginia University Hospital. During her fellowship in infectious diseases, she also earned a Master of Science in Health Evaluation Sciences and Epidemiology from the University of Virginia.

Richard (Rick) Silver, M.D. was appointed to lead the Division in 1995 and served in that capacity until 2018. Dr. Silver is a native Tennessean and a graduate of the University of Tennessee and Vanderbilt School of Medicine. He completed an internship and residency in Internal Medicine at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. Pursuing an interest in childhood rheumatic diseases, he traveled to the UK to train with Dr. Barbara Ansell in the Pediatric Rheumatic Disease Unit at Northwick Park Hospital and Taplow. Dr. Silver returned to the US to complete a fellowship in Rheumatology with Dr. Nathan Zvaifler at the University of California-San Diego. At the urging of his wife, a Charlestonian with a strong desire to return to her roots, he joined the MUSC faculty in 1981. Over the next 30+ years, he conducted clinical translational research focused on scleroderma and interstitial lung disease. His early studies of cyclophosphamide for SSc-ILD helped lay the foundation for major multicenter trials including the Scleroderma Lung Study I and II. He was one of the first to describe the Eosinophilia Myalgia Syndrome, a scleroderma mimic, and its association with the ingestion of L-tryptophan.

Dr. Silver maintains an active clinical practice, teaches and continues to pursue research on SSc-ILD with his colleague, Dr. Galina Bogatkevich. During his tenure as Director, the Division experienced remarkable growth in terms of faculty size, grant funding, and clinical expansion. Dr. Silver was instrumental in recruiting the state’s first pediatric rheumatologist, Dr. Natasha Ruth, whom he first met and mentored as a teenager, and now she leads the Division of Pediatric Rheumatology at MUSC. Early in his tenure as Division Director, Dr. Silver recruited Dr. Gary Gilkeson and Dr. Jim Oates to MUSC from Duke University. Together they have built a large and vibrant Lupus Center focused on renal disease, biomarkers, genetic and environmental causes of lupus, novel therapies, and health disparities in the Lowcountry African American population known as the Gullah people. Dr. Silver was instrumental in establishing a SC SmartState® Center for Inflammation and Fibrosis Research at MUSC. The Center’s $10M budget includes two endowed chairs, one currently held by Dr. Carol Feghali-Bostwick recruited from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, and the other held by Dr. Betty Tsao recruited from the University of California at Los Angeles. During his tenure, the Rheumatology fellowship program saw significant growth and refinement. Dr. Marcy Bolster, the first fellowship program director named by Silver, now leads the program in Rheumatology at the Massachusetts General Hospital, while Dr. Faye Hant now leads the program at MUSC. Undoubtedly, his proudest achievement has been mentoring many fellows over the years, including his daughter, Dr. Kate Silver, an adult and pediatric rheumatologist and member of the Division of Rheumatology at MUSC.