Research & Scholarship

Associate Professor

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.

I am a pulmonologist and clinician scientist with a research focus in health services research for patients with lung cancer at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC). My long-term research goal is to improve care delivery for patients newly diagnosed with lung cancer, especially as it relates to precision medicine therapies. My clinical time is spent evaluating patients suspected to have lung cancer in a multi-disciplinary thoracic oncology clinic, performing bronchoscopy for diagnostic or staging purposes, and collaborating on cases through our multi-disciplinary thoracic tumor board. Biomarker testing performed on patient's lung cancer tissue continues to grow in importance in driving precision medicine treatment decisions, especially as new therapies and indications emerge for both targeted and immune therapies.

I witness, first-hand, many issues surrounding obtaining tissue and accomplishing biomarker testing for patients newly diagnosed with lung cancer. These issues span the spectrum from obtaining enough tissue for testing, choosing which assays to use to perform testing, coordination across sub-specialties, gaps in knowledge and values by physicians to perform testing, and navigating these issues to achieve timely and comprehensive results. Motivated by the needs of patients, I became interested in the responsibility of pulmonologists and other sub-specialists to achieve timely and comprehensive biomarker testing for patients with lung cancer.

I serve as co-principal investigator on a grant from the American Cancer Society (ACS) to assess biomarker testing and treatment patterns in nationally representative databases. I am the co-lead faculty for the ACS Extension for Community Health Outcomes (ECHO) for biomarker testing in South Carolina, and I am a member of the ACS National Lung Cancer Roundtable (NLCRT) Triage for Appropriate Treatment Task Group.

Co-investigator;
MUSC Director of Bronchoscopy and Interventional Pulmonology

Dr. Andrew Goodwin is a pulmonary intensivist committed to improving the health and well-being of critically ill patients through patient-centered care and clinical and translational research. His clinical interests include the hemodynamic management of septic shock and ventilation strategies for ARDS as well as strategies to mitigate ICU delirium. He also performs translational research focused on the potential role that micro RNA play in the endothelial dysfunction of sepsis and ARDS. In particular, he and his collaborators are focused on identifying the role that circulating miRNA have on endothelial cell gene expression and function and their potential use as a therapeutic in these syndromes. Additionally, he investigates the impact of patient factors such as race and comorbidities as well as hospital factors such as location and size on the outcomes of critical illness. His long-range goal is to improve the outcomes of critically ill patients through new therapeutics and optimal bedside care.

Dr. Ennis James became interested in sarcoidosis as a pulmonary and critical care fellow at Virginia Commonwealth University and joined the pulmonary faculty at MUSC in 2015. Dr James currently serves as the Program Director for the Susan Pearlstine Sarcoidosis Center of Excellence, and strongly believes in its vision to improve the lives of sarcoidosis patients by providing coordinated, patient-focused multidisciplinary care and cutting edge sarcoidosis research. He is happy to see sarcoidosis patients with any type of organ involvement.

Assistant
Professor

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Assistant Professor

Professor

Pulmonary Critical Care

I am a lung cancer pulmonologist with expertise in the evaluation, management, and improvement of outcomes of patients with lung cancer. I conduct patient-oriented clinical research studies that encompass nearly every aspect of lung cancer care, including lung cancer screening, disparities in cancer care, shared decision-making, and the evaluation and management of pulmonary nodules. I have a graduate degree in the evaluative clinical sciences, and I apply the health services research techniques I learned to many aspects of lung cancer care.

Assistant Professor

Director and Professor

Nurse Practitioner
swartza@musc.edu

I am a lung cancer pulmonologist and clinician scientist at the Ralph H. Johnson VA Hospital where I have led the lung cancer screening program since 2012. I have a joint appointment as Professor of Medicine at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) where I co-direct the NCI-designated Hollings Cancer Center lung cancer screening program. I am a member of Hollings Cancer Center Cancer Control Program and have worked to implement lung cancer screening programs across the state of South Carolina at recently acquired MUSC regional health hospitals. My research and clinical interest focus on all aspects of lung cancer screening, disparities, pulmonary nodule evaluation, and the staging and diagnosis of lung cancer.

Nurse Practitioner
taylorbr@musc.edu

Assistant
Professor