Photo of research lab glass beakers and flasks.

Darby Children's Research Institute

"We discover so you can recover"

It is a sincere pleasure to welcome you to our Darby Children’s Research Institute (DCRI). The DCRI serves as the research arm of the clinical divisions of our Department of Pediatrics at MUSC. As director of the DCRI, I oversee the research enterprise of faculty, composed of either basic scientists or physician scientists. We are unified as a community with a common goal to perform impactful science that can be translated to enrich the wellness of children both in the state of South Carolina and beyond. We also seek to promote the next generation of scientists and physicians to carry on our work. Founded in 2007 by Dr. Charles Darby, former Chair of Pediatrics, who understood that providing the best care to children involves both outstanding physicians and researchers, the DCRI is composed of state-of-the-art laboratories with faculty, postdoctoral researchers, and graduate students spanning various disciplines of childhood diseases and health. Specific areas of research interest include, but are not limited to: cancer and blood disorders; neonatal health and wellness; heart development and congenital disease; neuronal growth and brain disorders; skeletal development and bone disease; pulmonary development and disease; kidney function and acute injury; and neuromuscular disorders.

We invite you to take a look through our website to learn more about our research and institute activities, as well as the life, culture, and beauty that we enjoy daily in majestic Charleston and its surrounding areas.

About the Darby Children's Research Institute

Headshot of Dr. Charles Darby

The Darby Children’s Research Institute (DCRI) bears the name of its founder, Charles Darby, M.D. He became Chair of the Department of Pediatrics at MUSC in 1982 and recognized the need for better pediatric healthcare in South Carolina. Dr. Darby then began a campaign with MUSC leadership and state legislators to build a children’s hospital. His dream became a reality in 1987 after 15 years of planning and perseverance. Under his leadership as Chair and Pediatrician-in-Chief of MUSC, Darby increased the number of faculty from 12 to 80 during his tenure and directly led to a ranking among the top 10 children’s hospitals in the country.

He was also pivotal in the creation of MUSC’s newest Shawn Jenkins Children’s Hospital and Pearl Tourville Women’s Pavilion that opened in 2020. Darby recognized that all top ranked children’s hospitals achieve their stature based not only on the outstanding clinical care to their patients, but also to the outstanding research that supports the next breakthrough discoveries to enhance that clinical care. With this recognition, he began envisioning the building of a research enterprise; created to serve as the research arm of the children’s hospital. He started another campaign with MUSC officials and state legislators to fund the construction of six floors of modern physical laboratory space that would house both basic scientists and physician scientists working to meet the research needs of the children in South Carolina. That vision was realized with the opening of the Darby Children's Research Institute in 2007.

“The Darby Children’s Research Institute provides excellent facilities to attract and retain scholarly scientists committed to advancing the health of children. Quality clinical care is essential for every children’s hospital, but it is the constant quest for new knowledge and better outcomes that set the better institutions apart from the rest.”  - Charles Darby, M.D.

 

Contact Us

Denis Guttridge, Ph.D.
Director, Darby Children's Research Institute
Professor, Pediatrics
173 Ashley Avenue
Darby Children's Research Institute, Room 416

MSC 514
Charleston, SC 29425
Email: guttridg@musc.edu

Jasmine Ballentine
Assistant to Director
173 Ashley Avenue
Darby Children's Research Institute, Room 512
MSC 514
Charleston, SC 29425
Email: ballentj@musc.edu