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Clinical Trials & Innovation Sciences

Clinical Trials and Innovation Sciences (CTIS) has a dual mission within the MUSC Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, serving as a resource to promote i) industry-sponsored and/or investigator-initiated clinical trials and ii) academic entrepreneurship.

Clinical Trials Unit

The Clinical Trials Unit within CTIS aims to increase the size and scope of the department's industry-sponsored research portfolio. To this end, the Clinical Trials Unit provides infrastructure support to faculty members interested in serving as PI on trials relevant to their specific specialty/interest area. The Clinical Trials Unit consists of a team of personnel including a regulatory specialist, a nurse practitioner, several study coordinators, and a grants and contracts manager. The team provides support that PIs may use for all or specific trial-related activities including study start-up and activation, recruitment and enrollment, as well as study close-out. CTIS is currently working with a number of different faculty members and industry sponsors to conduct trials in sleep, weight management, autism spectrum disorder, and depression.

Innovation Sciences Unit

The Innovation Sciences Unit within CTIS serves as a resource to promote academic entrepreneurship within the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences as well as across MUSC. The Innovation Sciences Unit offers consultations to faculty, fellows, and other trainees regarding turning academic innovations into commercially viable products and submitting competitive small business grants to support those endeavors.

Services Offered

Clinical Trials Unit Services

  • Provides the infrastructure to support PIs through all aspects of their clinical trial including:
    • Study feasibility
    • Site selection
    • Study start-up
    • Activation
    • Recruitment and retention
    • Financial tracking
    • Close-out

Innovation Sciences Unit Services

  • Consultations regarding:
    • Intellectual property generated by MUSC investigators, including navigating invention disclosures
    • Submission of small business grants, including SBIR and STTR grants to the NIH
    • Turning academic innovations into commercializable products
    • Business development
    • Fundraising and developing strong pitch materials
    • Balancing academia and entrepreneurship
    • Facilitated networking with potential partner companies as well as other investigators within and beyond MUSC

Faculty

Bernadette Cortese, Ph.D.

Jennifer Dahne, Ph.D.

Contact Us

Bernadette Cortese, Ph.D.
corteseb@musc.edu
843-792-6922

Jennifer Dahne, Ph.D.
dahne@musc.edu
843-876-2280