Research Excellence Awards
With so many impactful findings coming out of the College of Medicine, we are delighted to showcase some of the more significant research publications. On a periodic basis, COM leadership selects papers to highlight from nominations for publications that have appeared in high impact journals with an active, full time, COM, faculty member as first or last author. Read more about the Research Excellence Award criteria and nominations.
Congratulations to the Winter 2024-25 recipients of the College of Medicine Research Excellence Award.
Leonardo M. R. Ferreira, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Pharmacology & Immunology, was recognized for his work and article “Combinatorial genetic engineering strategy for immune protection of stem cell-derived beta cells by chimeric antigen receptor regulatory T cells,” published in Cell Reports Nov. 26, 2024. MUSC co-author: Rob Robino
Tim Barnoud, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, was recognized for his work and article “HSP70-mediated mitochondrial dynamics and autophagy represent a novel vulnerability in pancreatic cancer,” published in Cell Death & Differentiation May 28, 2024. MUSC co-authors: Giulia D. S. Ferretti, Colleen E. Quaas, Alessandro Zuccotti, Ozge Saatci, Abigail F. Quesnelle, Jezabel Rodriguez-Blanco, Aguirre A. de Cubas, G. Aaron Hobbs, John P. O’Bryan, Ozgur Sahin
Makoto Taniguchi, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Neuroscience, was recognized for his work and article, “A long noncoding eRNA forms R-loops to shape emotional experience–induced behavioral adaptation,” published in Science Dec. 12, 2024. MUSC co-authors: Rose Marie Akiki, Rebecca G. Cornbrooks, Kosuke Magami, Alain Greige, Kristen K. Snyder, Daniel J. Wood, Mary Claire Herrington, Phillip Mace, Kyle Blidy, Stefano Berto, Christopher W. Cowan
Previous Honorees
Mulugeta Gebregziabher, Ph.D., Professor of Public Health Sciences, was recognized for his work and article, "Neonatal mortality during the war in Tigray: a cross-sectional community-based study," published in The Lancet Global Health Vol. 12, Issue 5, May 2024. Dr. Gebregziabher collaborated on this work with Dr. Mache Tsadik, Department of Reproductive Health, College of Health Sciences, Mekelle University, Tigray, Ethiopia.
Ozgur Sahin, Ph.D. (pictured center), Professor of Biochemistry, was recognized for his work and article, "Targeting TACC3 Induces Immunogenic Cell Death and Enhances T-DM1 Response in HER2 -Positive Breast Cancer," published in Cancer Research 2024:84:1475-90.
Caitlin Allen, Ph.D., MPH, Assistant Professor of Public Health Sciences, was recognized for her work and article, “Using implementation science to evaluate a population-wide genomic screening program: Findings from the first 20,000 In Our DNA SC participants,” published in the American Journal of Human Genetics.
Federica del Monte, M.D., Ph.D., Professor of Medicine, was recognized for her work and article, “Big tau aggregation disrupts microtubule tyrosination and causes myocardial diastolic dysfunction: from discovery to therapy,” published in European Heart Journal.
Patrick Mulholland, Ph.D., Professor of Neuroscience, was recognized for her work and article, “Adaptor protein complex 2 in the orbitofrontal cortex predicts alcohol use disorder,” published in Molecular Psychiatry.
Ozgur Sahin, Ph.D., Professor of Biochemistry, was recognized for his work and article, "Toxic PARP trapping upon cAMP-induced DNA damage reinstates the efficacy of endocrine therapy and CDK4/6 inhibitors in treatment-refractory ER+ breast cancer," published by Nature Communications Nov. 2, 2023.
Benjamin Toll, Ph.D., Professor of Public Health Sciences, was recognized for his work and article, "Shift From Smoking Cigarettes to Vaping Nicotine in Young Adults," published by JAMA Internal Medicine Nov. 13, 2023.
William Mellick, III, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, was recognized for his work and article, "Alcohol Cue Processing in Co-Occurring Bipolar Disorder and Alcohol Use Disorder," published by JAMA Psychiatry August 9, 2023.
Evan Graboyes, M.D., MPH, Associate Professor of Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery, was recognized for his work and article, Efficacy of a Brief Tele-Cognitive Behavioral Treatment vs Attention Control for Head and Neck Cancer Survivors with body Image distress A Pilot Randomized Clinical Trial, published in JAMA, Dec. 1, 2022.
Peter Kalivas, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor of Neuroscience, and Anna Kruyer, Ph.D., were recognized for their work and article, Plasticity in astrocyte subpopulations regulates heroin relapse, published in Science Advances, vol. 8, issue 32, 10 Aug., 2022.
Meenal Mehrotra, M.D., Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Surgery and Oral Health Sciences, was recognized for her work and article, Quantitative Increase in T Regulatory Cells Enhances Bone Remodeling in Osteogenesis Imperfecta, published in iScience, volume 25, issue 9, 16 Sept. 2022.
Wenjian Gan, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, for his work and article, Arginine methylation of BRD4 by PRMT2/4 governs transcription and DNA repair, published in Science Advances, Dec. 7, 2022, volume 8, issue 49.
Silvia Guglietta, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Regenerative Medicine, was recognized for her work and article, Complement downregulation promotes an inflammatory signature that renders colorectal cancer susceptible to immunotherapy, published in the 2022 Journal for the ImmunoTherapy of Cancer, volume 10, issue 9.
James Otis, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Neurosciences, was recognized for his work and article, An opioid-gated thalamoaccumbal circuit for the suppression of reward seeking in mice, published in Nature Communications Nov. 11, 2022.
Howard Becker, Ph.D., Professor of Psychiatry, was recognized for his work and article titled "Dynorphin/Kappa Opioid Receptor Activity Within the Extended Amygdala Contributes to Stress-Enhanced Alcohol Drinking in Mice" published in Biological Psychiatry volume 91, issue 12, 15 June 2022.
Jezabel Rodriguez Blanco, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, was recognized for her work and article titled "Noncanonical activation of GLI signaling in SOX2+ cells drives medulloblastoma relapse" published in Science Advances Cell Biology, vol. 8, no. 29, 20 July 2022.
Natalie Saini, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Biochemistry, was recognized for her work and article titled "Acetaldehyde makes a distinct mutation signature in single-stranded DNA" published in Nucleic Acids Research, vol. 50, issue 13, 22 July 2022.
Joseph Delaney, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, "SWAN pathway-network identification of common aneuploidy-based oncogenic drivers," Nucleic Acids Research, Volume 50, Issue 7, 22 April 2022
John O’Bryan, Ph.D., Professor of Cell and Molecular Pharmacology, "Identification of the nucleotide-free state as a therapeutic vulnerability for inhibition of selected oncogenic RAS mutants," Cell Reports, Volume 38, Issue 6, 8 February 2022
Je-Hyun Yoon, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, "NEAT1 is essential for metabolic changes that promote breast cancer growth and metastasis," Cell Metabolism 33, December 7, 2021
Dr. Feghali-Bostwick, Professor and SmartState and Kitty Trask Holt Endowed Chair for Scleroderma Research, Division of Rheumatology & Immunology, "Antifibrotic factorKLF4 is repressed by the miR-10/TFAP2A/TBX5 axis in dermal fibroblasts:insights from twins discordant for systemic sclerosis," Annals of Rheumatic Diseases February 2022, Volume 81-2
Susan E. Dorman, M.D., Professor of Medicine, "Four-Month Rifapentine Regimens with or without Moxifloxacin for Tuberculosis," New England Journal of Medicine May 6, 2021
James J. Prisciandaro, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Psychiatry, "Effects of Gabapentin on Dorsal Anterior Cingulate Cortex GABA and Glutamate Levels and Their Associations With Abstinence in Alcohol Use Disorder: A Randomized Clinical Trial," American Journal of Psychiatry July 14, 2021
Haizhen "Jen" Wang, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Cell and Molecular Pharmacology, "Nuclear PFKP promotes CXCR4 dependent T cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia infiltration," Journal of Clinical Investigation July 13, 2021
Carla Danielson, Ph.D., Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, "Safety and Efficacy of Exposure-Based Risk Reduction Through Family Therapy for Co-Occurring Substance use Problems and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms Among Adolescents: A Randomized Clinical Trial,” JAMA Psychiatry February 5, 2021
David T. Long, Ph.D., (pictured on right with team), Associate Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, “BRCA1-BARD1 regulates transcription through BRD4 in Xenopus nucleoplasmic extract,” Nucleic Acids Research February 28, 2021
Vinayak Rohan, M.D., Assistant Professor of Surgery, “Maintaining Access: Successful Implementation of a Virtual Kidney Transplantation Evaluation,” Journal of the American College of Surgeons, December 21, 2020
Kelly S. Barth, D.O. (pictured on left), Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, and co-investigators Taylor Crouch, Ph.D., Sharlene Wedin, Ph.D., Lilian Christon Ph.D., Rebecca Kilpatrick, Ph.D., Wendy Balliet, Ph.D., and Jeff Borckardt, Ph.D., "Pain Rehabilitation’s Dual Power: Treatment for Chronic Pain and Prevention of Opioid-Related Risks," American Psychologist in 2020, Vol. 75, No. 6
Daniel T. Lackland, Dr.P.H., Professor in the Department of Neurology, "Forty-Year Shifting Distribution of Systolic Blood Pressure With Population Hypertension Treatment and Control," Circulation, October 20, 2020
Raymond F. Anton, M.D., Professor of Psychiatry; and co-investigators Patricia Latham, Ph.D.; Sarah Book, M.D.; Michaela Hoffman, Ph.D.; James Prisciandaro, Ph.D.; and Emily Bristol, BA, “Efficacy of Gabapentin for the Treatment of Alcohol Use Disorder in Patients With Alcohol Withdrawal Symptoms A Randomized Clinical Trial,” JAMA Internal Medicine March 9, 2020
Vinayak Rohan, M.D., Assistant Professor of Surgery, “Virtual Crossmatching in Kidney Transplantation: The Wait is Over,” Journal of the American College of Surgeons April 1, 2020
Dr. Thomas C. Jhou (top left, with team), Associate Professor in the Department of Neuroscience, “Three Rostromedial Tegmental Afferents Drive Triply Dissociable Aspects of Punishment Learning and Aversive Valence Encoding,” Neuron 104, December 4, 2019
Dr. Besim Ogretmen, SmartState Endowed Chair in Lipidomics and Drug Discovery and Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, “Mitochondrial protein import is regulated by p17/PERMIT to mediate lipid metabolism and cellular stress,” Science Advances, 11 September 2019
Carol L. Wagner, MD, Professor of Pediatrics, and co-investigators Danforth A. Newton, PhD, and John E. Baatz, PhD, “Vitamin D binding protein polymorphisms significantly impact vitamin D status in children," Nature: Pediatric Research, February 2, 2019
Russell A. "Chip" Norris, PhD, Associate Professor, Regenerative Medicine and Cell Biology, “Primary cilia defects causing mitral valve prolapse," Science Translational Medicine Vol. 11, Issue 493, May 22, 2019
Wei Jiang, MD, Associate Professor, Microbiology & Immunology, “Systemic Translocation of Staphylococcus Drives Autoantibody Production in HIV Disease,” Microbiome, February 2019
Stephen Tomlinson, PhD, Professor, Microbiology & Immunology, “Targeted complement inhibition salvages stressed neuros and inhibits neuroinflammation after stroke in mice,” Science Translational Medicine, May 2018
Michael Zile, MD, Endowed Chair, Professor, Medicine, “Effects of Sacubitril/Valsartan on Biomarkers of Extracellular Matrix Regulation in Patients with HFrEF,” Journal of the American College of Cardiology, February 2019
John Wrangle, MD, MPH (on right), Assistant Professor of Medicine - Hematology/Oncology, and Mark Rubinstein, PhD (left), Assistant Professor of Surgery, “ALT-803,an IL-15 superagonist, in combination with nivolumab in patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer; a non-randomized, open-label, phase 1btrial,” The Lancet Oncology, May, 2018 (Volume 19 – Issue 5)
Jeffrey Korte, PhD, Associate Professor of Epidemiology and Public Health Sciences, "Impact of HIV Self-Test Distribution to Male Partners of ANC Clients: Results of a Randomized Controlled Trial in Kenya,” Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, December 1, 2018 (Volume 79 - Issue 4)
Dr. Christopher Cowan and Dr. Makoto Taniguchi, “HDAC5 and Its Target Gene, Npas4, Function in the Nucleus Accumbens to Regulate Cocaine-Conditioned Behaviors,” Neuron, September 27, 2017
Dr. Donald R. Menick and Dr. Lillianne H. Wright, "Angiokine Wisp-1 is increased in myocardial infarction and regulates cardiac endothelial signaling,” JCI Insight, February 22, 2018
Dr. Donna Roberts, Associate Professor of Radiology and Radiological Science, “Effects of Spaceflight on Astronaut Brain Structure as Indicated on MRI,” New England Journal of Medicine, Volume 377, No. 18, November 2, 2017
Dr. Shikhar Mehrotra, Associate Professor in the Department of Surgery, “CD38-NAD+Axis Regulates Immunotherapeutic Anti-Tumor T Cell Response,” Cell Metabolism, Volume 27, Issue 1, January 2018
Dr. Stephen A. Duncan, SmartState and Department Chair in the Department of Regenerative Medicine, “A Drug Screen using Human iPSC-Derived Hepatocyte-like Cells Reveals Cardiac Glycosides as a Potential Treatment for Hypercholesterolemia,” Cell Stem Cell, Volume 20, Issue 4
Dr. Philip H. Howe, Hans and Helen Koebig Chair in Clinical Oncology and Chair of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, “Cathepsin-B-mediated cleavage of Disabled-2 regulates TGF-_-induced autophagy,” Nature Cell Biology, Volume 18, Number 8
Zihai Li, MD PhD, Professor and chair, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Sally Abney Rose Chair in Stem Cell Biology & Therapy, pictured (on right) with first co-author Alesandra Metelli, PhD, "Platelets subvert T cell immunity against cancer via GARP-TGFbeta axis," Science Immunology, May 2017
Dr. Shaun Olsen, Assistant Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, “S. pombe Uba1-Ubc15 Structure Reveals a Novel Regulatory Mechanism of Ubiquitin E2 Activity,” Molecular Cell., February 16, 2017
Dr. Betty Tsao, "A missense variant in NDF1 is associated with susceptibility to multiple autoimmune diseases," Nature Genetics, January 30, 2017
Dr. Lou Luttrell, "The conformational signature of arestin3 predicts its trafficking and signaling functions," Nature, March 31, 2016