CHARLESTON -- Dr. Marc Chimowitz, one of the country's leading researchers in the field of neurodegeneration, is now a South Carolina Centers of Economic Excellence (CoEE) Endowed Chair and will lead a $25 million clinical trial on stroke prevention at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC).

The clinical trial is funded by the National Institutes of Health and is among the largest extramural research grants in state history. Involving patients at more than 50 sites across the country, Chimowitz and his colleagues will examine the value of using stents to prevent strokes in patients whose brain arteries have hardened and narrowed due to plaque buildup (atherosclerotic stenosis).

Stroke research is especially relevant in South Carolina, which has the nation's second-highest mortality rate in stroke, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Chimowitz completed a $14 million clinical trial while a professor of neurology at Emory University in Atlanta to determine the effectiveness of warfarin versus aspirin for preventing stroke in patients with narrowed brain arteries. He is also the recipient of a Career Investigator Award from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke to mentor junior faculty members toward clinical research careers.

“Dr. Chimowitz is a highly honored researcher who will be an integral part of training a new generation of clinical neuroscientists,” said John Raymond, provost and vice president for academic affairs at MUSC. “We are enthusiastic about the contributions to MUSC excellence that he will make in regards to research, education and clinical care.”

“In Dr. Chimowitz, the CoEE Program has recruited one of the country's foremost researchers in clinical stroke research,” noted Paula Harper Bethea, who chairs the CoEE Review Board. “He has already brought substantial research dollars to the state, and in time his work could affect the lives of countless South Carolinians and people around the world who are at risk of stroke.”

The Neuroscience CoEE targets its research on age-related neurodegenerative problems including dementia, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and stroke.

This area of research is significant for South Carolina, where the percentage of the population that is older than age 65 is projected to grow from 12% in 2000 to 22% in 2030, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures.

The CoEE is a strong component of MUSC's established Neuroscience Institute and also works in collaboration with the MUSC Center on Aging. The CoEE has partnered with Cure Parkinson's Project, a non-profit corporation devoted to curing Parkinson's disease, and has also supported the creation of SemiAlloGen, Inc., a biotechnology company that develops therapeutics in the field of neurodegenerative disorders and cancer.

Before working at Emory University, Chimowitz served as assistant professor of neurology at the University of Michigan. He completed a neurology residency at Tufts University as well as a cerebrovascular fellowship at the Cleveland Clinic and a research fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital. He received his medical degree from the University of Cape Town in South Africa.

About the CoEE Program

The S.C. Centers of Economic Excellence Program was established by the South Carolina General Assembly in 2002, with $200 million appropriated from the South Carolina Education Lottery Account to fund the program through 2010. The legislation authorizes the state's three public research institutions (MUSC, Clemson, and USC) to use state funds to create Centers of Economic Excellence in research areas that will advance South Carolina's economy. Each Center of Economic Excellence is awarded $2 million to $5 million in state funds, which must be matched on a dollar-for-dollar basis with non-state funds. The program also supports CoEE endowed chairs, world-renowned scientists who lead the Centers of Economic Excellence. By investing in talent and technology, the CoEE Program is designed to fuel the state's knowledge-based economy, resulting in high-paying jobs and an improved standard of living in South Carolina.

For more information on the CoEE Program, visit www.sccoee.org .

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