GOOD NEWS: MUSC’s DuBois earns major honor

Staff reports  |  Dr. Raymond N. DuBois, dean of the College of Medicine at the Medical University of South Carolina, has been elected to the National Academy of Medicine. According to a press release, that puts him in the company of an elite group of internationally-renowned scientists and doctors, including Nobel laureates, who are also members. With only 75 new members elected each year across a broad range of medical disciplines, becoming part of the 50-year-old organization is considered one of the highest honors in the fields of health and medicine.

“It’s quite an honor,” said DuBois, the second professor at MUSC to win the honor. “I am delighted that Chanita and I can represent MUSC and the state of South Carolina in the national discussion about crucial health care and science issues.” 

National Academy of Medicine President Victor Dzau called the new members exceptional scholars and leaders whose work has advanced science, medicine and health around the world. “Their expertise will be vital to addressing today’s most pressing health and scientific challenges and informing the future of health and medicine for the benefit of us all.”

DuBois is known for his work illuminating the relationship between inflammation and cancer. He’s part of a team that made a landmark discovery involving an enzyme in colorectal tumors that led to a better understanding of how colorectal cancer grows and spreads to other areas of the body – and, more importantly, how to fight that with anti-inflammatory drugs.

“In my research lab at MUSC, we’re hoping to figure out what can be done to reduce the ability of cancer to progress at the very earliest stage,” he said. “We’ve been looking at changes in pre-cancerous cells that are crucial for them to progress into a full-blown cancer. We are targeting those pathways to determine if we can intercept the cancerization process.” 

In addition to his ongoing work as a researcher, DuBois is a national leader in the cancer community. He’s a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, a fellow and a past president of the American Association for Cancer Research. He’s also a former president of the Southern Society for Clinical Investigation and the International Society for Gastrointestinal Cancer. 

In his role as a dean at MUSC, DuBois is responsible for overseeing the educational and research programs of the College of Medicine. That includes more than 700 students, 780 trainees and annual research funding coming from outside of MUSC of about $250 million. He also oversees 25 basic science and clinical departments with over 1,300 faculty members and directs a cancer research lab in the Biochemistry Department.

In other area news:

Ports make $63 billion impact.  The S.c. Ports Authority creates 1 in 10 South Carolina jobs and has a $63.4 billion annual economic impact, according to a new impact study.   from the University of South Carolina’s Darla Moore School of Business .“S.C. Ports Authority has further established itself as one of our state’s premier economic drivers,” Gov. Henry McMaster said in a statement.  The analysis showed S.C. Ports’s operations and associated activities correspond to nearly 225,000 jobs and $12.8 billion in wages and salaries for South Carolinians that would otherwise not exist.  Port operations account for 10% of the state’s economy and generate $1.1 billion in tax revenue annually for the state, the study found. “Port operations create high-paying jobs and attract port-dependent businesses to locate or expand throughout the state,” said the study’s author, research economist Joey Von Nessen of the University of South Carolina.  “South Carolina’s success is intrinsically tied to S.C. Ports Authority’s continued growth.” 

Service award nominations closing soon.  You still have time to nominate a great neighborhood leader or volunteer for the recently-rededicated Robert Ballard Award, which is the city of Charleston’s Excellence in Volunteer Service Award.  The award honoring Ballard, a passionate neighborhood livability advocate who died in 2018, started in 1998 to honor the service of the late Harold Koon.  If you’d like to nominate someone for the award, click here.  Nominations end Oct. 30.

Workshop on single-use plastics.  The city of Charleston’s Sustainability Division will host two free one-hour workshops this week to provide businesses with the tools and resources to help support a smooth transition to the city’s new single-use plastic ordinance, which will starts Jan. 1.  Workshops are 10 a.m. Oct. 28 at 423 King Street and 6 p.m. Oct. 30 at 1630-2 Meeting Street.

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