MUSC
Medical University of South Carolina
Charleston, South Carolina
The Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) is the oldest medical school in the South, and one of the oldest in the country. One of the major areas of focus for MUSC is in cardiothoracic surgery and cardiovascular disease in general. Its partnership with the Northeastern University Cooperative Education Program began through the efforts of Francis G. Spinale, MD, PhD (Northeastern Class of 1979) who is the current Director of the Cardiothoracic Research Program at MUSC and Vice-Chair of the Department of Surgery. MUSC began as a Co-op employer in the early 1990's and this remains an active partnership today.
The major focus of the cardiothoracic research program is to develop new diagnostic and treatment strategies for patients with heart disease. Since cardiovascular disease is one of the major causes of death and disability in both men and women in this country, then this is an important basic and clinical research focus of these laboratories. Using cell based, organism and patient based studies, this laboratory is developing new blood tests to predict heart failure, identifying new proteins that may contribute to heart failure, and evaluating/developing new devices that can be used in patients with heart failure. The diversity of research that goes on in these laboratories reflects the educational experience of Dr. Spinale, most certainly part of which was the Cooperative educational experience obtained during his time at Northeastern. This experience proved invaluable during Spinale's research and clinical training. In order to give back to the Northeastern Cooperative Education Program, a special research position was created for our students to experience medical research and to actively participate in programs that yield tangible results for patients. Co-op students add a level of excitement and discovery to a program that we often take for granted. These students remind us how remarkable it is to operate on the human heart and to repair what was once considered fatal heart problems.
Co-op students are assigned to a specific set of projects, which are focused upon a particular cardiovascular problem which contributes to heart disease. The students attend clinical and basic science conferences, make presentations to the research group, attend the operating rooms and work in the laboratory. The primary hope is to have them harness the classroom experience to a real life experience in cardiovascular research. The student is expected to begin and complete a specific set of experiments, perform the analysis with the research mentor, and then present these findings at a formal venue.
Inevitably, Co-op students always exceed our expectations and the goals that we set for them. Examples of recent Co-op students who have gone on to great things include Anne Deschamps (Northeastern Class of 2001) who recently completed her PhD degree and is now at the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute. Another example is Christine Koval (Northeastern Class of 2007) who has joined our program full time and is helping us develop novel methods for measuring blood coagulation pathways in real time which will improve what we do in the operating room. The photograph shows, from left to right, Anne Des Champs, Frank Spinale, and Christine Koval.
Francis G. Spinale is Professor of Surgery, Physiology and Pediatrics at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC). Dr. Spinale received his MD and PhD degrees from MUSC and has held a long standing interest in the development of diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for both acute and chronic heart failure. These research interests include myocardial protection strategies for cardiac surgery, surgical approaches for heart failure and the mechanisms of myocardial remodeling. Dr. Spinale is a member of the Society of Clinical Investigation and is a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology and The American Association of Thoracic Surgeons. He serves on several editorial boards including Circulation, and the American Journal of Physiology. He has published over 300 articles in the field of cardiothoracic surgery and cardiovascular physiology.
Anne Deschamps
Class of 2001
Major: Biology
Anne Deschamps grew up in Fairhaven, a small town in southeastern Massachusetts where she lived until attending Northeastern University in the fall of 1996. In addition to her interest in biology studies, Anne took piano lessons from first grade through high school and played field hockey and softball in high school.
When Anne entered Northeastern University, she was only interested in going to Medical School after graduation. However, her three co-op experiences showed Anne that participating in medical research was what she enjoyed. Although the co-op program didn't play a big role in Anne's decision to attend Northeastern, it greatly impacted her career future career path. The Co-op Program provided Anne with a greater amount of experience in her field and exposed her to a variety of different careers options. In Anne's words, "Retrospectively, attending NU and participating in Co-op were probably the best decisions I could have made!"
For her first Co-op, Anne worked for ViaCord, a private umbilical cord blood collection company, in the Operations Department overseeing the collection kit production. Her second Co-op was on the Northeastern Campus with Dr. Gwilym Jones, assisting in the preparation of mammalian specimens for research museum. Anne's third Co-op was at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), where she worked in the laboratory of Dr. Francis Spinale. This experience stands out the most for Anne because the research was so interesting.
After Anne graduated from NU, she worked as a Research Specialist for one year in Dr. Spinale's laboratory, continuing the research she began during her co-op. In the Fall of 2001, she began her graduate studies at MUSC, working towards her PhD in Molecular and Cellular Biology (awarded in January, 2007).
Anne recently moved to Bethesda, MD to start a post-doctoral position at the National Institutes of Health.
Christine Koval
Class of 2007
Major: Biology
Christine Koval was born in Quebec, Canada but considers Albany, NY as her hometown where she spent a good portion of her childhood, the third of six children. Christine also lived in Rochester, NY and Roanoke, VA. Currently, her family lives in Roswell, GA (her second hometown) where she attended Roswell High School.
Christine transferred to Northeastern University after spending 2 years at the University of Georgia. She came to NU primarily because of her love for Boston; however, the Co-op program definitely made Northeastern stand out among the many schools in the area. While at Northeastern, Christine was a member of the NU Biology Club, the BU Neurons, Academy of the College of Arts & Science, Dean's List, National Dean's List, Sigma Alpha Lambda National Honor Society, and Golden Key International Honour Society.
Christine completed one Co-op as an undergraduate at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC). The Co-op has had a great impact on her academic career at Northeastern. Because of this experience, she gained more confidence as a student and as a scientist, as well as acquiring a wealth of knowledge that will help her as she continues working towards my career goals in life.
Working as a Co-op at MUSC Co-op led directly to Christine?s first full-time position after obtaining her NU degree in January, 2007. She is now a Research Specialist in the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery Research (where she did her Co-op). As far as long term goals are concerned, Christine is interested in a healthcare career in which she is able to improve the lives of others.
When not working, Christine enjoys spending time with her family and friends, traveling, shopping, scrapbooking, music, history, and the outdoors.