MUSC in Top 5 for Innovation Impact from Research

Jesse Goodwin

MUSC joins a select group of pure medical schools recognized for innovation output as measured by the Innovation Impact Index, a metric developed by the George W. Bush Institute at Southern Methodist University and Opus Faveo Innovation Development. MUSC is ranked No. 3 in the category Pure Medical Schools, above the Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research and Baylor College of Medicine.

The index, the first of its kind, measures effectiveness in translating research spending into innovation outputs that affect economic and societal advancement. Research spending is defined as sponsored research award funding expended in the pursuit of scientific discovery and translation. Other factors used in the index include patents, technology transfer agreements, spin-out companies, STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) graduates and research citations.

J. H. Cullum Clark, Ph.D., coauthor of the index report, emphasized the importance of academic innovation. “Universities play an important role in fostering innovation in communities across the country, and that innovation drives economic growth and rising levels of prosperity,” he said. 

Major research institutions are at the center of efforts to understand and combat COVID-19, leaders at the center said, adding that now more than ever, institutions that build competitive research operations around life science, biotechnology and other vital STEM fields are an essential driver of America’s economic growth and pandemic recovery.

MUSC is the only South Carolina institution listed in the index. The university established the position of chief innovation officer in 2018, with Jesse Goodwin, Ph.D., serving in the inaugural role. “This is a huge accomplishment for MUSC, representing years of work and our combined strengths in research and STEM education as well as a robust innovation ecosystem that fosters entrepreneurship and technology transfer,” she said.