Experience and Education

• Professor, Department of Surgery, Physiology, Anesthesiology, Pediatrics, MUSC; 1996 – present
• Professor, Department of Cell Biology & Anatomy, Surgery, USC School of Medicine; 2011 – present
• Physician, WJB Dorn VA; 2011 – present
• Physician, Ralph H. Johnson VA; 2002 – 2011
• Ph.D., Pathology, Medical University of South Carolina, 1985
• M.D., Medical University of South Carolina, 1993

Research

Francis G. Spinale, MD, PhD, an internationally renowned cardiovascular scientist, has directed a translational research effort in the thematic area of cardiovascular remodeling with a particular focus upon heart failure, the main cause of death and disability in South Carolina, for over the past two decades. The mechanistic, translational, and clinical studies he has been working on will advance our understanding and potential treatment for major causes of heart failure in patients. He is also an entrepreneur with patents and a NIH Small Business Technology Transfer grant to develop a microdialysis/microfluidics delivery system for cardiac surgery. Additionally, Dr. Spinale serves on the ditorial board of seven prestigious scientific journals and is a consultant to various pharmaceutical companies and biotechnology companies. To his credit, he also has over 400 peer-reviewed publications in leading cardiovascular journals and is a fellow of several professional societies, including the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology. He has been invited to present his research both nationally and internationally at major scientific meetings, universities, and congresses/conferences. Dr. Spinale is the director of the Cardiovascular Translational Research Center, and he has pioneered various projects for cardiac research while working to collaborate with other departments and faculty between the SOM and VA.

Selected Publications

• McGarvey JR, Pettaway S, Shuman JA, Novack CP, Zellars KN, Freels PD, Echols Jr. RL, Burdick JA. Gorman JH, Gorman RC, Spinale FG. Targeted injection of a biocomposite material alters macrophage and fibroblast phenotype and function following myocardial infarction: relation to LV remodeling. J Pharmacol Exp Ther. 2014 Sep;350(3):701-9.
• Yarbrough WM, Baicu C, Mukherjee R, Van Laer A, Rivers WT, McKinney RA, Prescott CB, Stroud RE, Zile MR, Spinale FG. Cardiac-restricted overexpression or deletion of tissue inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinase-4; differential effects on left ventricular structure and function following pressure overload induced hypertrophy. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol. 2014 Sep 1;307(5):H752-61. PMID: 24993046
• Villarreal F, Spinale FG. Targeting matrix metalloproteinases in heart disease: lessons from endogenous inhibitors. Biochem Pharmacol. 2014 Jul 1;90(1):7-15. PMCID: PMC4060262
• Zavadzkas JA, Stroud RE, Bouges S, Mukherjee R, McDermott PJ, Spinale FG. Targeted overexpression of tissue inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinase-4 modifies post myocardial infarction remodeling in mice. Circ Res. 2014 Mar 17 Epub. 2014 Apr 25;114(9):1435-45.
• Purcell BP, Lobb DC, Charati MB, Wade RJ, Zellars KN, Doviak H, Pettaway S, Logdon CB, Shuman JA, Novack CP, Gorman JH, Gorman RC, Spinale FG, Burdick JA. Injectable and bioresponsive hydrogels for on-demand matrix metalloproteinase inhibition. Nat Mater. 2014 Mar 30 Epub. 2014 Jun;13(6):653-61.

Honors and Awards

• Guest Editor, Heart Failure and Biomarkers series, Journal of Cardiovascular Translational Research, August 2013
• Invited Guest and Speaker, CHFR Symposium in Heart Failure, University of Oslo, Norway, September 2014
• Guest Editor, The Myocardial Extracellular Matrix: An Ever Changing and Diverse Entity series, Circulation Research, 2014
• Invited Speaker, AJP Experimental Biology Symposium. San Diego, CA, April 2014.
• Breakthrough Leadership in Research Award, University of South Carolina, October 2014