Aimee McRae-Clark, Pharm.D.

I have focused my career on developing a more clinically informed understanding of addiction as a disease state, and specifically investigating the role that medications and other therapeutic interventions may play in the treatment of addiction. Serving as Principal Investigator or Co-Investigator on more than thirty clinical medication trials ranging from Phase I to Phase IV over the past 20 years has given me experience in recruiting, assessing, and evaluating outcomes in a multitude of substance-using populations including individuals with cannabis, cocaine, and opioid use disorders. Oversight of these projects has required honing my knowledge of regulatory, FDA, and DEA requirements; I have furthered my expertise in these areas by serving as Director of MUSC’s Office of Research Integrity for the past eight years. In this position, I am responsible for insuring institution-wide compliance with all federal and state research regulations. My role as PI of the MUSC Specialized Center of Research Excellence on Sex Differences has allowed me to develop expertise in translational center management and evaluation and conduct of sex/gender focused research. I also actively participate in several mentorship activities involving trainees at various stages of career development and have a particular interest in increasing the participation of underrepresented minority clinicians and women in the conduct of clinical research. To this end, I am active in multiple institutional and national initiatives focused on increasing recruitment, retention, and training of URM scientists, and currently hold a K24 Mid-Career Award in Patient Oriented Research from NIDA.