COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) – An international cardiac expert based in Maine will travel to South Carolina this summer to begin working on the world’s first biological heart pacemaker.

Health Sciences South Carolina said Tuesday that Dr. Martin Morad will occupy a new joint faculty chair at the University of South Carolina, Clemson University and the Medical University of South Carolina.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of South Carolina says its foundation has pledged $5 million to fund the appointment.

Morad has a lab on Maine’s Mount Desert Island, where he has been working on developing a way to prevent heart failure. He will bring a seven-person research lab with him when he comes to South Carolina this summer. He will set up his lab at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston.

AP-ES-03-25-08 0638EDT