Joshua Edison Payne, MD, MPH

Emily Vara, DO is a highly-rated pediatric rheumatologist based in Okatie, SC, specializing in the treatment of children with rheumatic conditions. With a focus on providing exceptional care, Dr. Vara is known for her expertise and compassionate approach, ensuring the well-being of her young patients. As part of MUSC Children's Health, Dr. Vara offers her services at multiple locations, including the Okatie Medical Pavilion and the R. Keith Summey Medical Pavilion in North Charleston. With a commitment to excellence, she strives to improve the lives of children with rheumatologic disorders through personalized treatment plans and ongoing support.Generated from the website

Dr. Thomas K. Koch, division chief for pediatric neurology at MUSC Children’s Hospital, is a pediatric neurologist. His clinical interests include pediatric headache and migraine headache, tics and Tourette syndrome, and pediatric epilepsy. Dr. Koch obtained his medical degree from the University of California, San Diego and completed a residency in pediatric neurology at the University of California, San Francisco, which was followed by two years of neurochemistry research at that institution. Dr. Koch has held clinical faculty positions at the University of California, San Francisco, the University of Maryland in Baltimore, and Oregon Health and Sciences University. In August 2014, he was appointed to his position at MUSC.

Dr. Barry Gibney is an assistant professor of surgery in the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery at MUSC. He completed his general surgery training at Penn State Hershey, and his thoracic surgery training at Brigham and Women's Hospital/Harvard Medical School in Boston. Dr. Gibney takes care of patients with lung and esophageal cancer, mesothelioma, mediastinal and chest wall tumors, and benign esophageal diseases such as reflux, achalasia, and paraesophageal hernias. Additionally, he cares for end-stage lung disease in a multidisciplinary lung transplant team. He has special interests in esophageal cancer and minimally invasive thoracic surgery. His published research can be found on the National Institutes of Health PubMed website.