SOUTH CAROLINA – October 1, 2024 –SCbio is pleased to welcome Elisabeth Lewis, an associate at K&L Gates, and Phyllis MacGilvray, M.D., FAAFP, dean of the University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville (SOMG), to its Strategic Advisory Board.
Lewis is part of the Health Care and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) practice group at K&L Gates, where she brings extensive experience in advising clients on regulatory matters related to food, dietary supplements, cosmetics and food packaging. She offers guidance on advertising and labeling requirements to ensure compliance with U.S. Department of Agriculture regulations, as well as counseling on regulatory issues concerning pharmaceuticals, biologics and medical devices.
Beyond her regulatory compliance experience, Lewis has experience with insurance coverage disputes and counseling clients facing enforcement actions, recalls and threats of litigation. Her background in public health, focused on environmental science, policy and earth resource management, provides a unique perspective to her work.
Prior to becoming an associate at K&L Gates, Lewis served as a summer associate, working primarily with the Health Care and FDA team. She gained experience in various international and national law firms within South Carolina. Lewis earned her Juris Doctor degree from the University of South Carolina School of Law, where she was honored with the Order of the Coif and Order of the Wig and Robe. She completed her master’s degree in earth and environmental resource management and her Bachelor of Arts at the University of South Carolina.
MacGilvray serves as a clinical professor in the Department of Family Medicine at the university and as a Prisma Health Family Medicine physician in addition to her role as dean. Notably, she is the first medical school dean in the country board certified in lifestyle medicine, which uses evidence-based lifestyle interventions to prevent, treat and reverse chronic diseases. MacGilvray is committed to preparing future physicians and enhancing community health by focusing on transforming education, research and patient care.
From 2022 to 2024, MacGilvray served as the senior associate dean for academic affairs at SOMG, where she oversaw undergraduate medical education and the new Primary Care Accelerated Track program aimed at addressing the nationwide physician shortage. In 2020, she was appointed department chair for academic affairs in the Department of Family Medicine with Prisma Health after serving as vice chair in 2018. During her tenure, MacGilvray led the development of two new graduate medical education programs, tripling the number of family medicine residency positions at Prisma Health. She also directed 30 primary care clinics during the pandemic, achieving the highest recruitment and retention levels, improving clinical outcomes and increasing operational efficiencies.
MacGilvray earned her Bachelor of Science in biochemistry from Clemson University and her Doctor of Medicine from the Medical University of South Carolina. She completed her residency training in family medicine at the University of Vermont and held leadership positions at Eastern Virginia Medical School, Naval Medical Center Camp Lejeune and the University of Texas Health San Antonio.
SCbio is South Carolina’s member-driven economic development organization exclusively focused on building, advancing and growing the life sciences industry in the state. SCbio represents more than 1,000 organizations employing more than 87,000 professionals across the state and supports and advances organizations in multiple arenas including pharmaceuticals, medical devices and equipment, digital health, research and medical labs, bioscience distribution, bio-ag and more. For additional information about SCbio and the life sciences industry, visit www.SCbio.org.