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USC's stem cell research center

California’s biggest stem cell experiment: The impact of the stem cell ballot proposition at USC

In 2008, USC broke ground on an $80 million building dedicated solely to stem cell research and regenerative medicine. The plans called for a monolithic structure clad in black marble and reflective …

A recent study of bird feather evolution offers promising implications for advances in medical technology. (Photo/Shao Huan Lang); featured image for Study examining the evolution of feathers shows potential for medical applications

Study examining the evolution of feathers shows potential for medical applications

New research from an international team led by USC scientists set out to learn how feathers developed and helped birds spread across the world. Flight feathers, in particular, are masterpieces of propulsion …

Two types of progenitor cells from dissociated skin—epidermal (green) and dermal (red)—undergo a series of morphological transitions to form reconstituted skin. (Images by Mingxing Lei/Cheng-Ming Chuong Lab); featured image for USC Stem Cell scientists obtain “how to” guide for producing hair follicles

USC Stem Cell scientists obtain “how to” guide for producing hair follicles

How does the skin develop follicles and eventually sprout hair? A USC-led study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), addresses this question using insights gleaned from organoids, …

From left, Lindsey Barske, Michael Patterson, Ang Li and Yuwei Li (Photos by Cristy Lytal); featured image for USC postdocs win Doerr Stem Cell Challenge Grants

USC postdocs win Doerr Stem Cell Challenge Grants

Just as there are times when two heads are better than one, there are times when two labs are better than one. Thanks to the new Doerr Stem Cell Challenge Grants, teams …

Kidney (Image by Lisa Rutledge and Seth Ruffins); featured image for Engineering undergraduates focus on building a microscope for USC’s stem cell research center

Engineering undergraduates focus on building a microscope for USC’s stem cell research center

Previously, when Andy McMahon, head of USC Stem Cell, wanted a three-dimensional image of a kidney, he would ship the organ to Australia. Now, he can send the organ down the hall …

Quorum sensing in hair population regeneration (Image courtesy of Cheng-Ming Chuong); featured image for USC researcher plucks hair to grow hair

USC researcher plucks hair to grow hair

If there’s a cure for male pattern baldness, it might hurt a little. A team led by USC Stem Cell Principal Investigator Cheng-Ming Chuong has demonstrated that by plucking 200 hairs in …

Fred H. Gage delivered a brainy keynote address. (Photo by Cristy Lytal); featured image for USC Stem Cell Symposium creates scientific synergy

USC Stem Cell Symposium creates scientific synergy

Provost Michael Quick convened the inaugural USC Stem Cell Symposium with a straightforward truth about the future of regenerative medicine: “it will take a dedicated community of scholars across the disciplines to …

Cheng-Ming Chuong (Photo courtesy of Cheng-Ming Chuong); featured image for USC Stem Cell researcher Cheng-Ming Chuong named fellow of national science association

USC Stem Cell researcher Cheng-Ming Chuong named fellow of national science association

Keck School of Medicine of USC scientist Cheng-Ming Chuong has been named a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Chuong, professor of pathology at the Keck School …

Stem cells in a mouse nail (Image courtesy of the Krzysztof Kobielak lab); featured image for Nail stem cells prove more versatile than press ons

Nail stem cells prove more versatile than press ons

A team of USC Stem Cell researchers led by principal investigator Krzysztof Kobielak and co-first authors Yvonne Leung and Eve Kandyba has identified a new population of nail stem cells, which have …

USC scientist Krzysztof Kobielak, MD, PhD, and postdoctoral fellow Eve Kandyba, PhD (Photo by Cristy Lytal); featured image for Stem cells offer clues to reversing receding hairlines

Stem cells offer clues to reversing receding hairlines

Regenerative medicine may offer ways to banish baldness that don’t involve toupees. The lab of USC scientist Krzysztof Kobielak, MD, PhD has published a trio of papers in the journals Stem Cells …

American alligator skull (top); USC researchers identify three developmental phases for each alligator tooth unit, comprising a functional tooth (f), replacement tooth (r) and dental lamina (middle); a three-dimensional image of alligator tooth unit (bottom). (Photos courtesy of Cheng-Ming Chuong); featured image for Alligator stem cell study gives clues to tooth regeneration

Alligator stem cell study gives clues to tooth regeneration

Alligators may help scientists learn how to stimulate tooth regeneration in people, according to new research led by the Keck School of Medicine of USC. For the first time, a global team …

The cellular and molecular composition of feathers can be experimentally manipulated to test the hypothesis that certain molecular components may enhance or suppress pigment differentiation.; featured image for Birds of a feather flock together for stem cell research

Birds of a feather flock together for stem cell research

To eventually use stem cells in regenerative medicine, scientists need to understand how stem cells become organized into particular tissue patterns and shapes. With that in mind, researchers at USC recently found …

Stem Cell Symposium speakers, from left: Paul Khavari, Jeremy Reiter, Cheng-Ming Chuong, Ophir Klein, Tannishtha Reya, Andrew McMahon, Margaret Fuller, Arthur Lander, and Roel Nusse (Photo by Ryan Ball); featured image for Broad Center for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research hosts first annual Stem Cell Symposium

Broad Center for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research hosts first annual Stem Cell Symposium

It was standing room only at the first Stem Cell Symposium hosted by the Eli and Edythe Broad Center for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at USC.

Cheng-Ming Chuong (Photo courtesy of Cheng-Ming Chuong); featured image for Cellular automaton model predicts how hair follicle stem cells regenerate

Cellular automaton model predicts how hair follicle stem cells regenerate

Your hair — or lack of hair — is the result of a lifelong tug-of-war between activators that wake up, and inhibitors that calm, stem cells in every hair follicle on your …

Cheng-Ming Chuong (Photo courtesy of Cheng-Ming Chuong); featured image for USC researchers learn how hair stem cell populations achieve large-scale tissue regeneration and growth

USC researchers learn how hair stem cell populations achieve large-scale tissue regeneration and growth

In one of the first studies to look at the population behavior of a large pool of stem cells in thousands of hair follicles – as opposed to the stem cell of …

Songtao Shi, DDS, PhD (Photo courtesy of the Ostrow School of Dentistry of USC); featured image for Stem cell research symposium hosts international speakers

Stem cell research symposium hosts international speakers

On June 14, Songtao Shi of the Center for Craniofacial Molecular Biology and Gregor Adams of the Eli and Edythe Broad Center for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research, co-organized the 2010 …