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Adaptive immune cells, such as B cells (pictured), are a key component of a youthful immune system. (Image courtesy of the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases); featured image for USC Stem Cell mouse study sheds light on the secret to maintaining a youthful immune system

USC Stem Cell mouse study sheds light on the secret to maintaining a youthful immune system

What keeps some immune systems youthful and effective in warding off age-related diseases? In a new paper published in Cellular & Molecular Immunology, USC Stem Cell scientist Rong Lu and her collaborators …

; featured image for USC’s Rong Lu and Caltech’s Michael B. Elowitz win the NIH Director’s Transformative Research Award for their new approach to study blood and immune cell production in bone marrow

USC’s Rong Lu and Caltech’s Michael B. Elowitz win the NIH Director’s Transformative Research Award for their new approach to study blood and immune cell production in bone marrow

Is it possible to study the production of blood and immune cells inside the bone marrow? For the first time ever, the answer is yes, thanks to a new approach pioneered by …

Photo/iStock; featured image for An early blood test can predict survival in patients with metastatic prostate cancer, shows USC study

An early blood test can predict survival in patients with metastatic prostate cancer, shows USC study

The non-invasive test, which measures circulating tumor cells in the blood, can predict treatment response, disease progression and overall survival in men newly diagnosed with metastatic prostate cancer, according to new research …

Charles (Chuck) Murry (Photo by Gavin Sisk/ University of Washington); featured image for USC Stem Cell welcomes new leader, renowned physician-scientist Chuck Murry

USC Stem Cell welcomes new leader, renowned physician-scientist Chuck Murry

Charles (Chuck) Murry, MD, PhD, has been appointed as the next head of USC Stem Cell. In that capacity, he will be the chair of the Department of Stem Cell Biology and …

Bangyan L. Stiles, a USC faculty member since 2005, has been named the Boyd P. and Elsie D. Welin Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences. (Photo by Ed Carreon); featured image for Bangyan L. Stiles Awarded Boyd P. and Elsie D. Welin Professorship of Pharmaceutical Sciences

Bangyan L. Stiles Awarded Boyd P. and Elsie D. Welin Professorship of Pharmaceutical Sciences

The five-year appointment became effective July 1, 2024. Bangyan L. Stiles, professor of pharmacology and pharmaceutical sciences, has been named the Boyd P. and Elsie D. Welin Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences. The …

Dwight C. and Hildagarde E. Baum Chair in Biomedical Engineering Peter Yingxiao Wang. Image/David Baillot, UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering.; featured image for Turning a tumor’s “shield” into a weapon against itself

Turning a tumor’s “shield” into a weapon against itself

USC Viterbi biomedical engineers have designed a new protein that targets and disables tumor cells’ defenses while marking cancer cells for death. Tumor cells are “cunning,” according to Peter Yingxiao Wang. They …

Clockwise from top left – Yang Chai, Denis Evseenko, Peter Kuhn and Justin Ichida, NAI 2024 class of senior members. (Chai photo/ Chris Shinn; Evseenko and Ichida photos/Richard Carrasco; Kuhn photo/Peter Zhaoyu Zhou); featured image for National Academy of Inventors elects four Keck School of Medicine of USC faculty as senior members

National Academy of Inventors elects four Keck School of Medicine of USC faculty as senior members

The National Academy of Inventors (NAI), a nonprofit member organization that encourages inventors in higher education, has announced that four researchers from the Keck School of Medicine of USC are part of …

Eun Ji Chung; featured image for Nanoparticles “hitchhike” on immune cells to catch cancer metastasis early

Nanoparticles “hitchhike” on immune cells to catch cancer metastasis early

USC Viterbi researchers have designed particles that can light up the lymph node cancer cells otherwise undetectable by MRI. Our lymph nodes are the canaries in the coal mine of our immune …

Rong Lu (right) and Du Jiang (Photo by Gal Manella); featured image for USC Stem Cell study shows how gene activity modulates the amount of immune cell production in mice

USC Stem Cell study shows how gene activity modulates the amount of immune cell production in mice

As people age or become ill, their immune systems can become exhausted and less capable of fighting off viruses such as the flu or COVID-19. In a new mouse study funded in …

Oliver Bell and Daniel Bsteh; featured image for USC Stem Cell study throws our understanding of gene regulation for a loop

USC Stem Cell study throws our understanding of gene regulation for a loop

The blueprint for human life lies within the DNA in the nucleus of each of our cells. In human cells, around six and a half feet of this genetic material must be …

(Image courtesy of the USC Davis School of Gerontology); featured image for Eat well, age well

Eat well, age well

Diet interacts with genetics and impacts the way we age. Here’s what USC researchers are finding out about nutrition and healthy aging. The old adage “You are what you eat” may be …

Building an Incubator for Medicine of the 21st Century; featured image for Building an Incubator for Medicine of the 21st Century

Building an Incubator for Medicine of the 21st Century

USC Stem Cell is pleased to introduce our new publication. We hope you’ll enjoy reflecting back on our history, while looking ahead to the transformative times to come. Read now at https://stemcell.keck.usc.edu/wp-content/themes/stemcell/incubator.

PROFESSOR LONGWEI LIU (PHOTO COURTESY OF SHANSHAN QIN); featured image for Illuminating cancer

Illuminating cancer

Longwei Liu joins USC Viterbi and the Wang Lab to uncover the secret interactions between immune cells and cancer cells with the help of fluorescent trackers.   Through the lens of a …

(Image courtesy of iStock); featured image for $2 million grant boosts technological advancements in cutting-edge cell therapy manufacturing facility

$2 million grant boosts technological advancements in cutting-edge cell therapy manufacturing facility

The Keck School of Medicine of USC has received $2 million from the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) to further augment its newly launched cGMP Laboratory, a state-of-the-art facility designed to …

Peter Kuhn and researchers at the USC Michelson Center for Convergent Biosciences aim to revolutionize how breast cancer screening. (Image source: National Cancer Institute/Bruce Wetzel and Harry Schaefer.); featured image for Could a simple blood test detect cancer?

Could a simple blood test detect cancer?

Clinicians agree that cancer screenings, such as mammograms, offer the best hope of finding cancer before it’s out of hand. Unfortunately, screening is often uncomfortable and can require invasive techniques. It also …

Laura Perin (left) and Stefano Da Sacco (Image courtesy of CHLA); featured image for Study offers new insights into how the most common kidney cancer starts in kids

Study offers new insights into how the most common kidney cancer starts in kids

Researchers at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles found new clues to how disruption of the early process of kidney formation may be linked to the development of Wilms tumor — also known as …

From left, study authors Jiya Eerdeng, Ivon Garcia, Rong Lu, Charles Bramlett, Mary Vergel-Rodriguez, and Yeachan Lee (Photo by Bowen Wang); featured image for Why does a leukemic mutation not always lead to leukemia? A new clue from a mouse study at USC

Why does a leukemic mutation not always lead to leukemia? A new clue from a mouse study at USC

Why do some people with a genetic mutation associated with leukemia remain healthy, while others with the same mutation develop the blood cancer? In a new study published in Blood, scientists from …

USC’s Convergent Science Virtual Cancer Center connects experts around the nation to find unconventional approaches to cancer research, diagnosis and treatment. (Image Source: iStock.); featured image for The cancer solution we need: uniting experts from science, engineering and the humanities

The cancer solution we need: uniting experts from science, engineering and the humanities

Could a virtual cancer center that unites experts throughout the nation in fields as diverse as physics, molecular biology and the humanities be the key to advancing cancer treatments and ultimately a …

The new lab’s collaborative structure promises to play a key role in the development of groundbreaking advancements in health care. (Photo/Steve Cohn); featured image for New USC/CHLA cGMP Lab opens to accelerate next-generation cell therapy

New USC/CHLA cGMP Lab opens to accelerate next-generation cell therapy

A new laboratory designed to advance early-stage research into lifesaving, commercially viable therapies was celebrated on the USC Health Sciences Campus Tuesday night. Housed at the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, the …

Rong Lu Lab (Photo by Chris Shinn); featured image for Why multipotent progenitor cells matter for patients receiving bone marrow transplants

Why multipotent progenitor cells matter for patients receiving bone marrow transplants

When patients receive bone marrow transplants, they are infused with complex admixtures of many different cell types with the power to regenerate their blood and immune systems. In a new study in …