USC honors stem cell leader Andy McMahon with a lifetime achievement award
The award recognizes McMahon’s career advancing developmental biology and building scientific communities, including USC Stem Cell. As a pioneer in developmental biology and founder of USC Stem Cell, Andy McMahon, PhD, FRS, …
A “stemness checkpoint” helps control stem cell identity
Building on the concept that blocking differentiation into specialized cell types maintains stem cells, USC and NIH scientists identify GSK3α as a checkpoint across diverse stem cell types. A study published in …
USC announces joint biomedical engineering department, bridging medical and engineering schools
Building on decades of collaboration between the USC Viterbi School of Engineering and the Keck School of Medicine of USC, the department reimagines the expansion of biomedical engineering into medicine. The Keck …
Fecal transplants from older mice significantly improve ovarian function and fertility in younger mice
The surprising findings shed light on the little-known relationship between the microbiome and the reproductive system. Greater understanding could lead to better treatment options not only for fertility but also for overall …
USC launches a new Center for Stem Cell Engineering on the Health Sciences Campus
A collaboration between the Keck School of Medicine of USC and the USC Viterbi School of Engineering, the center will use stem cell engineering to uncover disease mechanisms and advance new therapies. …
New NIA-funded center to help older adults live longer, healthier lives
A new Los Angeles research hub will take on one of today’s most pressing challenges: helping people live not just longer, but healthier and more independent lives as they age. The National …
USC Stem Cell-led study generates authentic embryonic stem cells from birds
Scientists discover that egg yolk is a key to establishing authentic embryonic stem cells from chickens and seven other avian species, as reported in Nature Biotechnology. Egg whites may be perfect for …
USC Stem Cell students and trainees win $15,000 collaborative research grants
When learning to become a great scientist, the most important lesson might be how to collaborate. To encourage this essential skill, for the past decade, USC Stem Cell has awarded one-year challenge …
Meet USC’s CIRM Scholar Alumni: Alex Qiuyu Guo, Senior Scientist for Discovery Biomarkers at Amgen
Although Alex Qiuyu Guo is now Senior Scientist for Discovery Biomarkers at Amgen, he admits that he didn’t start off being devoted to science. “I was more interested in history,” said Guo, …
Meet USC’s CIRM Scholar Alumni: Vivian Medina, Senior Manager of Digital and Data Analytics at Takeda
As the Senior Manager of Digital and Data Analytics at Takeda in Los Angeles, Vivian Medina pursues her career in science with the ultimate goal of helping people. A lifelong Angeleno whose …
Gerontology Dean Pinchas Cohen named senior member of the National Academy of Inventors
Cohen, an expert on mitochondrial microproteins and their therapeutic potential for diseases related to aging, holds several patents for novel peptides. Pinchas Cohen, Dean of the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, …
Turn back the clock on aging
There’s no way to stop the march of time, but innovative research by USC scholars points the way to a longer, healthier and more vibrant life. About 10 years ago, when George …
Cell by cell: Rebuilding the body
USC researchers are revolutionizing how we treat disease by harnessing stem cells as “living medicine.” Anyone who’s healed from a cut or a scrape has witnessed the incredible regenerative power of stem …
A powerhouse of innovation
How a serendipitous discovery led by Pinchas Cohen more than 20 years ago opened a new chapter in biology and made the USC Leonard Davis School a leading force in unraveling the …
Fasting-mimicking diet restores kidney function in study
Diet intervention revives kidney function in preclinical animal models and in patients with chronic kidney disease. In patients with chronic kidney disease, the loss of podocytes—part of the kidney’s glomerular filtration barrier—causes …
Keck School of Medicine celebrates faculty achievements at annual awards ceremony
The 2024 Faculty Awards and Recognition Ceremony was a night of recognition and reflection as Dean Carolyn C. Meltzer, the Keck School Faculty Council and the Office of Faculty Affairs, Advancement, and …
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 …
Forging research partnerships for future medical breakthroughs
New Mann Engineering in Medicine Pilot Grants program will build ongoing research collaborations between USC Viterbi School of Engineering and Keck School of Medicine of USC. The lifesaving medical discoveries and therapeutics …
Pinchas Cohen named a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
AAAS recognized Cohen for “distinguished contributions to the fields of aging research and molecular biology, particularly using mitochondrial peptides to study possible therapeutic benefits for diabetes, Alzheimer’s, and other diseases related to …
USC surgeon-scientist Linda Sher receives $2.7 million CIRM grant to develop and test immunologically modified and humanized swine livers
In 1992, Linda Sher was part of a surgical team at Cedars-Sinai that transplanted a pig liver into a human patient for the first time in the history of medicine. The pig …



















