Undergraduate stem cell research takes the spotlight at USC CIRM COMPASS symposium
USC Stem Cell prepares undergraduates to present research and become the regenerative medicine workforce of the future. Stem cell research took center stage at the year-end symposium for the USC CIRM COMPASS …
How early health challenges fueled two graduating seniors’ passion for medicine
Driven by their own experiences with childhood illness — along with breakthrough research experience and service to the community — two stand-out USC Dornsife students look forward to medical school. Born three …
From Maui to medicine, Viterbi helped her chart her own path
CLASS OF 2026 – The daughter of Turkish immigrant physicians, Maui-raised Alara Berkmen is graduating from USC Viterbi with a bachelor’s in Biomedical Engineering on the pre-med track, a business club she …
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, …
Stem Cell Day demystifies the world of science for high school students
With support from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), USC Stem Cell welcomes teens to campus for education and outreach that opens their eyes to future career possibilities. The buzzer chimed, …
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 …
USC Stem Cell doctoral student Wynnie Nguyen aims to shift paradigms in Alzheimer’s research
Nguyen was awarded a grant from the Cure Alzheimer’s Fund for studies aiming to stimulate growth of new brain cells and, ultimately, reverse the course of dementia. For USC Stem Cell PhD …
Meet the scholarship recipients in USC’s stem cell master’s program
Four scholarship recipients combine medicine with mentorship and science with service. From authoring a bilingual STEM coloring book to mentoring biotechnology students at Los Angeles Mission College, this year’s scholarship recipients in …
Science benefiting society: Evergreen Select CTO got his start with PhD in USC Stem Cell lab
From USC biomedical labs to D.C. to a Bay Area startup, Eric Schulze makes a difference thanks to career-oriented doctoral education at the Keck School of Medicine of USC. Eric Schulze has …
Growing a garden of academic excellence
His path to USC from China led the clinician-scientist through resilience and growth — and now the Ostrow Dean will nurture learning, patient care and research into the future. On Sundays, Ostrow’s …
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. …
USC Stem Cell’s Chuck Murry shows heart for local third-graders through the medical and cancer STEM programs
USC’s Medical STEM Program brings pig hearts, pulse oximeters, and a world of possibility to local third graders. At Vermont Avenue Elementary School, a class of third graders stared wide-eyed as Chuck …
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 …
USC COMPASS student Alara Berkmen wins prestigious Astronaut Scholarship
Alara Berkmen, a biomedical engineering student, is recognized for leadership and dedication to cancer research. Alara Berkmen, a USC Viterbi senior studying biomedical engineering, recently won the prestigious 2025 Astronaut Scholarship award …
USC Stem Cell PhD student Shuwan Liu receives award from the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research
Which signals drive cells to heal large-scale bone injuries? For her research into this question, USC Stem Cell PhD student Shuwan Liu has won a 2025 Young Investigator Award from the American …
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: Joanna Smeeton, Assistant Professor at Columbia University
Joanna Smeeton runs a lab at Columbia University that uses zebrafish to understand joint tissue regeneration and develop new approaches for treating ligament injuries and arthritis. But before receiving a California Institute …
Meet USC’s CIRM Scholar Alumni: Guanyi Huang, Associate Principal Scientist at Merck
Guanyi Huang, associate principal scientist at Merck, has often found himself in the right place at the right time. The son of a middle school math teacher and computer science professor-turned-entrepreneur, Huang …
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 …
Meet USC’s CIRM Scholar Alumni: Maksim Plikus, Professor at the University of California, Irvine
Maksim Plikus was still an undergraduate when he first became fascinated by the study of hair biology. His lab supervisor asked him to dissect a rat whisker, and to recombine parts of …