What if cells could talk and fight heart disease?
USC Viterbi’s Chung Lab has engineered a naturally derived particle for powerful therapies against cardiovascular and kidney diseases. Have you seen the latest EV models? Nope, not the Tesla Model 3. Think …
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: 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 …
New nanoparticle weapon in the fight against cardiovascular and kidney disease
The Chung Lab has engineered a new therapeutically enhanced, naturally derived particle for powerful gene therapies to tackle our most significant health challenges. Cardiovascular disease and kidney disease are two of the …
Revolutionizing heart care for newborns
Ellis Meng’s team pioneers non-invasive shunt monitoring to improve survival rates for young patients with congenital heart defect. In pediatric cardiology, every heartbeat counts, especially for the one in 4,000 newborns born …
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 …
Chuck Murry: Stem cell science for healing the heart
Success in Chuck Murry’s vision for regenerating heart tissue to restore function after a heart attack would look like a radical shift in the medical landscape. Ironically enough, he chalks up his …
Severe COVID-19 infection increases heart attack and stroke risk as much as having a history of heart disease, study finds
Researchers from the Keck School of Medicine of USC, UCLA and Cleveland Clinic studied the link between COVID-19 and major cardiac events, finding an increased risk that varied by blood type. Patients …
USC launches collaboration with StemCardia to advance heart regeneration therapies
The new initiative brings together renowned experts at a researcher-founded biotechnology company with Keck School of Medicine experts to develop innovative solutions for heart failure, the global leading cause of death. The …
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 …
A green light to build muscle cells on command
It may sound like something from science fiction. To grow and modify muscle tissue in the lab using technology that shapes the muscle cells, blood vessels and nerves into whatever pattern you …
Saving lives: Heart attack on a chip
Megan McCain has always enjoyed building and fixing things. She also has long been fascinated by cells in the human body and how they work together to achieve important tasks, like how …
USC and CHLA awarded $8 million to expand access to cell and gene therapy clinical trials
The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), the state’s stem cell agency, has awarded a five-year, $8 million grant to the Keck School of Medicine of USC and Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA). …
Cycles of a fasting-mimicking diet help mice live longer, healthier
While many diets have been studied for effectiveness in preventing obesity and heart disease in both mice and humans, research on the effects and benefits of short, periodic cycles of fasting on obesity and heart health are lacking. In a new USC study on the health effects of a low-calorie diet that mimics …
USC Professor Megan McCain crafts an approach to tissue engineering
Megan McCain has always liked using her hands to create things, ranging from art projects to human heart cells that grow on silicon chips. “I’ve always loved building things and doing crafts, …
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 …
Hunting for heart cells that can grow back after an injury
Hearts are tough organs. Over the course of a lifetime, they beat ever second of every day, keeping the entire body nourished with life-giving blood. But, even with all that stamina, heart …