A new way to help CAR-T cells fight solid tumors could change cancer treatment
USC researchers developed a technique that uses focused ultrasound to temporarily “light up” solid tumors, giving cancer-fighting immune cells a target they can finally recognize. For more than a decade, CAR-T cell …
Heart health enters the future with a $28.7 million gift from the Marcus Foundation
In a landmark moment for both the treatment of heart disease and philanthropic support, The Marcus Foundation has awarded the head of USC Stem Cell Center, Chuck Murry, MD, PhD, $28.7 million …
Thymus-derived hormone may help suppress age-related inflammation
In animal models, researchers from the Keck School of Medicine of USC found that targeting the thymus can reduce age-related inflammation and improve cancer outcomes. Chronic, low-grade inflammation in the body—a phenomenon …
Finding a tumor’s soft spot to power-up immunotherapy
USC researchers have developed a new “black box” tool to measure the softness of tumor cells, an insight that could be crucial for more effective cancer treatment. Researchers at the USC Viterbi …
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 watching living cells could transform disease research and treatment
USC biomedical engineer Keyue Shen has been elected to the AIMBE College of Fellows for developing tools that measure how living cells signal and interact in real time – without destroying them. …
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 …
Four Keck School of Medicine of USC researchers elected as senior members of the National Academy of Inventors
Honorees have created technologies for fighting cancer and other diseases by harnessing the immune system, DNA and the mechanisms that control gene expression. The National Academy of Inventors (NAI), a nonprofit member …
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 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. …
From lab to launch: Inside USC’s fast-growing ecosystem of health startups
From patches that restore vision to compounds that kill brain tumors, drug and device discoveries by USC researchers are reaching patients faster than ever before. Ten years ago, two pediatric heart specialists …
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 …
Tricking tumors into marking themselves for destruction
New research from the USC Viterbi School of Engineering harnesses focused ultrasound to reprogram solid tumors, making them more effective targets for immune cells. USC biomedical engineers have found a way to …
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 …
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 …
Researchers invent new AI tool to automate detection of cancer in blood samples
Innovation detects cancer cells in blood samples (liquid biopsies) in as little as 10 minutes and identifies hard-to-find cells without humans in-the-loop. When cancer spreads, tiny amounts of cells can break away …
Discovery may point to cell of origin for Ewing sarcoma
New study suggests that neural crest cells are reprogrammed into tumor-forming cells, reshaping the understanding of this childhood cancer. For decades, scientists have been puzzled by two enduring mysteries around Ewing sarcoma. …
USC physician-scientists Denis Evseenko and Toby Maher win $3.2 million grant from the National Institute on Aging to develop regenerative drug for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis
It might start with a shortness of breath that’s easily dismissed as getting older or needing more exercise. But for the nearly 3 million patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), this subtle …
Next-generation CAR T cells could expand solid cancer treatment options
Using cell cultures and animal models, researchers from the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center at Keck School of Medicine of USC showed that innovative ways to further engineer CAR T cells can …