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 …
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. …
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 …
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-led team makes major advance toward building a synthetic kidney
Scientists combine kidney filtering and urine-concentrating components to create “assembloids,” the most mature and complex kidney structures ever grown in a lab and a tool for developing new therapies. A USC Stem …
USC Stem Cell scientists unlock blueprint for lab-grown kidney cells with preclinical value
In the lab, it’s easier to grow simple balls of cells than complex asymmetrical structures with two distinct ends—like the one million filtering units, or nephrons, that make up a human kidney. …
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, …
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 …
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 …
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 …
Wnt happens in kidney development?
A pair of USC Stem Cell mouse studies detail how progenitor cells self-renew, differentiate, and aggregate into early kidney structures, offering insights for the creation of stem cell-based artificial kidneys. A group …
New study shows cells get involved in unhealthy relationships after acute kidney injury (AKI) in mice
Using cutting-edge technology, researchers at USC and Caltech develop a comprehensive map of cellular, molecular, and structural changes following AKI, revealing cellular interactions that may lead to chronic kidney disease. A study …
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 …
USC Stem Cell study maps how genes instruct kidneys to develop differently in mice and humans
How similar is kidney development in humans and in the lab mice that form the foundation of basic medical research? In a new study published in Developmental Cell, USC Stem Cell scientists …
To regenerate the kidney, please don’t pass the salt
USC study showing loss of salt and body fluid stimulates kidney regeneration in mice, suggests new therapeutic approach to chronic kidney disease. A loss of salt and body fluid can stimulate kidney …
USC-led study introduces a new and improved way to grow the cells that give rise to the kidney’s filtration system
In a new study published in Cell Stem Cell, USC scientists report significant progress in cultivating nephron progenitor cells (NPCs), the cells destined to form the kidney’s filtration system, the nephrons. NPCs …
$3.95 million CIRM grant establishes USC ASCEND Center to make stem cell-derived organ models accessible to all
To democratize access to lab-grown organ-like structures known as organoids and other advanced stem cell and transcriptomic technologies, USC will launch the CIRM ASCEND Center, dedicated to “Advancing Stem Cell Education and …