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 …
USC Stem Cell scientists engineer “synthetic organizer” cells to improve kidney organoids
Mapping the human kidney, researchers discovered an unrecognized developmental axis and engineered “synthetic organizer” cells to recreate key developmental signals, producing improved, reproducible lab-grown organoids for studying disease and therapies. In a …
Tiny particles in urine could be the key to treating a deadly childhood kidney disease
USC Viterbi researchers have discovered that a naturally occurring nanoparticle found in urine shows early promise as a treatment, and potentially a prenatal intervention, for a rare disease that kills newborns and …
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 …
USC researchers launch study of the most complex lab-grown kidney structures
A $2.1 million grant from CIRM supports the new project designed to understand how mature lab-grown kidney structures, which combine the kidney’s filtering and urine-collecting components, can improve the study of disease …
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 …
How an unexpected finding turned into a kidney disease startup
USC researcher Eunji Chung spent over a decade learning to steer nanoparticles through the body. Now she’s using that knowledge to take on one of the most common inherited kidney disorders. Eunji …
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 …