Why does a leukemic mutation not always lead to leukemia? A new clue from a mouse study at USC
Why do some people with a genetic mutation associated with leukemia remain healthy, while others with the same mutation develop the blood cancer? In a new study published in Blood, scientists from …
New USC/CHLA cGMP Lab opens to accelerate next-generation cell therapy
A new laboratory designed to advance early-stage research into lifesaving, commercially viable therapies was celebrated on the USC Health Sciences Campus Tuesday night. Housed at the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, the …
Why multipotent progenitor cells matter for patients receiving bone marrow transplants
When patients receive bone marrow transplants, they are infused with complex admixtures of many different cell types with the power to regenerate their blood and immune systems. In a new study in …
Scientists feel the sand between their toes at the retreat for USC’s stem cell department
A pair of young scientists picked up a piece of driftwood and thoughtfully traced a series of letters in the wet sand of Ventura Beach. The word “microglia”—referring to the immune cells …
Mini organs pave the way for understanding gastroesophageal cancer
USC researcher Dechen Lin has created miniature organs — with the hope of fighting a rare type of cancer. CANCERS THAT IMPACT THE JUNCTION of the esophagus and the stomach are rare …
Pioneering pharmacy professor learned early to work hard and help others
Editor’s note: Title IX — the landmark legislation that prohibits sex discrimination in educational institutions that receive federal funding — was signed into law on June 23, 1972. In recognition of this anniversary, we’ll …
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). …
USC stem cell master’s program alumnus Tianli “Sheldon” Ding: Science saved his life at 21, and now this Trojan is on a mission
If Tianli Ding needed any confirmation that he was on the right path in life, he got in the form of a diagnosis: leukemia. When Ding was an undergraduate in college, stem …
The Baxter Foundation celebrates promising research in muscle loss and pediatric cancer
For more than 60 years, the Donald E. and Delia B. Baxter Foundation has supported innovative biomedical research at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, each year granting $100,000 awards to …
USC Stem Cell scientist Min Yu brainstorms new ways to beat breast cancer
For USC cancer researcher Min Yu, starting her lab meant building a culture of like-minded scientists. When she first joined the university as an assistant professor of stem cell biology and regenerative …
Where are they now? Stem cell master’s program alumna Tiffany Mays, a PhD student studying cancer biology at Northwestern University
In this series of alumni profiles, we highlight graduates of USC’s master of science program in stem cell biology and regenerative medicine. Our accomplished alumni have pursued many different paths—ranging from a …
USC faculty member Rong Lu: Providing insights into stem cell biology in the context of aging and disease
Rong Lu is an associate professor of stem cell biology and regenerative medicine, biomedical engineering, medicine, and gerontology at USC. She joins George Shannon, faculty member and host of the podcast “Lessons …
Research award accelerates USC’s work on next-generation cell therapy for prostate cancer
One in eight men will receive a prostate cancer diagnosis in his lifetime, according to the American Cancer Society, and about one in 40 will die as a result. A USC research …
Where are they now? Stem cell master’s program alumnus Kevin Liu, a PhD student studying cancer biology at Stanford
In this series of alumni profiles, we highlight graduates of USC’s master of science program in stem cell biology and regenerative medicine. Our accomplished alumni have pursued many different paths—ranging from a …
Where are they now? Stem cell master’s program alumna Clare Yarka, a Scientist at Instil Bio
In this series of alumni profiles, we highlight graduates of USC’s master of science program in stem cell biology and regenerative medicine. Our accomplished alumni have pursued many different paths—ranging from a …
Communicating science visually: Mukund Iyer, MaryAnne Achieng and Stephanie Chang win the 2022 Winter BioRender contest
For his graphic on immune cell function in the brain, Mukund Iyer took first place in the Winter 2021 BioRender Illustration competition for his schematic of breast cancer cells’ entry through the …
For USC Stem Cell faculty member Rong Lu, science is in her blood
When Rong Lu joined USC as an assistant professor of stem cell biology and regenerative medicine in 2014, she knew that earning tenure would figuratively require blood, sweat and tears. But after …
Five things to know about Dechen Lin
A FEW WEEKS AGO, Assistant Professor Dechen Lin joined the Trojan Dental Family as a researcher for Ostrow’s Center for Craniofacial Molecular Biology, coming to us from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Here are …
How alike are the cancer cells from a single patient?
Even within a single patient with cancer, there is a vast diversity of individual tumor cells, which display distinct behaviors related to growth, metastasis, and responses to chemotherapy. To carry out these …
Drug-like molecule points to novel strategies for cancer therapy
A decade ago, genome sequencing revealed a big surprise: about 50 percent of human cancers are linked to mutations in what are known as epigenetic regulators, which control the activity of genes. …