Researchers engineer a “smart bomb” to attack childhood leukemia
Fatih Uckun, Jianjun Cheng and their colleagues have taken the first steps towards developing a so-called “smart bomb” to attack the most common and deadly form of childhood cancer—called B-lineage acute lymphoblastic …
USC recruits renowned leaders in molecular research
Raymond C. Stevens and Peter Kuhn have been named Provost Professor of Biological Sciences and Chemistry and Dean’s Professor of Biological Sciences, respectively. The announcements were made by Provost Elizabeth Garrett and …
Megan McCain wears her heart on a chip
Video by Elizabeth Bayne Megan McCain first saw a real human heart her junior year of college. She held it in her hands – dark red, squishy, the size of a fist. …
Zea Borok elected to American Association of Physicians
Zea Borok, MD, USC Stem Cell principal investigator and professor of medicine and of biochemistry and molecular biology at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, has been elected to membership in …
Megan McCain and colleagues make MIT list of 35 Innovators Under 35
The annual MIT Technology Review list of 35 Innovators Under 35 includes three USC Viterbi School of Engineering faculty members — including Megan McCain, principal investigator with USC Stem Cell. Professors McCain and …
USC Stem Cell and the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center accelerate drug discovery
Three teams of USC stem cell researchers have won a coveted prize — the opportunity to test 3,000 drug candidates or chemicals for the potential to help patients. Two teams will focus …
Andy McMahon and USC Stem Cell: From discoveries to cures
Video by Little Pictures How do fingers become fingers and not toes? How does the brain generate the correct number of neurons? How do the kidneys branch into the complex and elegant …
Fasting triggers stem cell regeneration of damaged, old immune system
In the first evidence of a natural intervention triggering stem cell-based regeneration of an organ or system, a study in the June 5 issue of Cell Stem Cell shows that cycles of …
NIH grants spur new stem cell research in the Department of Medicine
Cutbacks in National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding have made the climate for new research challenging. Three studies from investigators in the Department of Medicine at the Keck School of Medicine of …
Min Yu and Rong Lu explore how one bad cell spoils the bunch
Principal investigators Min Yu, MD, PhD, and Rong Lu, PhD, had plans to collaborate long before they were both recruited to the Department of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine at the …
Dental study provides wealth of stem cell details
An Ostrow School of Dentistry of USC study has uncovered new details on how bundles of nerves and arteries interact with stem cells and also showcases revolutionary techniques for following the cells …
Viral molecules responsible for causing AIDS-related cancer
Using a rat stem cell model, USC researcher S. J. Gao, PhD and colleagues have identified a critical cancer-causing component in the virus that causes Kaposi’s sarcoma, the most common cancer among …
Valter Longo seeks a recipe for longevity
Video by the USC Davis School of Gerontology Valter Longo, PhD, principal investigator with USC Stem Cell, is out to prove that gerontology is a young man’s game — just like rock …
USC and Children’s Hospital Los Angeles launch imaging lab for translational research
With the launch of the Translational Biomedical Imaging Lab (TBIL), investigators at the University of Southern California (USC) and The Saban Research Institute of Children’s Hospital Los Angeles moved us closer to a …
Cardiovascular symposium takes the pulse of current research
Researchers addressed the leading cause of death in the U.S. at the Los Angeles Area Cardiovascular Research Symposium and Research Award Reception, which brought together the region’s cardiovascular specialists to examine the …
Pfizer’s J. Jean Cui explains modern drug discovery
Only five percent of potential cancer drugs make it from phase I clinical trail to FDA approval, but J. Jean Cui, PhD, associate research fellow at Pfizer, beat the odds. Cui visited …
USC researcher reveals how to better master stem cells’ fate
USC scientist Qi-Long Ying and a team of researchers have long been searching for biotech’s version of the fountain of youth — ways to encourage embryonic stem cells (ESCs) and epiblast stem …
First Zilkha Alzheimer’s Mini-Symposium examines vascular system connections
Alzheimer’s disease is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States, and more than five million Americans live with the disease, according to the Alzheimer’s Association. Conquering Alzheimer’s was the …
Businessman invests in stem cell research at USC
Chinese businessman Yong Chen has pledged $1 million to USC stem cell researcher Qi-Long Ying to support his future “eureka moments.” “When I talked to Mr. Chen, I told him that groundbreaking …
A special protein helps embryonic stem cells keep their options open
In the ongoing quest to understand how embryonic stem cells (ESCs) retain their ability to differentiate into virtually any kind of cell, USC faculty member Qi-Long Ying and a team of researchers …