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From left, Gage Crump, Jay R. Lieberman and Francesca Mariani (Photo by Cristy Lytal); featured image for USC announces winners of first Regenerative Medicine Initiative awards

USC announces winners of first Regenerative Medicine Initiative awards

Three newly assembled disease teams within USC Stem Cell will take the early steps this year that might lead to future stem-cell based therapies for certain forms of deafness, bone defects and …

Songtao Shi, DDS, PhD (Photo courtesy of the Ostrow School of Dentistry of USC); featured image for Stem cells found in gum tissue can fight inflammatory disease

Stem cells found in gum tissue can fight inflammatory disease

Stem cells found in mouth tissue can not only become other types of cells but can also relieve inflammatory disease, according to a new Ostrow School of Dentistry of USC study in …

Wange Lu (Photo by Chris Shinn); featured image for USC study sheds light on stem cell reprogramming

USC study sheds light on stem cell reprogramming

Researchers are learning how to turn regular cells into stem cells, a process called reprogramming. However, some of the mechanisms of the process remain unknown, such as why only a small proportion of the cells can be reprogrammed. Researchers have at least part of the answer: the structure of genes.

Norman Arnheim; featured image for Common genetic disease linked to father’s age

Common genetic disease linked to father’s age

Scientists at USC have unlocked the mystery of why new cases of the genetic disease Noonan syndrome are so common—a mutation, which causes the disease, disproportionately increases a normal father’s production of …

Fanxin Long from Washington University School of Medicine; featured image for USC hosts mini-symposium on musculoskeletal development and repair

USC hosts mini-symposium on musculoskeletal development and repair

With its combination of bone, muscle, joints and more, the human musculoskeletal system is a complicated tangle of connections that can be difficult to repair. That was the challenge facing a panel …

Songtao Shi, DDS, PhD (Photo courtesy of the Ostrow School of Dentistry of USC); featured image for New method to treat chemo-related jaw bone necrosis

New method to treat chemo-related jaw bone necrosis

Over the last decade, osteonecrosis of the jaw (ONJ) has emerged as a devastating and debilitating condition of cancer patients receiving high doses of antiresorptive chemotherapy (bisphosphonates and denosumab). ONJ currently has …

From left to right: Mr. K.V. Kumar, Dr. Andy McMahon, Sir John Gurdon and Mr. Jonathan Thomas (Photo courtesy of USC); featured image for Interview with Sir John Gurdon

Interview with Sir John Gurdon

Sir John Gurdon, a Nobel Prize-winning biologist whose experiments in the field of cloning laid the foundation for modern stem cell research, visited the USC Health Sciences Campus on May 16. He …

Sir John Gurdon won the 2012 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for laying the groundwork for stem cell research. (Photo courtesy of John Gurdon); featured image for Nobel Laureate discusses history of cloning

Nobel Laureate discusses history of cloning

Cells can be stubborn things. A skin cell resists changing into a liver cell, and a heart cell wants to remain a heart cell. But with the right kind of manipulation, they …

American alligator skull (top); USC researchers identify three developmental phases for each alligator tooth unit, comprising a functional tooth (f), replacement tooth (r) and dental lamina (middle); a three-dimensional image of alligator tooth unit (bottom). (Photos courtesy of Cheng-Ming Chuong); featured image for Alligator stem cell study gives clues to tooth regeneration

Alligator stem cell study gives clues to tooth regeneration

Alligators may help scientists learn how to stimulate tooth regeneration in people, according to new research led by the Keck School of Medicine of USC. For the first time, a global team …

The cellular and molecular composition of feathers can be experimentally manipulated to test the hypothesis that certain molecular components may enhance or suppress pigment differentiation.; featured image for Birds of a feather flock together for stem cell research

Birds of a feather flock together for stem cell research

To eventually use stem cells in regenerative medicine, scientists need to understand how stem cells become organized into particular tissue patterns and shapes. With that in mind, researchers at USC recently found …

Professor Songtao Shi (Photo by John Skalicky); featured image for Ostrow School investigators recognized for research

Ostrow School investigators recognized for research

The International Association of Dental Research (IADR) honored two scientists from the Ostrow School of Dentistry of USC at the association’s general session opening ceremonies on March 20 in Seattle. Professor Songtao …

Sir John Gurdon won the 2012 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for laying the groundwork for stem cell research. (Photo courtesy of John Gurdon); featured image for Nobel laureate to speak on stem cells at HSC

Nobel laureate to speak on stem cells at HSC

Nobel laureate Sir John Gurdon will speak on “From Nuclear Transplantation to Prospects for Cell Replacement” on May 16 at noon in the Aresty Auditorium of the Harlyne J. Norris Cancer Research …

Andy McMahon (Photo by Phil Channing); featured image for Probing the power of stem cells

Probing the power of stem cells

Piece by missing piece, scientists at the Keck School of Medicine of USC are deciphering the powerful gene regulatory circuit that maintains and controls the potential of embryonic stem cells (ESCs) to …

Dr. Wange Lu and Fan Gao (Photo courtesy of USC); featured image for Unraveling the mystery of pluripotency in embryonic stem cells

Unraveling the mystery of pluripotency in embryonic stem cells

Using advanced sequencing technology, USC Stem Cell faculty member Wange Lu, in collaboration with Kai Wang of the USC Zilkha Neurogenetics Institute, explores the mystery of pluripotency by mapping out the interaction …

Andy McMahon (Photo by Phil Channing); featured image for McMahon discusses central role of stem cell biology in medicine of the future

McMahon discusses central role of stem cell biology in medicine of the future

USC scored a major coup when it brought scientist Andrew McMahon to the Keck School of Medicine of USC from Harvard University, where he had served for almost two decades as a …

Dr. Qilong Ying (left) and USC graduate student Chih-I (Jimmy) Tai (Photo courtesy of USC); featured image for An important factor identified in reprogramming

An important factor identified in reprogramming

How is the stem cell state programmed? A new study in Qi-Long Ying’s group at the Eli and Edythe Broad Center for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at USC highlights the role …

Image of a braid; featured image for Adult hair stem cell fate regulated by competition between two signaling pathways

Adult hair stem cell fate regulated by competition between two signaling pathways

The hair follicle (HF) is an attractive miniorgan for studying adult stem cell biology and behavior because of its unique location: the HF bulge area. Using transgenic mouse model, studies from USC …

Stem cells (Image courtesy of Justin Ichida); featured image for USC launches Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research Initiative

USC launches Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research Initiative

A new USC initiative has been introduced to support collaborative research in regenerative medicine and stem cell biology across the university, facilitating the critical move from basic research into clinical applications.

Gage Crump; featured image for Discovery of genetic clues may lead to better grasp of birth defects

Discovery of genetic clues may lead to better grasp of birth defects

Using cutting-edge time-lapse photography, Keck School of Medicine researchers have discovered clues to the development of the head at the cellular level, which could point scientists to a better understanding of how …

The Chronicle of Higher Education featured an article about USC's recruitment of Scott Fraser.

Chronicle of Higher Education features Scott Fraser

The Chronicle of Higher Education featured Scott Fraser, Provost Professor of Biological Sciences and Biomedical Engineering and the Director of Science Initiatives at USC, who arrived this year from the California Institute …