Marcella Birtele named Choi Family Postdoctoral Fellow at USC Stem Cell
In one sense, Marcella Birtele is following in her father’s footsteps: he works as an electrician in Italy, and she studies the electrophysiology of the brain as a postdoctoral fellow in Giorgia …
Scientists Justin Ichida and Dion Dickman: USC’s coolest tenured professors from Hawaii
Now that Justin Ichida and Dion Dickman are both tenured professors at USC, they no longer have to worry about who was the coolest kid in their elementary schools back in Honolulu. …
USC scientist Albert Almada puts muscle into stem cell research
USC Stem Cell scientist Albert Almada once had ambitions of becoming a catcher in a professional baseball league—until he was sidelined by a rotator cuff injury in his shoulder. “Life painfully closes …
Can COVID-19 cause diabetes?
Can the novel coronavirus—SARS-CoV-2—cause diabetes? No one knows, but Senta Georgia, PhD, is trying to find out. Dr. Georgia, an investigator in The Saban Research Institute of Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, recently …
USC’s stem cell master’s program awards new scholarships and welcomes its largest incoming class
This fall, USC’s master’s program in Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine will be providing a remote learning experience for its largest incoming class to date. The incoming class of 46 students …
USC Stem Cell’s high school program Zooms ahead
In late February 2020, 10 local high school juniors gathered at the Eli and Edythe Broad Center for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at USC for the first meeting of a …
Ebony Flowers receives fellowship from the Burroughs Wellcome Fund Postdoctoral Enrichment Program
Ebony Flowers has already received three fellowships during her year-and-a-half as a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine at USC. First, she was awarded the Choi …
Justin Ichida named John Douglas French Alzheimer’s Foundation Associate Professor of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine at USC
Justin Ichida has been named the John Douglas French Alzheimer’s Foundation Associate Professor of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine at USC. This new endowed professorship recognizes Ichida’s progress in developing stem …
USC Stem Cell scientists use “mini-lungs” and lung models to understand COVID-19
USC scientists are testing out experimental COVID-19 treatments on human “mini-lungs” and lung models, grown in the laboratory using stem cells. With names such as organoids and lung-chips, these simplified, lung-like structures …
USC Stem Cell scientist Ya-Wen Chen grows miniature lungs with maximum potential
As the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus outbreak escalated into a pandemic, USC lung researcher Ya-Wen Chen expected to be spending a lot of time at home, sheltering in place. “At the beginning of the …
The Broad Foundation brings together stem cell scientists, engineers and physicians at USC and beyond
Developing new stem cell therapies requires more than a solo biologist having a eureka moment alone in the lab. Real progress relies on collaborations between biologists, engineers and physicians. That’s why The …
USC Stem Cell scientist Ebony Flowers earns fellowship from the A.P. Giannini Foundation
From goji berries to green tea, antioxidant rich superfoods are celebrated for protecting against cancer-causing free radicals. But what is the role of free radicals—and the process of cell metabolism that produces …
USC Stem Cell scientist Rong Lu named Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Scholar
Why do some leukemia patients have more aggressive disease, and why do some of their cancer cells resist treatment? USC Stem Cell scientist Rong Lu is tackling these critical questions with $550,000 …
His race against ALS: Justin Ichida
Story courtesy of Trojan Family Magazine Justin Ichida regularly gets emails from strangers asking the same urgent question: “Will your research on ALS be done in time to save my life?” The …
Ebony Flowers named Choi Family Postdoctoral Fellow at USC Stem Cell
For Ebony Flowers, a postdoctoral fellow in the USC Stem Cell laboratory of Min Yu, doing science is ultimately about helping patients. “The fact that Min Yu’s Lab is looking at actual …
USC scientists surmount big obstacle to reprogram cells
USC scientists have surmounted a big roadblock in regenerative medicine that has so far constrained the ability to use repurposed cells to treat diseases. The researchers figured out how to reprogram cells …
USC Stem Cell junior faculty balance babies with biomedical research
Growing stem cells isn’t just something junior faculty do in the lab. Eight of the junior faculty in the Department of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine recently welcomed new babies into …
Countdown to Commencement: Anson Tam brings the Hawaii perspective to surgery, research and swimming
Anson Tam is an aspiring doctor from Honolulu, who brings a hardworking, sun loving, laid back Hawaiian attitude to swimming, research and surgery. Tam was initially inspired to become a doctor by …
Innovators of USC: Justin Ichida stays at the forefront of ALS research
Justin Ichida keeps his research patient-based. That’s why Ichida, Richard N. Merkin, M.D., Assistant Professor of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, and his …
Countdown to Commencement: Ciara Mimms directs aircraft and redirects cells
“November-Two-Five, you’re clear for takeoff. Clear for takeoff, November-Two-Five. Good day!” From directing jets in the sky in the United States Air Force Reserve to delving into stem cell biology, Ciara Mimms, …