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Amy Ryan (Firth)

USC Stem Cell scientist Amy Firth named finalist for the British Council’s 2017 Alumni Awards

As a USC Stem Cell scientist studying lung disease, Amy Firth has done her alma mater proud. An alumna of the University of Bath, Firth has earned a coveted place as a …

Zlatka Stojanova (Photo by Cristy Lytal)

What I’m Reading: Top pick from stem cell postdoc Zlatka Stojanova

Usher syndrome is a devastating genetic disorder that causes profound hearing loss, balance disorders and progressive blindness. In the ear, mutations in the Usher 1c (USH1C) gene lead to damage and loss …

Megan McCain (Photo by Will Taylor)

Bioengineering models for muscular dystrophy research

Studying muscular diseases proves extremely complicated. The current system of studying muscle cells and tissues using animal models is often inconclusive and cost-prohibitive. Looking to improve the status quo, Megan McCain—a Gabilan …

Valter Longo (Photo by Dietmar Quistorf)

Scientifically-designed fasting diet lowers risks for major diseases

What if you could lose weight and reduce your risk of life-threatening disease without any changes in what you eat—other than a five-day special diet once every few months? That’s what happened …

Kris Boesen and his father Rodney (Photo by Greg Iger)

Americans for Cures produces animation about spinal cord injury

This animation, produced by Americans for Cures, illustrates how stem cells are providing a better treatment for patients with spinal cord injury. Asterias Biotherapeutics launched a multi-center clinical trial to fix nerve …

Pink test tube (Photo by Chris Shinn)

Request for Proposals: The Donald E. & Delia B. Baxter Foundation 2017 Baxter Foundation Faculty Fellows

The Keck School of Medicine of USC is seeking research proposals from junior faculty members to submit to the Donald E. & Delia B. Baxter Foundation. The Foundation has supported many worthy …

The Stem Cell Day of Discovery event held at the USC Health Sciences Campus in Los Angeles, CA. February 4th, 2017. The event encourages students to learn more about STEM opportunities, including stem cell study and biotech, and helps demystify the fields and encourage student engagement. Photo by David Sprague

Five-hundred middle and high school students realized their “pluripotential” at the USC Stem Cell Day of Discovery

You can be anything you want—just like a stem cell. This was a key lesson for the 500 middle and high school students who attended the USC Stem Cell Day of Discovery …

Eli and Edythe Broad (Photo by Ben Gibbs)

The Broad Foundation gives a tenth birthday gift to the USC, UCLA and UCSF stem cell centers

Last Friday, scientists from USC, UCLA and UCSF gathered at a symposium to celebrate the tenth anniversary of their three stem cell research centers, established with support from Eli and Edythe Broad …

From left, Gage Crump, Jay R. Lieberman and Francesca Mariani (Photo by Cristy Lytal)

Bone defects inspire perfect union between surgeon-scientist and stem cell researchers at USC

As chair of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, Jay R. Lieberman regularly sees patients with bone defects too severe to heal. This unmet clinical …

Immunohistochemical staining of sensory hair cell-like cells. The cells were induced from fibroblasts by the over-expression of selected transcription factors. (Image courtesy of Suhasni Gopalakrishnan, Louise Menendez, Juan Llamas, Justin Ichida and Neil Segil)

Current research on inner ear hair cell regeneration

Article courtesy of the February 2017 issue of KeckZine Otolaryngology Sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) is the most common sensory disability in humans and is most often caused by the death of so-called …

Eli and Edythe Broad CIRM Center for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at USC (Photo by Chris Shinn)

USC announces Feb. 4 Stem Cell Day of Discovery event

On Saturday, February 4, from 8 a.m.–2 p.m., USC will hold a half-day educational event to encourage the residents of East Los Angeles (Boyle Heights, El Sereno, Lincoln Heights and neighboring communities …

A car accident left Kris Boesen paralyzed. Experimental stem cell surgery gave him a chance to regain mobility in his arms and hands. (Photo by Greg Iger)

Stem cell therapy gives paralyzed man second chance at independence

Courtesy of USC Trojan Family Magazine Four days after undergoing major surgery, 21-year-old Kris Boesen picked up a smartphone and sent a text. It was the first message that he had sent …

Keyue Shen

Beating the spread

Cancer cells are like normal cells, only trickier. They carry genetic mutations that can hoodwink their surroundings to favor their growth. Using biologically inspired in vitro models, Keyue Shen, an assistant professor …

Amy Ryan (Firth) (Photo by Cristy Lytal)

What I’m reading: Stem cell faculty member Amy Firth offers a top pick

To understand organ development, maintenance and repair, and to model disease, tissue engineering can enable unique experimental approaches. In a recent study in the journal Biomaterials, Daniel Tschumerplin’s laboratory at the Mayo …

Denis Evseenko (Photo by Cristy Lytal)

Denis Evseenko receives $2.5 million from California Institute for Regenerative Medicine for osteoarthritis research

The Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California (USC) is one of four institutions to receive a multi-million dollar grant from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) for …

Joseph T. Rodgers (Photo by Cristy Lytal)

USC Stem Cell scientist Joseph T. Rodgers receives grant from the American Federation for Aging Research (AFAR)

Wisdom can increase with age, but healing power does not. USC Stem Cell scientist Joseph T. Rodgers is exploring the biology behind this fact, thanks to a grant from the American Federation …

Rong Lu (Photo by Cristy Lytal)

What I’m reading: Top picks from stem cell faculty

In a recent issue of Nature, Philipp S. Hoppe and colleagues present their work on how blood-forming cells, called hematopoietic progenitors, commit to becoming particular blood cell types.

Mark S. Humayun (Photo courtesy of the Keck School of Medicine of USC)

Dr. Mark Humayun elected a 2016 Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors

Today the National Academy of Inventors (NAI) announced Mark S. Humayun, co-director of the University of Southern California (USC) Roski Eye Institute and director of the USC Institute for Biomedical Therapeutics, has …

Haoze (Vincent) Yu and Kate Galloway (Photo by Cristy Lytal)

USC Stem Cell’s Kate Galloway and Haoze (Vincent) Yu answer a new ALS challenge

Although it’s not the type of challenge that involves an ice bucket, this year’s Doerr Stem Cell Challenge Grant has brought together two young scientists from different USC labs to tackle ALS. …

D. Brent Polk (Photo courtesy of Children's Hospital Los Angeles)

D. Brent Polk named AAAS fellow

D. Brent Polk, a member of the USC Stem Cell executive committee and vice dean for clinical affairs at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA), is among five USC scientists who have been …