Lecture on global health care stresses personalized medicine
Kwang Yul Cha, founder of the Korean health-care enterprise CHA Health Systems, was the presenter at last month’s Dean’s Distinguished Lecturer Series. Cha’s vision for optimal global health care is to cure …
USC hosts California stem cell agency’s tenth birthday bash
Few 10 year olds have brought 10 potential medical treatments into clinical trials. The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), however, is a truly exceptional 10 year old. In 2004, the people …
USC Stem Cell recruits nearly 20 new Ambassadors
In 2014, USC Stem Cell recruited nearly 20 Ambassadors for Stem Cell Research at USC. The Ambassadors hail from everywhere — San Diego to San Francisco, Hawaii to Beijing — and include …
Halloween retreat showcases USC’s “scary smart” stem cell researchers
It was no tricks and all treats at the seventh annual retreat for the Eli and Edythe Broad Center for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at USC, held at the university’s …
Nail stem cells prove more versatile than press ons
A team of USC Stem Cell researchers led by principal investigator Krzysztof Kobielak and co-first authors Yvonne Leung and Eve Kandyba has identified a new population of nail stem cells, which have …
The helix of hearing
Doctor of Pharmacy candidate Loranna Grigoryan and undergraduate biological sciences major Jonathan Lee fashioned a series of human ears attached to a two-and-a-half foot structure evoking DNA’s double helix. The work of …
Justin Ichida screens potential therapies for Lou Gehrig’s disease
Justin Ichida started young on his path to becoming a scientist. He was in seventh grade when he discovered his passion for genetics through the pages of Michael Crichton’s Jurassic Park. “It’s …
General David H. Petraeus gets a four-star tour of HSC
Petraeus—who also serves as the Judge Widney Professor at USC and Chairman of the KKR Global Institute—started his morning with a glimpse into the human brain. Faculty and students from the USC …
USC stem cell researcher Lori O’Brien receives the first Broad Fellowship
What makes stem cells develop into kidneys? Lori O’Brien, a postdoctoral research associate in the laboratory of Andy McMahon, has received the first Broad Fellowship to help answer this question. O’Brien is …
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 …
Jon-Paul Pepper is a surgeon, scientist, student and award-winner
Video by Alric Devotta USC’s Jon-Paul Pepper is not the average award winner. He’s also not the average facial plastic surgeon, faculty researcher or master’s student — in part, because he’s currently all …
USC rolls out the cardinal carpet on Stem Cell Awareness Day
When asked why stem cell research matters, guests at this year’s Stem Cell Awareness Day gave many creative answers. “Because it has unlimited potential to treat human diseases.” “Because every part of …
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. …
New stem cell course brings together science and fiction
Video by Alric Devotta USC will be offering a new two-unit class next spring, MEDS 380 Stem Cells: Fact and Fiction, which will explore contemporary topics in stem cell biology and innovative …
How a single genetic change causes retinal tumors in children
Retinoblastoma is a retinal tumor usually affecting children one to two years of age. Although rare, it is the most common malignant tumor of the eye in children. Left untreated, retinoblastoma can …
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 …
USC researchers reveal how gene expression affects facial expressions
A person’s face is the first thing that others see, and much remains unknown about how it forms — or malforms — during early development. Recently, Chong Pyo Choe, a senior postdoctoral fellow working …
USC researchers discover the healing power of “rib tickling”
Unlike salamanders, mammals can’t regenerate lost limbs, but they can repair large sections of their ribs. In a new study in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research, a team directed by …
USC welcomes its inaugural class of stem cell master’s students
USC welcomed its inaugural class of master’s students in stem cell biology and regenerative medicine to one of the first programs of its kind in the United States. To celebrate the launch …