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USC's stem cell research center

California’s biggest stem cell experiment: The impact of the stem cell ballot proposition at USC

In 2008, USC broke ground on an $80 million building dedicated solely to stem cell research and regenerative medicine. The plans called for a monolithic structure clad in black marble and reflective …

Scott E. Fraser; featured image for USC’s Scott E. Fraser elected to National Academy of Medicine

USC’s Scott E. Fraser elected to National Academy of Medicine

USC biophysicist Scott E. Fraser, PhD, has as been elected to the National Academy of Medicine, the organization announced Monday. He’s among 100 new members of the Academy. “For integrating biophysics, quantitative …

Ebony Flowers; featured image for Ebony Flowers receives fellowship from the Burroughs Wellcome Fund Postdoctoral Enrichment Program

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 …

fasting and breast cancer; featured image for Studies suggest a fasting diet could boost breast cancer therapy

Studies suggest a fasting diet could boost breast cancer therapy

A USC-led team of scientists has found that a fasting-mimicking diet combined with hormone therapy has the potential to help treat breast cancer, according to newly published animal studies and small clinical …

Men are from Mars; featured image for New award supports study of why females age differently than males

New award supports study of why females age differently than males

A new research project led by USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology Assistant Professor Bérénice Benayoun aims to learn more about why female mammals, including humans, age differently than males. Sex dimorphism …

Alec Fisher; featured image for Amid COVID-19 fears, USC Spirit Leader donates stem cells for leukemia patient

Amid COVID-19 fears, USC Spirit Leader donates stem cells for leukemia patient

When Alec Fisher signed up as a potential bone marrow donor two years ago, he didn’t expect to hear back for a while, if at all — and certainly not in the …

Qi-Long Ying; featured image for Shanghai Cell Therapy Group launches collaboration with USC researcher to improve the ex vivo expansion of hematopoietic stem cells for clinical applications

Shanghai Cell Therapy Group launches collaboration with USC researcher to improve the ex vivo expansion of hematopoietic stem cells for clinical applications

Shanghai Cell Therapy Group (SHCell) recently entered into a six-year research collaborative project with Professor Qi-Long Ying from the University of Southern California (USC). Through the project, sponsored by $3.6 million from …

Rong Lu; featured image for USC Stem Cell scientist Rong Lu wins an NIH Emerging Investigator Award

USC Stem Cell scientist Rong Lu wins an NIH Emerging Investigator Award

Millions of blood cells are regenerated every second. To study the unique properties of individual blood forming stem cells and how they contribute to aging, leukemia and other medical conditions, USC Stem …

Yong (Tiger) Zhang of the USC School of Pharmacy (Photo by Isaac Mora); featured image for Better cancer treatments may lie ahead thanks to Yong (Tiger) Zhang and USC engineers

Better cancer treatments may lie ahead thanks to Yong (Tiger) Zhang and USC engineers

A USC School of Pharmacy-led team has engineered a new, faster way to make drugs that precisely target malignant cells – while leaving healthy tissue undamaged – that could lead the way …

Oranges; featured image for Fasting plus vitamin C proves effective for hard-to-treat cancers

Fasting plus vitamin C proves effective for hard-to-treat cancers

Scientists from USC and the IFOM Cancer Institute in Milan have found that a fasting-mimicking diet could be more effective at treating some types of cancer when combined with vitamin C. In multiple …

Min Yu (Photo by Chris Shinn); featured image for USC Stem Cell scientist Min Yu awarded Era of Hope Scholar Award from the U.S. Department of Defense for breast cancer research

USC Stem Cell scientist Min Yu awarded Era of Hope Scholar Award from the U.S. Department of Defense for breast cancer research

Most breast cancer cells won’t kill you. It is the rare cell that can survive the perilous journey through the bloodstream and seed the metastatic lesions responsible for the vast majority of …

Andrew P. McMahon; featured image for USC Professor Andrew P. McMahon elected to the National Academy of Sciences

USC Professor Andrew P. McMahon elected to the National Academy of Sciences

Andrew P. McMahon—who is the W.M. Keck Provost and University Professor in USC’s departments of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine at the Keck School of Medicine, and Biological Sciences at the …

Long Cai; featured image for The Broad Foundation brings together stem cell scientists, engineers and physicians at USC and beyond

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 …

Ebony Flowers; featured image for USC Stem Cell scientist Ebony Flowers earns fellowship from the A.P. Giannini Foundation

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 …

Time to eat; featured image for What and when we eat affects our immune system. Here’s how.

What and when we eat affects our immune system. Here’s how.

Professor Valter Longo, director of the USC Longevity Institute, is investigating how fasting and diets that mimic fasting’s effects can help immune function, including vaccine efficacy and the body’s response to infection …

hyperspectral fish; featured image for From detecting lung cancer to spotting counterfeit money, this new imaging technology could have countless uses

From detecting lung cancer to spotting counterfeit money, this new imaging technology could have countless uses

USC scientists have developed a new tool to peer more deeply and clearly into living things, a visual advantage that saves time and helps advance medical cures. It’s the sort of foundational …

Rong Lu (Photo by Cristy Lytal); featured image for USC Stem Cell scientist Rong Lu named Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Scholar

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 …

In-Part Discover; featured image for USC finds new routes to industry engagement and funding

USC finds new routes to industry engagement and funding

Story courtesy of In-Part Over the last year, Dr. Qing Liu-Michael, Program Director at USC Stem Cell and the Eli and Edythe Broad Center for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at …

Development of brain metastasis is a complex process in which metastatic cells (green) overcome the protective effect of immune cells (red). (Image/Yu Lab, USC Stem Cell); featured image for Research reveals why breast cancer spreads to the brain

Research reveals why breast cancer spreads to the brain

USC researchers have determined how cancer cells target certain organs, which could help develop treatments to slow or stop the disease from spreading. Most cancers kill because tumor cells spread beyond the …

Breast cancer cells. Image/Wikimedia Commons; featured image for Keyue Shen to lead ongoing research initiative into cancer metastasis

Keyue Shen to lead ongoing research initiative into cancer metastasis

Cancer is the world’s second leading cause of mortality. According to the World Health Organization, it was responsible for around 9.6 million deaths in 2018. Yet over 90 percent of cancer deaths …