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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 …

Organ of Corti; featured image for USC Stem Cell study shows when to quit “Yapping”

USC Stem Cell study shows when to quit “Yapping”

It turns out that to hear a person yapping, you need a protein called Yap. Working as part of what is known as the Yap/Tead complex, this important protein sends signals to …

Hirschsprung’s Disease; featured image for Growing nerve cells in the gut

Growing nerve cells in the gut

The human body has what is sometimes called a “second brain” in the digestive tract. The enteric nervous system (ENS) performs many vital functions, including coordinating the movement of food to allow …

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 …

Humayun and Kashani; featured image for Physician-scientists pioneer new surgical approach to treat progressive blindness

Physician-scientists pioneer new surgical approach to treat progressive blindness

Dry age-related macular degeneration (dry AMD) poses a significant clinical challenge. It is one of the leading causes of progressive blindness, robbing millions of people over the age of 65 of their …

Oliver Bell; featured image for Design redundancy is in our DNA

Design redundancy is in our DNA

Design redundancy is not only an invention of engineers for building machines, but also a principle of nature for designing organisms. This principle is at play in the regulation of the genes responsible for directing stem cells to multiply themselves in the developing mouse embryo, as described in a new study in Science Advances.

Brainy baby; featured image for Probing the genes that organize early brain development

Probing the genes that organize early brain development

When brains begin developing, there are a lot of moving parts — and when mutations happen in early neurodevelopment, it can lead to disorders like macrocephaly and autism. But scientists don’t know …

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 …

Mark Humayun (pictured) was featured with Amir Kashani for their innovations in sight restoration in a recent episode of Voice of America's "VOA/TEK." (Photo/Episode Still)

Researchers featured on “VOA/TEK” for their innovations in eyesight restoration

Voice of America’s “VOA/TEK,” a news program dedicated to highlighting cutting-edge technologies and medical breakthroughs, recently featured Mark Humayun, MD, PhD, University Professor of Ophthalmology at the Keck School of Medicine and …

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 …

Justin Ichida‘s lab is doing groundbreaking work in the field of stem cell research. (Photo/Damon Casarez); featured image for His race against ALS: Justin Ichida

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 …

As dry AMD progresses, patients perceive a dark spot obscuring the center of their vision. (Image/National Eye Institute, National Institutes of Health); featured image for New grant backs development of treatment for dry age-related macular degeneration

New grant backs development of treatment for dry age-related macular degeneration

The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) recently awarded $3.73 million to Mark Humayun, MD, PhD, University Professor of Ophthalmology, Cornelius J. Pings Chair in Biomedical Sciences, director of the USC Dr. …

Vassilios Papadopoulos and his lab researchers have found a way to produce testosterone in the lab for the first time using a combination of stem cells, human collagen, nutrients and other ingredients. (Photo by Ed Carreon); featured image for Breakthrough in testosterone-producing cells could lead to treatment for “low T”

Breakthrough in testosterone-producing cells could lead to treatment for “low T”

USC researchers have successfully grown human, testosterone-producing cells in the lab, paving the way to someday treat low testosterone with personalized replacement cells. In Monday’s Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, scientists …

Giorgia Quadrato; featured image for Baxter Foundation supports research in pediatric blindness, human brain development

Baxter Foundation supports research in pediatric blindness, human brain development

The Donald E. and Delia B. Baxter Foundation is supporting researchers exploring the causes of pediatric blindness and intellectual disability research by granting $100,000 awards to two assistant professors at the Keck …

Bangyan Stiles, PhD, and colleagues from the USC Viterbi School of Engineering were awarded a three-year National Institutes of Health (NIH) project grant in the amount of $636,141. Photo by Ed Carreon.; featured image for NIH grant awarded to Bangyan Stiles and colleagues

NIH grant awarded to Bangyan Stiles and colleagues

Bangyan Stiles, PhD, professor of pharmacology and pharmaceutical sciences at the USC School of Pharmacy, and colleagues from the USC Viterbi School of Engineering were awarded a three-year, $636,141 National Institutes of …

From left, Lindsey Barske, Michaela Patterson, Joanna Smeeton and Kate Galloway; featured image for Meet six USC Stem Cell postdocs-turned-professors

Meet six USC Stem Cell postdocs-turned-professors

Only 23 percent of biomedical PhD holders eventually land tenure-track faculty positions, according to a report by the National Institutes of Health Biomedical Research Workforce Working Group. Beating these odds, six postdoctoral …

USC scientists have found a solution to untangle twisty DNA, removing kinks so the molecules can be used to reprogram cells to advance regenerative medicine to treat disease. (Illustration/iStock); featured image for USC scientists surmount big obstacle to reprogram cells

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's David Hinton gives a cellular view of a stem cell-based eye implant. (Photo by Cristy Lytal)

USC public symposium illustrates how to move stem cells from Petri dish to patient

Have you ever wondered how a scientific discovery in the laboratory becomes a new medical treatment for patients in the hospital? At the public symposium “Bringing Stem Cells to Patients – Treating …

Jean Rosenbaum; featured image for France-USA Stem Cell Symposium gathers la crème de la crème

France-USA Stem Cell Symposium gathers la crème de la crème

Science was the common language at the first France-USA Stem Cell Symposium, held at the Eli and Edythe Broad CIRM Center for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at USC. The event …