Growing hope: What are stem cells, and how does USC use them?
Stem cell therapies have accelerated at a promising pace, but how do they work? And what are stem cells?
At USC’s Junior Faculty Mini-Symposium, stem cell scientists build to understand
When physicist Richard Feynman died in 1988, he left a message scrawled across his chalkboard: “What I cannot create, I do not understand.” Twenty years later, scientists in a very different field …
Paula Cannon and Elyn Sacks named Distinguished Professors
Paula Cannon, PhD, and Elyn Saks, PhD, JD, have been named Distinguished Professors by USC President C. L. Max Nikias. USC Provost Michael Quick, PhD, announced the appointments in a Feb. 13 …
Children’s Hospital Los Angeles joins national consortium to study use of stem cells in treating a rare cardiac defect
Children’s Hospital Los Angeles is announcing participation in the first-ever clinical trial using stem cells from umbilical cord blood to delay or even prevent heart failure in children born with a rare …
What to know about fasting, aging, the “longevity diet” and when you should eat
Biochemist Valter Longo has devoted decades to discovering connections between nutrition and successful aging. He runs the Longevity Institute at the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, which aims to extend healthy …
Bérénice Benayoun studies possibility of rejuvenating genes
Bérénice Benayoun, assistant professor at the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology and principal investigator with USC Stem Cell, explores the role of epigenetics—the ways that genes turn “off” or “on”—in the …
Deep sea creatures provide a guiding light in the quest to develop cancer-fighting therapies
A team of scientists at the Keck School of Medicine of USC is looking to some deep sea dwellers to create a better way to develop cancer-fighting therapies. Harnessing the power of …
USC scientist Susana Cavallero dedicates her heart to vascular stem cell research
Pursuing her passion for cardiovascular research, Susana Cavallero has journeyed from her hometown of Polvaredas in Saladillo, Argentina, to Buenos Aires to Los Angeles, where she is an assistant professor of research …
Broad Fellows look to stem cells to treat heart disease and hearing loss
When it came time to select this year’s Broad Fellow, the award committee couldn’t pick just one. Instead, they bestowed the honor on two talented postdoctoral researchers in USC Stem Cell laboratories: …
Subtle cues can dictate the fate of stem cells
If you’ve seen one GSK3 molecule, do not assume that you have seen them all. A new study in Developmental Cell reveals important differences in two similar forms of GSK3, which, in …
Creating new heart muscle out of stem cells? This grad student is doing it
In a narrow room not much larger than a closet, Joycelyn Yip reaches behind a glass shield to lower a pipette to a plate of silicon-coated glass. Swaddled in a sterile white …
David Warburton among USC professors named fellows of esteemed scientific society
Five USC scientists and one Keck School of Medicine of USC physician have been elected fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, an honor awarded to AAAS members by …
A Zika surprise: African strain can do more damage than Asian strain
The Zika virus has spread to 44 countries, with thousands infected and thousands of babies born with microcephaly, a rare complication that causes small heads. But even though research dollars are being …
Pinchas Cohen recognized as top influencer in aging field
A newly published list of 2017’s top 50 “Influencers in Aging” includes Pinchas Cohen, dean of the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology and principal investigator with USC Stem Cell. The list …
Peeking into the science world
For adolescents, social media use is nearly inevitable. According to “Science Daily,” a website that circulates recently developed research news headlines, 76 percent of teenagers in the United States actively use Instagram …
Can stem cells be tricked?
Riddle me this: how do you get stem cells to thrive outside of their natural environment? According to Keyue Shen, if all else fails, you can always trick them—with artificially engineered neighbor …
Eun Ji Chung receives 2017 AIChE 35 Under 35 Award
To describe Eun Ji Chung as “goal-oriented” might be the understatement of the year. Chung, a Gabilan Assistant Professor in the USC Viterbi Department of Biomedical Engineering and USC Stem Cell principal investigator, …
The protein TAZ sends “mixed signals” to stem cells
Just as beauty exists in the eye of the beholder, a signal depends upon the interpretation of the receiver. According to new USC research published in Stem Cell Reports, a protein called …
Biotech entrepreneur Min Zhou supports scientific serendipity in the USC Stem Cell laboratory of Qi-Long Ying
“The most important discoveries that I’ve made have all come from nowhere,” said Qi-Long Ying, associate professor of stem cell biology and regenerative medicine at USC. “They could not be planned.” To …
USC Stem Cell researchers receive $3 million of NIH funding to produce sophisticated laboratory rats
USC Stem Cell principal investigator Qi-Long Ying and his team are pleased to introduce a new transgenic animal—the conditional and inducible gene knockout rat. Created using embryonic stem cell-based technology, these remarkable …