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Clockwise from upper left: Hao Yuan Kueh, Florian Merkle, Robert A.J. Signer, members of the audience, Pedro Batista and Joseph T. Rodgers (Photos by Cristy Lytal); featured image for USC mini-symposium showcases the next generation of top stem cell scientists

USC mini-symposium showcases the next generation of top stem cell scientists

Obesity, narcolepsy, leukemia and muscle injuries have at least one thing in common: they are engaging the next generation of top stem cell scientists. Five of these scientists presented their research at …

USC PhD student Louise Menendez examines the prototype of a potential device to treat patients with liver disease. (Photo by Cristy Lytal); featured image for “Million-dollar ideas” seminar

“Million-dollar ideas” seminar

At a special seminar on February 24, USC Stem Cell Principal Investigators discussed their “million-dollar ideas” for creating new tools and technologies to usher in the era of regenerative medicine. They shared …

From left, Toshio Miki, Qi-Long Ying, Paula Cannon (Photos by Cristy Lytal and Don Milici); featured image for Three USC researchers win $4.3 million in awards from California’s stem cell agency

Three USC researchers win $4.3 million in awards from California’s stem cell agency

Three scientists from Keck Medicine of USC have won grants exceeding $4.3 million from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) for research that includes creating a temporary liver for patients, finding …

The Grikscheit Lab (Photo by Cristy Lytal); featured image for Researchers grow functional intestine from human cells

Researchers grow functional intestine from human cells

A new study by researchers at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles has shown that small intestine grown from human cells replicates key aspects of a functioning human intestine. The small intestine they developed …

Circulating tumor cells (Image courtesy of Min Yu); featured image for Min Yu and Heinz-Josef Lenz seek to stop cancer in its tracks

Min Yu and Heinz-Josef Lenz seek to stop cancer in its tracks

Heinz-Josef Lenz and Min Yu both know that a cancer cell in motion doesn’t stay in motion. It comes to rest and spreads cancer. After detaching from the primary tumor and traveling …

Leukemic cells (Image courtesy of Fatih Uckun); featured image for Researchers engineer a “smart bomb” to attack childhood leukemia

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 …

The labs of Raymond C. Stevens, right, and Peter Kuhn will bring a cohort of approximately 50 researchers to USC. Their labs will be housed in the new USC Michelson Center for Convergent Bioscience. (Photo by Ryan Young); featured image for USC recruits renowned leaders in molecular research

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 …

Andy McMahon (Photo by Phil Channing); featured image for Andy McMahon and USC Stem Cell: From discoveries to cures

Andy McMahon and USC Stem Cell: From discoveries to cures

Video by Little Pictures How do fingers become fingers and not toes? How does the brain generate the correct number of neurons? How do the kidneys branch into the complex and elegant …

Valter Longo (Photo by Dietmar Quistorf); featured image for Fasting triggers stem cell regeneration of damaged, old immune system

Fasting triggers stem cell regeneration of damaged, old immune system

In the first evidence of a natural intervention triggering stem cell-based regeneration of an organ or system, a study in the June 5 issue of Cell Stem Cell shows that cycles of …

The Grikscheit Lab (Photo by Cristy Lytal); featured image for Tracy Grikscheit explores frontiers of surgery, science and skiing

Tracy Grikscheit explores frontiers of surgery, science and skiing

Video courtesy of Children’s Hospital Los Angeles Tracy Grikscheit, MD, really has her priorities straight. “It goes: surgery, science, skiing. That’s the order,” said Grikscheit, principal investigator with USC Stem Cell and …

Senta Georgia (Photo by Cristy Lytal); featured image for Senta Georgia imagines intestinal cells that make insulin

Senta Georgia imagines intestinal cells that make insulin

For Senta Georgia, PhD, stem cell research offers a window into much more than the biology of pancreatic cells and diabetes. “Molecular biology is elegant,” said Georgia, principal investigator at the Saban …

Heinz-Josef Lenz (Photo courtesy of Heinz-Josef Lenz); featured image for Dhont Family Foundation invigorates USC colon cancer research

Dhont Family Foundation invigorates USC colon cancer research

Colon cancer research at USC received a boost from the Southern California-based Dhont Family Foundation, as the foundation renewed its commitment of its $1 million gift to fund Heinz-Josef Lenz’s research in …

Valter Longo (Photo by Dietmar Quistorf); featured image for Valter Longo seeks a recipe for longevity

Valter Longo seeks a recipe for longevity

Video by the USC Davis School of Gerontology Valter Longo, PhD, principal investigator with USC Stem Cell, is out to prove that gerontology is a young man’s game — just like rock …

From left to right: Marvin Nelson, MD, MBA, Rex Moats, PhD, Brent Polk, MD, Elizabeth Garrett, JD, Scott Fraser, PhD, Carmen Puliafito, MD, MBA (Photo courtesy of Children's Hospital Los Angeles)

USC and Children’s Hospital Los Angeles launch imaging lab for translational research

With the launch of the Translational Biomedical Imaging Lab (TBIL), investigators at the University of Southern California (USC) and The Saban Research Institute of Children’s Hospital Los Angeles moved us closer to a …

Cancer cells (Image courtesy of Creative Commons); featured image for USC researchers grow organs to unlock secrets of how cancer tumors grow

USC researchers grow organs to unlock secrets of how cancer tumors grow

Using three-dimensional organ creation, Keck Medicine of University of Southern California (USC) researchers aim to discover clues to metastatic cancer growth by developing a first-ever integrated bioengineered/computational model of metastatic color cancer. …

Embryonic stem cells (Image/courtesy of Qi-Long Ying); featured image for USC researcher reveals how to better master stem cells’ fate

USC researcher reveals how to better master stem cells’ fate

USC scientist Qi-Long Ying and a team of researchers have long been searching for biotech’s version of the fountain of youth — ways to encourage embryonic stem cells (ESCs) and epiblast stem …

From left, Andrew P. McMahon, director of the Eli and Edythe Broad Center for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research, with Yong Chen’s son Gary and researcher Qi-Long Ying (Photo by Cristy Lytal); featured image for Businessman invests in stem cell research at USC

Businessman invests in stem cell research at USC

Chinese businessman Yong Chen has pledged $1 million to USC stem cell researcher Qi-Long Ying to support his future “eureka moments.” “When I talked to Mr. Chen, I told him that groundbreaking …

Neural stem cells derived from self-renewing mouse embryonic stem cells (Image courtesy of Qi-Long Ying); featured image for A special protein helps embryonic stem cells keep their options open

A special protein helps embryonic stem cells keep their options open

In the ongoing quest to understand how embryonic stem cells (ESCs) retain their ability to differentiate into virtually any kind of cell, USC faculty member Qi-Long Ying and a team of researchers …

From left, Gage Crump, Jay R. Lieberman and Francesca Mariani (Photo by Cristy Lytal); featured image for USC announces winners of first Regenerative Medicine Initiative awards

USC announces winners of first Regenerative Medicine Initiative awards

Three newly assembled disease teams within USC Stem Cell will take the early steps this year that might lead to future stem-cell based therapies for certain forms of deafness, bone defects and …

Qi-Long Ying (Photo by Cristy Lytal); featured image for A genetic catch-22 promotes and prevents liver cancer

A genetic catch-22 promotes and prevents liver cancer

Can the same gene prevent and promote cancer? When it comes to liver cancer, the gene that codes for P53, a protein found in humans and many other animals, involves this catch-22. …