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From left, Gio Suh and Lauren Ekman (Photo by Cristy Lytal)

Countdown to Commencement: Gio Suh builds muscles without exercising

“I’ve always wanted to be in a textbook and impact the world,” said Gio Suh, who is graduating in December 2017 from the master of science program in stem cell biology and …

Jianfu Chen (Photo courtesy of the Ostrow School of Dentistry of USC)

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 (Photo courtesy of the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology)

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 …

Nanoparticles vs. germs (Photo courtesy of @nanopeek)

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 …

Injury-related damage in a mouse chronic kidney disease model (Image by Jing Liu/McMahon Lab)

The Broad Foundation awards $1 million to early-stage stem cell research projects

The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation has awarded two $125,000 grants to early-stage scientific investigations at USC’s stem cell research center. The projects are among eight winners of the $1 million Fund …

Justin Ichida (Photo by Cristy Lytal)

USC Stem Cell researcher Justin Ichida honored as a champion in the fight against ALS

The ALS Association Golden West Chapter will recognize USC Stem Cell researcher Justin Ichida with the 2017 Essey Commitment to a Cure Award for his outstanding achievements in the fight against ALS. …

Justin Ichida (Photo by Cristy Lytal)

Verge Genomics announces a multi-institution collaboration with Columbia University, MGH, USC and the University of Michigan to advance ALS research

Verge Genomics, a drug discovery company utilizing genomic data for neuroscience therapeutics, announced today that it is has established a multi-institution industry-academic collaboration with four top universities focused on accelerating the translation …

Mark Humayun (Photo by Gus Ruelas)

Envisioning a new world

The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) has awarded Mark Humayun, co-director of the USC Gayle and Edward Roski Eye Institute and director of the Institute for Biomedical Sciences, with the …

Eun Ji Chung (Photo by Michelle Henry)

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 (green) in the cytoplasm (the region outside of the nuclei, blue) promotes the self-renewal of human embryonic stem cells. (Image by Xingliang Zhou)

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 …

From left, Qi-Long Ying, Min Zhou, and Ying Lab postdoc Shi (Steve) Yue (Photo by Cristy Lytal)

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 …

Rat

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 …

Organoid

Stem cell-derived retinal organoid imaging offers real-time insights into the developmental origins of blinding eye diseases

A multidisciplinary team of researchers from the University of Southern California (USC) Roski Eye Institute, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) and the USC Viterbi School of Engineering used stem cell-derived retinal organoids …

Pluripotency (Painting by Amanda Kwieraga)

USC alumna Amanda Kwieraga makes paintings from acrylic, wood and stem cell science

“Anyone who views something under a microscope or through a telescope will tell you that science is art, and that art is the perfect way to convey science,” said Amanda Kwieraga, an …

Neuronal Forest (Painting by Amanda Kwieraga)

USC Stem Cell artist Amanda Kwieraga plants a Neuronal Forest

“Anyone who views something under a microscope or through a telescope will tell you that science is art, and that art is the perfect way to convey science,” said Amanda Kwieraga, an …

Human development (Image courtesy of Evseenko Lab)

Whittier Foundation backs new group of research projects

The L.K. Whittier Foundation has been a critical source of funding for cancer research at the Keck School of Medicine of USC and the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, supporting clinicians and …

Kim Staats (Photo by Cristy Lytal)

USC researcher Kim Staats looks for the pattern in sporadic cases of ALS

USC postdoctoral researcher Kim Staats found her calling when a childhood neighbor was diagnosed with ALS, a paralyzing and fatal neurodegenerative disease. At the time, Staats was pursuing bachelor’s and master’s degrees …

Retinal pigment epithelial cells (Image courtesy of David Hinton)

Keck School to host Howard Hughes Medical Research Fellow

The Keck School of Medicine of USC will host Marta Stevanovic, a third-year student and Robert W. Woodruff Fellow at Emory University School of Medicine, who has been selected by the Howard …

A window into the mammalian middle ear (Image by Camilla Teng/Crump Lab)

Researchers listen to zebrafish to understand human hearing loss

Can a fish with a malformed jaw tell us something about hearing loss in mice and humans? The answer is yes, according to a new publication in Scientific Reports.

Clockwise from top left: Andy McMahon, Rohit Varma, Jonathan Samet and Donna Spruijt-Metz (Photos courtesy of USC)

NIH funding helps Americans live longer and healthier

The nation’s medical research agency, the National Institutes of Health, funds research to help Americans live longer and healthier. Some 148 Nobel Prize winners have received support from the NIH, demonstrating how …