CIRM-funded clinical trial aimed at blocking HIV/AIDS in people gets the go ahead
An innovative therapy using a patient’s own stem cells, modified to resist infection with the AIDS virus, has been given approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to begin a clinical …
“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 …
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 …
New option benefits patients needing bone marrow transplants
Keck Medical Center of USC is offering a new option for patients who need bone marrow (also called stem cell) transplants, but have not found a match. Haploidentical transplants allow patients who …
Protein-based therapy shows promise against resistant leukemia
Resistance of leukemia cells to contemporary chemotherapy is one of the most formidable obstacles to treating acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), the most common form of childhood cancer. Now researchers at Children’s Hospital …
Mammalian heart regenerative capacity depends on severity of injury
A new study by researchers at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) has shown that neonatal mouse hearts have varying regenerative capacities depending upon the severity of injury. Using cryoinjury — damaging the …
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 …
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 …
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 …
Megan McCain wears her heart on a chip
Video by Elizabeth Bayne Megan McCain first saw a real human heart her junior year of college. She held it in her hands – dark red, squishy, the size of a fist. …
Zea Borok elected to American Association of Physicians
Zea Borok, MD, USC Stem Cell principal investigator and professor of medicine and of biochemistry and molecular biology at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, has been elected to membership in …
Megan McCain and colleagues make MIT list of 35 Innovators Under 35
The annual MIT Technology Review list of 35 Innovators Under 35 includes three USC Viterbi School of Engineering faculty members — including Megan McCain, principal investigator with USC Stem Cell. Professors McCain and …
USC Stem Cell and the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center accelerate drug discovery
Three teams of USC stem cell researchers have won a coveted prize — the opportunity to test 3,000 drug candidates or chemicals for the potential to help patients. Two teams will focus …
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 …
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 …
NIH grants spur new stem cell research in the Department of Medicine
Cutbacks in National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding have made the climate for new research challenging. Three studies from investigators in the Department of Medicine at the Keck School of Medicine of …
Min Yu and Rong Lu explore how one bad cell spoils the bunch
Principal investigators Min Yu, MD, PhD, and Rong Lu, PhD, had plans to collaborate long before they were both recruited to the Department of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine at the …
Dental study provides wealth of stem cell details
An Ostrow School of Dentistry of USC study has uncovered new details on how bundles of nerves and arteries interact with stem cells and also showcases revolutionary techniques for following the cells …
Viral molecules responsible for causing AIDS-related cancer
Using a rat stem cell model, USC researcher S. J. Gao, PhD and colleagues have identified a critical cancer-causing component in the virus that causes Kaposi’s sarcoma, the most common cancer among …
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 …