Driven to impact
Powered by her Ostrow experience, Heliya Ziaei is well positioned to blend research and patient care as a clinician-scientist. Though Heliya Ziaei, PhD ’26, arrived at the Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry …
Author: Cristy Lytal
USC CIRM COMPASS Scholar Tiffany Wang finds belonging, embraces research and leadership
A first-generation college student, Tiffany Wang treasures the support and opportunities for growth she found at the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology. Tiffany Wang, member of the USC Leonard Davis School …
How early health challenges fueled two graduating seniors’ passion for medicine
Driven by their own experiences with childhood illness — along with breakthrough research experience and service to the community — two stand-out USC Dornsife students look forward to medical school. Born three …
From Maui to medicine, Viterbi helped her chart her own path
CLASS OF 2026 – The daughter of Turkish immigrant physicians, Maui-raised Alara Berkmen is graduating from USC Viterbi with a bachelor’s in Biomedical Engineering on the pre-med track, a business club she …
USC Age Tech Symposium: Combining the latest tools with human-centered care
During the 2026 USC Age Tech Symposium, presenters discussed how advances in technology, including new artificial intelligence models and biomedical innovation, can transform aging research, care delivery, and health systems – but …
How watching living cells could transform disease research and treatment
USC biomedical engineer Keyue Shen has been elected to the AIMBE College of Fellows for developing tools that measure how living cells signal and interact in real time – without destroying them. …
USC-led team receives funding to build next-generation medical device that uses tears to monitor health
Researchers from USC and the California Institute of Technology aim to develop a tiny sensor and drug delivery system, implanted near the eye, with dry eye disease as its first target. A …
2026–2027 Broad Collaborative Challenge Grant for Graduate Students and Postdoctoral Fellows
To stimulate interdisciplinary and creative trainee-directed stem cell research Overview USC Stem Cell invites applications for the Broad Collaborative Challenge Grant for Graduate Students and Postdoctoral Fellows. The goal of the program …
USC honors stem cell leader Andy McMahon with a lifetime achievement award
The award recognizes McMahon’s career advancing developmental biology and building scientific communities, including USC Stem Cell. As a pioneer in developmental biology and founder of USC Stem Cell, Andy McMahon, PhD, FRS, …
A “stemness checkpoint” helps control stem cell identity
Building on the concept that blocking differentiation into specialized cell types maintains stem cells, USC and NIH scientists identify GSK3α as a checkpoint across diverse stem cell types. A study published in …