Overview

USC Stem Cell scientists are advancing our understanding of how the body develops, maintains and regenerates the heart, lungs and blood. They are also developing new regenerative treatments for the millions of patients with diseases of the heart, lungs, immune system and blood.

Statistics

  • Heart disease is the leading cause of death worldwide. In the US every year, about 610,000 people die of heart disease—the cause of one in four deaths.
  • An estimated 1.29 million people in the US are living with or in remission from blood cancer—leukemia, lymphoma or myeloma.
  • Globally, 36.7 million people are living with the autoimmune disease HIV, and 1.8 million of these are children. An estimated 35 million people have died from HIV-related causes so far.
  • More than 30,000 people in the US and 70,000 worldwide are living with the inherited lung disease cystic fibrosis, which limits the ability to breathe.

Researchers

Heart, Lung and Blood News

A circular field of cells shows a gradient of patterns, with green spots decreasing in size as cell density increases.

By exerting “crowd control” over mouse cells, scientists make progress towards engineering tissues

Genes aren’t the sole driver instructing cells to build multicellular structures, tissues, and organs. In a new paper published in Nature Communications, USC Stem Cell scientist Leonardo Morsut and Caltech computational biologist …

Adaptive immune cells, such as B cells (pictured), are a key component of a youthful immune system. (Image courtesy of the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases)

USC Stem Cell mouse study sheds light on the secret to maintaining a youthful immune system

What keeps some immune systems youthful and effective in warding off age-related diseases? In a new paper published in Cellular & Molecular Immunology, USC Stem Cell scientist Rong Lu and her collaborators …

A stem cell innovator focusing on repairing the heart, Chuck Murry (second from right) shares his expertise in biomedical science. (Photo/Steve Cohn)

Chuck Murry: Stem cell science for healing the heart

Success in Chuck Murry’s vision for regenerating heart tissue to restore function after a heart attack would look like a radical shift in the medical landscape. Ironically enough, he chalks up his …

All Heart, Lung and Blood News

Heart, Lung and Blood Videos

Learn how Leonardo Morsut, PhD, with USC Stem Cell and USC Viterbi School of Engineering is leading the way in the field of regenerative medicine to ignite discovery in stem cell research.
All Heart, Lung and Blood Videos