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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

Charles (Chuck) Murry (Photo by Gavin Sisk/ University of Washington)

USC Stem Cell welcomes new leader, renowned physician-scientist Chuck Murry

Charles (Chuck) Murry, MD, PhD, has been appointed as the next head of USC Stem Cell. In that capacity, he will be the chair of the Department of Stem Cell Biology and …

Lines of green fluorescent protein (GFP) show cells lighting up red and turning into muscle cells on the GFP scaffold. (Image by Mher Garibyan)

A green light to build muscle cells on command

It may sound like something from science fiction. To grow and modify muscle tissue in the lab using technology that shapes the muscle cells, blood vessels and nerves into whatever pattern you …

Rong Lu (right) and Du Jiang (Photo by Gal Manella)

USC Stem Cell study shows how gene activity modulates the amount of immune cell production in mice

As people age or become ill, their immune systems can become exhausted and less capable of fighting off viruses such as the flu or COVID-19. In a new mouse study funded in …

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Heart, Lung and Blood Videos

Dr. Rong Lu’s lab studies stem cell coordination, regulation and malfunction from a single cell perspective. If you’re interested in studying stem cells or cancer at the single cell level, please email your CV to Dr. Rong Lu at ronglu@usc.edu. For more information, visit https://ronglulab.usc.edu.
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