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Kidney organoids with proximal tubules (Image by Jack Schnell/Lindström Lab); featured image for $3.95 million CIRM grant establishes USC ASCEND Center to make stem cell-derived  organ models accessible to all

$3.95 million CIRM grant establishes USC ASCEND Center to make stem cell-derived organ models accessible to all

To democratize access to lab-grown organ-like structures known as organoids and other advanced stem cell and transcriptomic technologies, USC will launch the CIRM ASCEND Center, dedicated to “Advancing Stem Cell Education and …

Clockwise from top left – Yang Chai, Denis Evseenko, Peter Kuhn and Justin Ichida, NAI 2024 class of senior members. (Chai photo/ Chris Shinn; Evseenko and Ichida photos/Richard Carrasco; Kuhn photo/Peter Zhaoyu Zhou); featured image for National Academy of Inventors elects four Keck School of Medicine of USC faculty as senior members

National Academy of Inventors elects four Keck School of Medicine of USC faculty as senior members

The National Academy of Inventors (NAI), a nonprofit member organization that encourages inventors in higher education, has announced that four researchers from the Keck School of Medicine of USC are part of …

Fork (Image courtesy of iStock); featured image for USC study shows how cycles of a fasting-mimicking diet reduce insulin resistance, liver fat, immune system aging, and biological age in clinical trial patients

USC study shows how cycles of a fasting-mimicking diet reduce insulin resistance, liver fat, immune system aging, and biological age in clinical trial patients

Cycles of a diet that mimics fasting reduce signs of immune system aging as well as insulin resistance and liver fat in humans, resulting in a lower biological age, according to a …

Rong Lu (right) and Du Jiang (Photo by Gal Manella); featured image for USC Stem Cell study shows how gene activity modulates the amount of immune cell production in mice

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 …

Oliver Bell and Daniel Bsteh; featured image for USC Stem Cell study throws our understanding of gene regulation for a loop

USC Stem Cell study throws our understanding of gene regulation for a loop

The blueprint for human life lies within the DNA in the nucleus of each of our cells. In human cells, around six and a half feet of this genetic material must be …

Neil Segil (Photo by Chris Shinn); featured image for 2024 Segil Stem Cell Travel Scholarship: Call for Applications

2024 Segil Stem Cell Travel Scholarship: Call for Applications

We are pleased to announce that applications are open for two 2024 Segil Stem Cell Travel Scholarships. The Neil Segil Stem Cell Travel Scholarship fund was set up to commemorate our friend …

Lab-grown 6-month-old human Purkinje cell (Image by Alexander Atamian and Marcella Birtele/Quadrato Lab); featured image for USC Stem Cell scientists develop a game-changing organoid model to study human cerebellar development and disease

USC Stem Cell scientists develop a game-changing organoid model to study human cerebellar development and disease

In a first for USC Stem Cell scientists, the laboratory of Giorgia Quadrato, an assistant professor of stem cell biology and regenerative medicine, has pioneered a novel human brain organoid model that …

Building an Incubator for Medicine of the 21st Century; featured image for Building an Incubator for Medicine of the 21st Century

Building an Incubator for Medicine of the 21st Century

USC Stem Cell is pleased to introduce our new publication. We hope you’ll enjoy reflecting back on our history, while looking ahead to the transformative times to come. Read now at https://stemcell.keck.usc.edu/wp-content/themes/stemcell/incubator.

Two sculptures representing a human neuron and a radial glia cell, inspired by the findings published by the Quadrato Lab in Nature Neuroscience. (Sculptures by Jane Kwak; photo by Sergio Bianco); featured image for The Autism-linked gene SYNGAP1 could impact early stages of human brain development, USC study reveals

The Autism-linked gene SYNGAP1 could impact early stages of human brain development, USC study reveals

New research shows that variants of SYNGAP1, a gene previously thought only to affect synapses between mature neurons, may disrupt early development in the brain’s cortex, a region involved in higher-order cognitive …

(Photo by William Vasta); featured image for USC doubles the number of scholarships for stem cell master’s students

USC doubles the number of scholarships for stem cell master’s students

This year, ten students earned scholarships that enabled them to attend USC’s master’s program in stem cell biology and regenerative medicine, one of the only programs of its kind in the United …

Justin Ichida (Photo by Ben Gibbs); featured image for USC Stem Cell research from Justin Ichida’s lab advances toward clinical development for ALS, following a license agreement between companies Takeda and AcuraStem

USC Stem Cell research from Justin Ichida’s lab advances toward clinical development for ALS, following a license agreement between companies Takeda and AcuraStem

USC Stem Cell scientist Justin Ichida has learned to inhabit two worlds: the university where his lab makes discoveries, and the companies that can help commercialize these discoveries into new treatments for …

(Image courtesy of the Chen Lab); featured image for A new way to treat craniosynostosis?

A new way to treat craniosynostosis?

Craniosynostosis is a birth defect in which the bones in a baby’s skull fuse too early — before the brain is fully formed. It happens in 1 in nearly 2,200 births and …

The 2023 Mammalian Synthetic Biology Workshop (Photo courtesy of Catcher Salazar); featured image for Three USC Stem Cell undergraduates expand their horizons, thanks to Neil Segil Travel Scholarships

Three USC Stem Cell undergraduates expand their horizons, thanks to Neil Segil Travel Scholarships

Few scientists will ever forget the first time they presented their research at a conference. Thanks to the Neil Segil Stem Cell Travel Scholarships, three USC Stem Cell undergraduate researchers recently experienced …

(Image courtesy of iStock); featured image for $2 million grant boosts technological advancements in cutting-edge cell therapy manufacturing facility

$2 million grant boosts technological advancements in cutting-edge cell therapy manufacturing facility

The Keck School of Medicine of USC has received $2 million from the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) to further augment its newly launched cGMP Laboratory, a state-of-the-art facility designed to …

USC stem cell research center; featured image for Open Rank—Tenured Associate or Professor of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, USC

Open Rank—Tenured Associate or Professor of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, USC

USC, founded in 1880, is the largest private employer in Los Angeles. As an employee of USC, you will be a part of a world-class research university and a member of the …

Peter Kuhn and researchers at the USC Michelson Center for Convergent Biosciences aim to revolutionize how breast cancer screening. (Image source: National Cancer Institute/Bruce Wetzel and Harry Schaefer.); featured image for Could a simple blood test detect cancer?

Could a simple blood test detect cancer?

Clinicians agree that cancer screenings, such as mammograms, offer the best hope of finding cancer before it’s out of hand. Unfortunately, screening is often uncomfortable and can require invasive techniques. It also …

Two of the genes—Gsta4 in red and Cyp4a14 in green—that are more active in female mouse kidneys (blue) (Image by Jing Liu/McMahon Lab); featured image for Why are male kidneys more vulnerable to disease than female kidneys? USC Stem Cell-led mouse study points to testosterone.

Why are male kidneys more vulnerable to disease than female kidneys? USC Stem Cell-led mouse study points to testosterone.

Female kidneys are known to be more resilient to disease and injury, but males need not despair. A new USC Stem Cell-led study published in Developmental Cell describes not only how sex …

Amy Merrill-Brugger (Photo by Phil Channing); featured image for Inside the hunt to understand developing baby skulls

Inside the hunt to understand developing baby skulls

If you’ve ever held a baby, you probably remember soft spots on their heads — space for the developing skulls to grow around the brain. When the system works correctly, it leaves …

Ksenia Gnedeva (Photo by Chris Shinn); featured image for Breaking the sound barrier: Ksenia Gnedeva’s transformative research on growth and regeneration in the inner ear sensory organs

Breaking the sound barrier: Ksenia Gnedeva’s transformative research on growth and regeneration in the inner ear sensory organs

Some children dream of growing up to be a ballerina or an astronaut, but Ksenia Gnedeva always knew she wanted to be a biologist. “I remember receiving a microscope for my sixth …

Normal vision and view with AMD; featured image for USC-supported startup receives major grant for clinical trial of a promising eye treatment

USC-supported startup receives major grant for clinical trial of a promising eye treatment

A stem cell patch developed by USC researchers for patients with macular degeneration will soon be tested in a phase 2b clinical trial. This latest milestone in the patch’s development was made …