News & Events

News
Justin Ichida (Photo by Ben Gibbs); featured image for USC Stem Cell scientist Justin Ichida named inaugural Richard N. Merkin Scholar

USC Stem Cell scientist Justin Ichida named inaugural Richard N. Merkin Scholar

In USC’s Department of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, half of the faculty members are assistant professors, poised at the threshold of their careers in biomedical research. One of these promising …

A new gel technology pioneered by Janet Moradian-Oldak and her team may eventually reach an elusive goal: filling without drilling.; featured image for Ostrow researcher makes strides in gel to regrow tooth enamel

Ostrow researcher makes strides in gel to regrow tooth enamel

Around the globe, dental cavities are the leading source of disability and pain: they affect 35 percent of the world’s population, with an economic impact in the hundreds of billions of dollars. …

A global project at the Bridge Institute at the USC Michelson Center for Convergent Bioscience aims to one day curb the worldwide rise of diabetes. (Illustration by Yekaterina Kadyshevskaya); featured image for Scientists launch global effort to find the next diabetes drug

Scientists launch global effort to find the next diabetes drug

USC researchers have launched a massive scientific effort to construct a detailed, virtual 3-D model of the pancreatic beta cell and its components — a global project that aims to one day …

Retinal pigment epithelial cells (Image courtesy of David Hinton); featured image for Researchers test stem cell–based retinal implant for common cause of vision loss with encouraging results

Researchers test stem cell–based retinal implant for common cause of vision loss with encouraging results

Physicians and researchers at the USC Roski Eye Institute have collaborated with other California institutions to show that a first-in-kind stem cell–based retinal implant is feasible for use in people with advanced …

Pink test tube (Photo by Chris Shinn); featured image for Request for Proposals: The Doerr Stem Cell Challenge Grants 2018–2019

Request for Proposals: The Doerr Stem Cell Challenge Grants 2018–2019

To stimulate interdisciplinary stem cell research across USC Overview USC Stem Cell invites applications for the Doerr Stem Cell Challenge Grants. The goal of the program is to stimulate new interdisciplinary stem …

Surgeons perform a breakthrough one-time treatment to replace a defective gene with a healthy copy made from artificial DNA. (Photo courtesy of CHLA); featured image for Physicians use gene therapy to restore patient’s vision

Physicians use gene therapy to restore patient’s vision

Surgeons of The Vision Center at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles completed a revolutionary gene replacement procedure at 9:20 a.m. March 20, to restore vision in a patient with retinal degeneration, using the …

From left, stem cell researchers Andres Matias Lebensohn, Maxwell Z. Wilson, Seth Shipman, Pulin Li and Yejing Ge (Photo by Cristy Lytal); featured image for At USC’s Junior Faculty Mini-Symposium, stem cell scientists build to understand

At USC’s Junior Faculty Mini-Symposium, stem cell scientists build to understand

When physicist Richard Feynman died in 1988, he left a message scrawled across his chalkboard: “What I cannot create, I do not understand.” Twenty years later, scientists in a very different field …

Genetic and lifestyle factors could play a role in developing Alzheimer’s disease, researchers say. (Photo courtesy of Stocksy); featured image for Five ways to lower your chances of getting Alzheimer’s

Five ways to lower your chances of getting Alzheimer’s

Retain a sharp, healthy brain and reduce your risk of Alzheimer’s disease by following five simple rules. Some of the tips are scientifically proven, while others show promise but require further investigation.

A USC Dornsife team is working on sophisticated cancer detection methods that operate on principles similar to airport metal detectors.; featured image for Metal-detection technique inspires USC Dornsife cancer researchers

Metal-detection technique inspires USC Dornsife cancer researchers

Metal detection has helped mining companies strike gold and airport security identify passengers who are a potential threat. Now USC Dornsife scientists have pushed its use into another realm: studying cancer.

Mark Humayun, left, talks to Denis Evseenko, right, before Evseenko gives a presentation during a Feb. 7 celebration of pilot funding programs at the Keck School of Medicine of USC. (Photo by Ricardo Carrasco III); featured image for Keck School celebrates pilot funding programs

Keck School celebrates pilot funding programs

The Keck School of Medicine of USC recently held a celebration of pilot funding programs that are available for researchers. The event, held Feb. 7 on the Health Sciences Campus, was hosted …

At an early stage, a nephron forming in the human kidney generates an S-shaped structure. Green cells will generate the kidneys’ filtering device, and blue and red cells specialized regions responsible for distinct nephron activities. (Image courtesy of Stacy Moroz and Tracy Tran/McMahon Lab); featured image for Never accept a kidney donation from a mouse

Never accept a kidney donation from a mouse

Researchers are hard at work building mini-kidneys from human cells—using blueprints mostly drawn from lab mice. But mouse kidneys differ from their human counterparts in more than mere scale, as detailed by …

Paula Cannon (Photo by Don Milici); featured image for Paula Cannon and Elyn Sacks named Distinguished Professors

Paula Cannon and Elyn Sacks named Distinguished Professors

Paula Cannon, PhD, and Elyn Saks, PhD, JD, have been named Distinguished Professors by USC President C. L. Max Nikias. USC Provost Michael Quick, PhD, announced the appointments in a Feb. 13 …

Joint cartilage (Image by Nancy Liu); featured image for Small molecule could make a big difference for arthritis patients

Small molecule could make a big difference for arthritis patients

Will there come a time when a patient with arthritis can forgo joint replacement surgery in favor of a shot? USC Stem Cell scientist Denis Evseenko has reason to be optimistic. In …

Baby Jasmine was born in late December with hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS) and had her first open-heart surgery at five days old. She is enrolled in the groundbreaking clinical trial at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. (Photo courtesy of CHLA); featured image for Children’s Hospital Los Angeles joins national consortium to study use of stem cells in treating a rare cardiac defect

Children’s Hospital Los Angeles joins national consortium to study use of stem cells in treating a rare cardiac defect

Children’s Hospital Los Angeles is announcing participation in the first-ever clinical trial using stem cells from umbilical cord blood to delay or even prevent heart failure in children born with a rare …

Motor nerve cells (Image courtesy of the Ichida Lab); featured image for The toxic relationship between ALS and frontotemporal dementia

The toxic relationship between ALS and frontotemporal dementia

ALS and frontotemporal dementia (FTD) are two neurodegenerative diseases with a toxic relationship, according to a new USC Stem Cell study published in Nature Medicine.

Diffusion MRI maps show disrupted white matter connectivity and loss of white matter fiber tracts in 1 year-old pericyte-deficient mice. (Image courtesy of the Zlokovic Lab); featured image for Half of all dementias start with damaged “gatekeeper cells”

Half of all dementias start with damaged “gatekeeper cells”

USC research sheds new light on how a breakdown in the brain’s vascular system predates the accumulation of toxic plaques and tangles in the brain that bring about Alzheimer’s disease. The research …

Valter Longo (Photo by John Skalicky); featured image for What to know about fasting, aging, the “longevity diet” and when you should eat

What to know about fasting, aging, the “longevity diet” and when you should eat

Biochemist Valter Longo has devoted decades to discovering connections between nutrition and successful aging. He runs the Longevity Institute at the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, which aims to extend healthy …

Bérénice Benayoun (Photo courtesy of the USC Davis School of Gerontology); featured image for Bérénice Benayoun studies possibility of rejuvenating genes

Bérénice Benayoun studies possibility of rejuvenating genes

Bérénice Benayoun, assistant professor at the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology and principal investigator with USC Stem Cell, explores the role of epigenetics—the ways that genes turn “off” or “on”—in the …

Green labels skeletal stem cells in the embryonic zebrafish head, and magenta labels the early-forming cartilaginous facial skeleton. (Video by Lindsey Barske/Crump Lab); featured image for USC Stem Cell scientists chew on the mysteries of jaw development

USC Stem Cell scientists chew on the mysteries of jaw development

Scientists in the USC Stem Cell laboratory of Gage Crump have revealed how key genes guide the development of the jaw in zebrafish. These findings may offer clues for understanding craniofacial anomalies …

Malcolm Snead (Photo courtesy of the Ostrow School of Dentistry of USC); featured image for USC professor Malcolm Snead elected to AIMBE College of Fellows

USC professor Malcolm Snead elected to AIMBE College of Fellows

Malcolm Snead, a professor at the Ostrow School of Dentistry of USC and a principal investigator with USC Stem Cell, has been elected to the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering …