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Presenter Pin Wang, PhD, is a principal investigator with the USC Stem Cell initiative. (Photo by Cristy Lytal); featured image for Tiny Technology may be the future of medicine

Tiny Technology may be the future of medicine

Sometimes the smallest tools are required to tackle the biggest problems. At the forefront of innovative research on regenerative medicine and cancer treatment, experts from the top research institutions in the greater …

In the neural stem cells at the left, the protein SMEK1 (red) is localized in the nucleus (blue), while the protein PAR3 (green) is in the cytoplasm. When neural stem cells divide, as in the cells at the right, SMEK1 moves to the cytoplasm, where it regulates PAR's activity. (Image courtesy of Wange Lu)

USC researchers apply brainpower to understanding neural stem cell differentiation

How do humans and other mammals get so brainy? USC researcher Wange Lu, PhD, and his colleagues shed new light on this question in a paper published in Cell Reports on October …

Pat Levitt (Photo courtesy of Children's Hospital Los Angeles)

Pat Levitt elected to Institute of Medicine

Pat Levitt, provost professor of pediatrics, neuroscience, psychiatry, psychology and pharmacy at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, was recently elected as a member into the prestigious Institute of Medicine (IOM), …

Staining of slow-cycling sweat gland cells (green) with the protein laminin (red) and the fluorescent stain DAPI (blue) (Image by Yvonne Leung); featured image for USC researcher learns how to break a sweat

USC researcher learns how to break a sweat

Without sweat, we would overheat and die. In a recent paper in the journal Public Library of Science One (PLOS ONE), USC faculty member Krzysztof Kobielak and a team of researchers explored …

Cancer cells (Image courtesy of Creative Commons); featured image for USC researchers grow organs to unlock secrets of how cancer tumors grow

USC researchers grow organs to unlock secrets of how cancer tumors grow

Using three-dimensional organ creation, Keck Medicine of University of Southern California (USC) researchers aim to discover clues to metastatic cancer growth by developing a first-ever integrated bioengineered/computational model of metastatic color cancer. …

Embryonic stem cells that have differentiated into neurons (Image by In Kyoung Mah/Mariani Lab); featured image for Winner of the September 2013 USC Stem Cell Image of the Month Contest

Winner of the September 2013 USC Stem Cell Image of the Month Contest

Dr. Andrew McMahon, Dr. Seth Ruffins and the judges of the USC Stem Cell Image of the Month contest would like to congratulate our September 2013 winner, In Kyoung Mah, a graduate …

A still from the animation "Stem Cell Billy"

USC Science Film Competition

Do you ever ask yourself life’s big questions: How can I become $3,000 richer? How can I break into the film industry? How can I impress Andy McMahon? The answer is that …

J. Jean Cui, PhD, tells the tale of the cancer therapeutic Xalkori. (Photo by Cristy Lytal); featured image for Pfizer’s J. Jean Cui explains modern drug discovery

Pfizer’s J. Jean Cui explains modern drug discovery

Only five percent of potential cancer drugs make it from phase I clinical trail to FDA approval, but J. Jean Cui, PhD, associate research fellow at Pfizer, beat the odds. Cui visited …

Microscopy related to Alzheimers disease; featured image for USC professors receive NIH funding for clinical trial of Alzheimer’s drug

USC professors receive NIH funding for clinical trial of Alzheimer’s drug

USC Professors Roberta Diaz Brinton of the USC School of Pharmacy and Lon Schneider of the Keck School of Medicine of USC are principal investigators of a newly funded study from the …

Eli and Edythe Broad CIRM Center for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at USC (Photo by Chris Shinn); featured image for USC teams with CIRM to celebrate Stem Cell Awareness Day

USC teams with CIRM to celebrate Stem Cell Awareness Day

For the millions of people around the world who suffer from incurable diseases and injuries, Stem Cell Awareness Day is a time for hope. In honor of the occasion, USC Stem Cell, …

Embryonic stem cells (Image/courtesy of Qi-Long Ying); featured image for USC researcher reveals how to better master stem cells’ fate

USC researcher reveals how to better master stem cells’ fate

USC scientist Qi-Long Ying and a team of researchers have long been searching for biotech’s version of the fountain of youth — ways to encourage embryonic stem cells (ESCs) and epiblast stem …

Judy Villablanca (Photo courtesy of Children's Hospital Los Angeles)

Magnetic treatment for high-risk neuroblastoma proves less than attractive

Removing tumor cells with a magnet? It may sound strange, but researchers at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) and their colleagues recently explored whether this technique can create better outcomes for patients …

Yang Chai (Photo courtesy of the Ostrow School of Dentistry of USC); featured image for Ostrow School study links growth factor glitch to tongue defects

Ostrow School study links growth factor glitch to tongue defects

New findings about how cell signaling directs tongue development may have big clinical applications for healing tongue defects, according to an Ostrow School of Dentistry of USC study published in The Journal …

Compared with a normal zebrafish (top), this mutant (bottom) is a real bone head. (Image by Sandeep Paul and Seth Ruffins); featured image for Winner of the August 2013 USC Stem Cell Image of the Month Contest

Winner of the August 2013 USC Stem Cell Image of the Month Contest

Dr. Andrew McMahon and the judges of the USC Stem Cell Image of the Month contest would like to congratulate our August 2013 winners, Dr. Seth Ruffins and Sandeep Paul, a postdoc …

Speakers at the first first Zilkha Mini­Symposium on Alzheimer’s Research at USC covered a variety of topics on the devastating disease. Pictured here (left to right) are Christian Pike, PhD, associate professor, USC Davis School of Gerontology; Hong-Wei Dong, MD, PhD, associate professor, department of neurology; Roberta Brinton, PhD, R. Pete Vanderveen Chair in Therapeutic Discovery & Development; Maria Carrillo, vice president, medical and scientific relations, Alzheimer’s Association; Russell Jacobs, PhD, member, Zilkha Neurogenetic Institute; Arthur W. Toga, PhD, Provost Professor of Ophthalmology, Neurology, Psychiatry and the Behavioral Sciences, Radiology and Engineering; director of the USC Institute for Neuroimaging and Informatics; Paul Thompson, PhD, professor of ophthalmology, neurology, psychiatry and the behavioral sciences, radiology and engineering; Helena Chui, MD, Raymond and Betty McCarron Chair in Neurology; Lon Schneider, MD, director, USC Alzheimer Disease Research and Clinical Center; Berislav Zlokovic, MD, PhD, director, Zilkha Neurogenetic Institute; and Scott Fraser, PhD, Provost Professor of Biological Sciences and Biomedical Engineering. (Photo by Amy E. Hamaker); featured image for First Zilkha Alzheimer’s Mini-Symposium examines vascular system connections

First Zilkha Alzheimer’s Mini-Symposium examines vascular system connections

Alzheimer’s disease is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States, and more than five million Americans live with the disease, according to the Alzheimer’s Association. Conquering Alzheimer’s was the …

From left, Andrew P. McMahon, director of the Eli and Edythe Broad Center for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research, with Yong Chen’s son Gary and researcher Qi-Long Ying (Photo by Cristy Lytal); featured image for Businessman invests in stem cell research at USC

Businessman invests in stem cell research at USC

Chinese businessman Yong Chen has pledged $1 million to USC stem cell researcher Qi-Long Ying to support his future “eureka moments.” “When I talked to Mr. Chen, I told him that groundbreaking …

Neural stem cells derived from self-renewing mouse embryonic stem cells (Image courtesy of Qi-Long Ying); featured image for A special protein helps embryonic stem cells keep their options open

A special protein helps embryonic stem cells keep their options open

In the ongoing quest to understand how embryonic stem cells (ESCs) retain their ability to differentiate into virtually any kind of cell, USC faculty member Qi-Long Ying and a team of researchers …

From left, Gage Crump, Jay R. Lieberman and Francesca Mariani (Photo by Cristy Lytal); featured image for USC announces winners of first Regenerative Medicine Initiative awards

USC announces winners of first Regenerative Medicine Initiative awards

Three newly assembled disease teams within USC Stem Cell will take the early steps this year that might lead to future stem-cell based therapies for certain forms of deafness, bone defects and …

Qi-Long Ying (Photo by Cristy Lytal); featured image for A genetic catch-22 promotes and prevents liver cancer

A genetic catch-22 promotes and prevents liver cancer

Can the same gene prevent and promote cancer? When it comes to liver cancer, the gene that codes for P53, a protein found in humans and many other animals, involves this catch-22. …

Songtao Shi, DDS, PhD (Photo courtesy of the Ostrow School of Dentistry of USC); featured image for Stem cells found in gum tissue can fight inflammatory disease

Stem cells found in gum tissue can fight inflammatory disease

Stem cells found in mouth tissue can not only become other types of cells but can also relieve inflammatory disease, according to a new Ostrow School of Dentistry of USC study in …