Three scientists from Keck Medicine of USC have won grants exceeding $4.3 million from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) for research that includes creating a temporary liver for patients, finding novel ways to treat immune disorders and blood diseases, and developing new animal models for heart failure, diabetes and neurodegenerative diseases. The grants, …

Ten percent of all patients with two neurodegenerative diseases — frontotemperal dementia (FTD) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease — possess a mutation in the same gene. Justin Ichida, assistant professor of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, has received a Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) research grant totaling $300,000 over …