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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)

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)

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)

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 …

The 2023 Mammalian Synthetic Biology Workshop (Photo courtesy of Catcher Salazar)

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 …

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)

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 …

Neural stem cells derived from patients with ALS or frontotemporal dementia (Image by Eric Hendricks/Ichida Lab)

ALS and frontotemporal dementia show origins in utero, according to evidence from mice and patient-derived stem cells

Even though neurodegenerative diseases often strike in middle age or later, patients could have structural differences in their brains that arise before birth. In a new study in Cell Reports, USC Stem …

Rows of sensory hearing cells (green) next to supporting cells (red) in the inner ear of a mouse (Image by John Duc Nguyen and Juan Llamas/Segil Lab)

USC Stem Cell mouse studies tune into hearing regeneration

A deafened adult cannot recover the ability to hear, because the sensory hearing cells of the inner ear don’t regenerate after damage. In two new studies, partially funded by the National Institutes …

Alma Zuniga Munoz and Albert Almada (Photo by Cristy Lytal)

Stem Cell PhD student Alma Zuniga Munoz wins USC’s first Gilliam Fellowship from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Alma Zuniga Munoz, a student in USC’s PhD program in Development, Stem Cells, and Regeneration, is used to being the first. She’s a first-generation American, the first member of her extended family …

At the lab bench (Photo by Chris Shinn)

Ten USC Stem Cell PhD students and recent graduates earn NIH fellowships

Ten USC Stem Cell PhD students and recent graduates have been awarded fellowships from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Known as F31 awards, these prestigious fellowships provide promising PhD students with …

Louise Menendez

USC Stem Cell faculty member Louise Menendez helps students realize their pluri-potential

Louise Menendez, the newest assistant professor in USC’s Department of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, credits her mother as her first role model for career success. Both of Menendez’s parents work …

From left, Fokion Glykofrydis, Nils Lindström, Leonardo Morsut, and Connor Fausto (Photo by Sergio Bianco)

USC Stem Cell’s journey towards 1,000 mini-kidneys begins with $1 million from KidneyX

To help patients in need of transplants, artificial kidneys would have to function like their natural counterparts, but they wouldn’t necessarily have to look like them. With a new $1 million prize …

Senta Georgia

Senta Georgia reflects on Title IX and becoming the first Black PhD scientist to earn tenure at the Keck School of Medicine of USC

When USC Stem Cell researcher Senta Georgia was granted tenure on March 10, 2023, she became the first Black PhD scientist to earn this promotion in the history of the Keck School …

From left, Francesca Mariani, Dean Carolyn C. Meltzer, Helena Bugacov, Bohdana-Myroslava Briantseva, and Andy McMahon (Photo by Maritza Montalvo)

The Keck School of Medicine of USC celebrates the graduates of the master’s, doctoral, and nurse anesthesia programs

“I now declare commencement ceremonies for the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California open!” announced Francesca Mariani, associate professor of stem cell biology and regenerative medicine, and integrative …

Francesca Mariani in her lab (Photo by Chris Shinn)

Stem cell faculty member Francesca Mariani wins USC’s highest honor for outstanding teaching

When Francesca Mariani learned that she would receive USC’s highest honor for outstanding teaching, a 2023 Associates Award for Excellence in Teaching, it took her by surprise. “Sometimes it feels mysterious as …

A student in the teaching lab in USC's stem cell research center (Photo by Chris Shinn)

USC introduces an undergraduate minor in stem cell biology and regenerative medicine

Starting in Fall 2023, USC will offer one of the few undergraduate minors in stem cell biology and regenerative medicine in the U.S. “What we hope to do with the minor is …

From left, study authors Jiya Eerdeng, Ivon Garcia, Rong Lu, Charles Bramlett, Mary Vergel-Rodriguez, and Yeachan Lee (Photo by Bowen Wang)

Why does a leukemic mutation not always lead to leukemia? A new clue from a mouse study at USC

Why do some people with a genetic mutation associated with leukemia remain healthy, while others with the same mutation develop the blood cancer? In a new study published in Blood, scientists from …

One-week-old zebrafish with jaw cartilage in blue, tendons in magenta and jaw muscles in white. (Image by Hung-Jhen (Olivia) Chen/Crump Lab)

How to assemble a complete jaw

A USC-led team of scientists has made a drool-worthy discovery about how tendons and salivary glands develop in the jaw. Their results are published in a new study in Developmental Cell. In …

Yulia Shwartz

For USC Stem Cell scientist Yulia Shwartz, science gives her goosebumps

When USC Stem Cell scientist Yulia Shwartz experiences the thrill of scientific discovery, she often thinks of a line that Charles Darwin wrote in The Voyage of the Beagle: “every traveller must …

Human induced motor neurons. Motor neurons are green, and neurons are purple. (Image courtesy of the Ichida Lab)

USC Stem Cell-led studies point the way to broadly effective treatments for ALS

Each year in the U.S., 5,000 patients receive a diagnosis of ALS, an incurable neurodegenerative disease that will likely kill them within two to five years. In the quest to find a …

Rong Lu Lab (Photo by Chris Shinn)

Why multipotent progenitor cells matter for patients receiving bone marrow transplants

When patients receive bone marrow transplants, they are infused with complex admixtures of many different cell types with the power to regenerate their blood and immune systems. In a new study in …

Cristy Lytal