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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); featured image for USC Stem Cell mouse studies tune into hearing regeneration

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

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); featured image for Ten USC Stem Cell PhD students and recent graduates earn NIH fellowships

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; featured image for USC Stem Cell faculty member Louise Menendez helps students realize their pluri-potential

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); featured image for USC Stem Cell’s journey towards 1,000 mini-kidneys begins with $1 million from KidneyX

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

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); featured image for The Keck School of Medicine of USC celebrates the graduates of the master’s, doctoral, and nurse anesthesia programs

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); featured image for Stem cell faculty member Francesca Mariani wins USC’s highest honor for outstanding teaching

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); featured image for Why does a leukemic mutation not always lead to leukemia? A new clue from a mouse study at USC

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); featured image for How to assemble a complete jaw

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; featured image for For USC Stem Cell scientist Yulia Shwartz, science gives her goosebumps

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); featured image for USC Stem Cell-led studies point the way to broadly effective treatments for ALS

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); featured image for Why multipotent progenitor cells matter for patients receiving bone marrow transplants

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 …

DNA (Image by Christoph Bock/Max Planck Institute for Informatics); featured image for How to rewind the clock on arthritic cartilage … stat!

How to rewind the clock on arthritic cartilage … stat!

A new study in Aging Cell describes how a key protein, called Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription 3 (STAT3), might turn back the clock on aging cartilage that leads to osteoarthritis. …

Professor Justin Ichida leads a class for USC's stem cell master's students (Photo by Chris Shinn)

Scholarships change lives in USC’s stem cell master’s program: Five students’ stories

For one scholarship recipient in the master’s program in stem cell biology and regenerative medicine, USC is just close enough to his mother’s house to commute and save on rent. For another, …

Kuo-Chang (Ted) Tseng from the Crump Lab and Michelle Hung from the Ichida Lab enjoy a beachside brainstorm.; featured image for Scientists feel the sand between their toes at the retreat for USC’s stem cell department

Scientists feel the sand between their toes at the retreat for USC’s stem cell department

A pair of young scientists picked up a piece of driftwood and thoughtfully traced a series of letters in the wet sand of Ventura Beach. The word “microglia”—referring to the immune cells …

Albert Almada; featured image for USC Stem Cell scientist Albert Almada receives a grant from the American Federation for Aging Research (AFAR) and Glenn Foundation for Medical Research

USC Stem Cell scientist Albert Almada receives a grant from the American Federation for Aging Research (AFAR) and Glenn Foundation for Medical Research

Most senior citizens don’t have bulging biceps. USC Stem Cell scientist Albert Almada is uncovering the reasons why with support from a $125,000 grant from the American Federation for Aging Research (AFAR) …

Justin Ichida (left) and Zhongwei Li (Photos by Chris Shinn and courtesy of Zhongwei Li); featured image for USC Stem Cell scientists Justin Ichida and Zhongwei Li receive NIH Director’s Awards

USC Stem Cell scientists Justin Ichida and Zhongwei Li receive NIH Director’s Awards

It’s hard to obtain research funding for safe ideas, and it’s even harder to find funding for risky ones. But thanks to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director’s Awards, USC Stem …

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

USC COMPASS undergraduate program points the way to stem cell careers

To promote inclusive excellence in science, USC will be offering a new program for undergraduates from historically underrepresented backgrounds with an interest in studying stem cell biology and regenerative medicine. Known as …