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Dr. Crump uses zebrafish to understand how the cartilages and bones of our faces are patterned during development. His lab is discovering the local tissue-tissue interactions that control skeletal differentiation and morphogenesis in vivo, and also exploring novel ways of regenerating bone in adults.

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Building an Incubator for Medicine of the 21st Century

Building an Incubator for Medicine of the 21st Century

USC Stem Cell is pleased to introduce our new publication. We hope you’ll enjoy reflecting back on our history, while looking ahead to the transformative times to come. Read now at https://stemcell.keck.usc.edu/wp-content/themes/stemcell/incubator.

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 …

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 …

At the lab bench (Photo by Chris Shinn)

Call for Applications: NIH T32 PhD Fellowships in Developmental Biology, Stem Cells, and Regeneration

All PhD students who are conducting research related to developmental biology, stem cell biology, and/or regenerative medicine are encouraged to apply for a training fellowship. We have one slot available for a …

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 …

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 …

Kuo-Chang (Ted) Tseng from the Crump Lab and Michelle Hung from the Ichida Lab enjoy a beachside brainstorm.

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 …

A zebrafish showing the skeleton and jaw (magenta), the eye (green circle on the left), and gill-like pseudobranch and gills (green structures on the right). (Image by Mathi Thiruppathy/Crump Lab)

How did vertebrates first evolve jaws?

Five-hundred million years ago, it was relatively safe to go back in the water. That’s because creatures of the deep had not yet evolved jaws. In a new pair of studies in …

Pipetting (Photo by Chris Shinn)

2022 Call for Applications: NIH T32 PhD Fellowships in Developmental Biology, Stem Cells, and Regeneration

All PhD students who are conducting research related to developmental biology, stem cell biology, and/or regenerative medicine are encouraged to apply for a training fellowship. We have several slots available for both …

Natasha Raj-Derouin (Photo courtesy of Natasha Raj-Derouin)

Where are they now? Stem cell master’s program alumna Natasha Raj-Derouin, an MD pursuing reproductive endocrinology and infertility

In this series of alumni profiles, we highlight graduates of USC’s master of science program in stem cell biology and regenerative medicine. Our accomplished alumni have pursued many different paths—ranging from a …

Confocal microscopy image of an adult zebrafish head with neural crest-derived cells in red. The Crump lab has used single-cell sequencing to understand how these cells build and repair the head skeleton, with implications for understanding human craniofacial birth defects and improving repair of skeletal tissues. (Image by Hung-Jhen Chen/Crump Lab)

A crowning achievement in understanding head development

Cranial neural crest cells, or CNCCs, contribute to many more body parts than their humble name suggests. These remarkable stem cells not only form most of the skull and facial skeleton in …

Image courtesy of the Ostrow School of Dentistry of USC

USC collaboration helps FaceBase reach 1,000-dataset milestone

The data repository allows craniofacial scientists to share data, which could ultimately lead to improved care for patients with craniofacial developmental disorders. Rapid technological development in the past decade has allowed scientists …

Students

California’s stem cell agency awards USC $5 million to train scientists and clinicians

USC has been awarded a $5 million training grant from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) to prepare PhD students, postdoctoral researchers, and clinical fellows for careers in stem cell research. …

The coronal suture contains stem cells (green).

Study of skull birth defect takes it from the top

Contrary to the popular song, the neck bone is actually connected to one of 22 separate head bones that make up the human skull. These plate-like bones intersect at specialized joints called …

Scott Fraser by Noe Montes

USC Professor Scott E. Fraser redefines impossible problems

USC Professor Scott E. Fraser is known for inventing new microscopes and other tools to observe living, developing embryos. But one of his lab’s most important pieces of technology filters coffee instead …

Robert E. Maxson

USC celebrates Robert E. Maxson’s lifetime of achievement and adventure

USC Emeritus Professor Robert E. Maxson has an understated explanation for why he’s flown so many planes, sailed so many boats, skied so many mountains, played so many guitars, taken so many …

Pituitary fish

Flaws emerge in modeling human genetic diseases in animals

My lab, based at the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine, uses zebrafish to model human birth defects affecting the face. When I tell people this, they are often skeptical …

Pituitary fish

Pituitary puzzle gets a new piece, revising evolutionary history

Insights into century-old controversy about key gland’s development arise from research led by the Keck School of Medicine of USC A new USC-led study suggests a change to the developmental — and …

USC's stem cell research center

California’s biggest stem cell experiment: The impact of the stem cell ballot proposition at USC

In 2008, USC broke ground on an $80 million building dedicated solely to stem cell research and regenerative medicine. The plans called for a monolithic structure clad in black marble and reflective …

Osteophyte

When it comes to arthritic bone spurs, stem cells hurt instead of heal

The same stem cells that heal broken bones can also generate arthritic bone spurs called osteophytes, according to a new study in the Annals of Rheumatic Diseases. “Although these stem and progenitor …

Gage Crump, PhD