With support from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), USC Stem Cell welcomes teens to campus for education and outreach that opens their eyes to future career possibilities.
The buzzer chimed, and the game show contestant spoke up: “Skin stem cells!” With that correct response for “This is the cell type that helps repair a tissue that protects us from the environment,” her team earned 300 points in a tightly contested game of Stem Cell Jeopardy.
The game was one highlight of Stem Cell Day, which brought students from L.A.-area high schools to USC’s Health Sciences Campus for fun and informative activities, instilling the basics of regenerative medicine and giving an up-close look at biomedical research. The event was the second in a series organized this year by USC Stem Cell with funding from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM).
In addition to vying for a win in Stem Cell Jeopardy, 30 students toured research labs and participated in hands-on activities to learn basic lab skills.
Quadruple the fun
Held March 28, 2026, this iteration of Stem Cell Day featured graduate students and postdoctoral scholars supported through the CIRM EDUC4 Scholars Research Training Grant who were coordinated by leaders in the USC CIRM Advancing Stem Cell Education and Novel Discoveries (ASCEND) Shared Resource Laboratory. Guests came from three schools in El Monte Union High School District via a program of the nonprofit LA LEARN.
“A lot of these students are at a stage where they are deciding where to go to college and what to study,” said Louise Menendez, PhD, assistant professor of stem cell biology and regenerative medicine at the Keck School of Medicine of USC. “We highlight that laboratory research drives advances in medicine, so there are meaningful ways to contribute even if they don’t plan on being doctors.”
The day kicked off with a welcome presentation covering stem cell basics from Francesca Mariani, PhD, associate professor of stem cell biology and regenerative medicine. The students then split into four groups that rotated through exercises, which took them to different areas in USC’s stem cell research center.
In two of the stations, students gowned up, picked up pipettes and got firsthand experience working with stem cells derived from mice. In one exercise, students were guided through the steps of staining to make cells visible, then examined their features under microscopes. In another activity, students counted cells in a Petri dish.
“It’s a great way to demonstrate the fundamentals of lab technique,” said Connor Fausto, a third-year student in the PhD program in Development, Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine. “We help them see how science happens, from the very beginning. Counting cells and viewing the nucleus under a microscope are steps we take pretty much every day, and it’s exciting to share this kind of cool thing with someone for the first time.”
Lab tours took students through the research labs of Mariani and Michael Bonaguidi, PhD, associate professor of stem cell biology and regenerative medicine, gerontology, biomedical engineering, and neurological surgery, and assistant director of the USC Neurorestoration Center.
In the Mariani Lab, PhD student Mackenzie Fernandez discussed why and how their team studies the mechanisms that enable ribs to regenerate when damaged — knowledge that could lead to therapies that speed up healing or even help regrow other bones. Postdoctoral researcher Aswathy Ammothumkandy gave a tour of the Bonaguidi Lab while talking through methods to observe how neural stem cells develop into new brain cells, and the implications for using neural stem cells to treat conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease.
Guests got a close look at samples of bones and brain tissue from mice and humans, and visited the rooms where USC Stem Cell scientists study cells and edit genes to perform experiments.
Stem Cell Jeopardy tested — and expanded — the high schoolers’ knowledge of topics such as cell biology, genes and stem cell history. Correct responses scored points, and when the contestants couldn’t come up with answers, they received quick primers on everything from non-maleficence, the ethical principle requiring scientists to minimize harm, to cell therapies used to treat blood cancers.
Demystifying science, one student at a time
For some of the ASCEND-backed trainees who organized the event, the outreach mission hits close to home.
“In my undergrad and master’s days, I didn’t have opportunities like this one,” said Mohammad Shariq, PhD, a USC Stem Cell postdoctoral researcher. “I just want to give back and help motivate these students to be part of the next generation of scientists.”
The first 2026 Stem Cell Day took place on March 8. That event hosted 48 students from nearby Francisco Bravo High School as well as students attending as part of an initiative of the nonprofit Jack and Jill of America. The session was organized by USC undergraduate scholars from the USC CIRM Creating Opportunities through Mentorship and Partnership Across Stem Cell Science Scholars (COMPASS) program.
According to Mariani, programs like these play a vital role in humanizing the often-misrepresented world of research.
“It’s important to demystify what it means to be a scientist,” Mariani said. “There’s this image of the mad scientist, and we want students to understand that it’s just regular people doing this work. We also want them to see that it’s not such a far reach for them to become scientists themselves.”