Keck Medicine announces new Center for Neurorestoration

By Alison Trinidad

Patients who suffer from uncontrolled epilepsy now have new treatment options at Keck Medicine of USC, thanks to the recent founding of the USC Center for Neurorestoration.

The center proposes to physically test innovative neural engineering and basic neuroscience to restore neurological circuitry and function within the human brain.

Christianne Heck, MD, MMM, associate professor of neurology at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, medical director of the USC Comprehensive Epilepsy Program, and Charles Liu, MD, PhD, professor of neurosurgery and neurology at the Keck School, surgical director of the USC Comprehensive Epilepsy Program, are co-directors of the new center. Heck and Liu worked extensively over the last three years to build USC’s Level 4 epilepsy program. … Read More »

January 14th, 2014|Announcements|

USC and CHLA launch imaging lab for translational research

By Ellin Kavanagh and Cristy Lytal

With the launch of the Translational Biomedical Imaging Laboratory (TBIL), investigators at USC and The Saban Research Institute of Children’s Hospital Los Angeles moved medical science closer to a day when diseases can be detected before symptoms appear.

TBIL is a unique, interdisciplinary collaboration that combines dynamic equipment, including state-of-the-art microscopes for imaging living specimens and whole organs, with an intellectual infrastructure of optical physicists, computer scientists, translational researchers and clinicians. … Read More »

January 14th, 2014|Announcements|

Air pollution and genetics combine to increase risk for autism

By Alison Trinidad

Exposure to air pollution appears to increase the risk for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) among people who carry a genetic disposition for the disorder, according to newly published research led by scientists at the Keck School of Medicine of USC.

“Our research shows that children with both the risk genotype and exposure to high air pollutant levels were at increased risk of autism spectrum disorder compared to those without the risk genotype and lower air pollution exposure,” said the study’s first author, Heather E. Volk, PhD, MPH, assistant professor of research in preventive medicine and pediatrics at the Keck School and principal investigator at The Saban Research Institute of Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. … Read More »

January 14th, 2014|Announcements|

Thomas Buchanan named Mayo H. Soley Award winner

By Amy Hamaker

Thomas A. Buchanan, MD, received the Mayo H. Soley Award for his dedication to research in diabetes and endocrinology. Thomas A. Buchanan, MD, received the Mayo H. Soley Award … Read More »

January 14th, 2014|Announcements|

Boxes of Medicine

Members of the Keck Medical Center of USC community demonstrated a generous holiday spirit as they donated food for needy families in east Los Angeles. The medical center partnered with Canning Hunger for its annual Boxes of Love event as the medical center’s first Thanksgiving food drive. … Read More »

January 14th, 2014|Announcements|