$300,000 grant supports multi-institutional approach to ovarian cancer treatment research

By Amy E. Hamaker

Michael F. Press, the Harold E. Lee Chair in Cancer Research and professor of pathology at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, was recently supported by a grant from the Dr. Miriam and Sheldon G. Adelson Medical Research Foundation enabling him to collaborate with researchers from several other institutions on the genetics of ovarian cancer.  Courtesy Michael F. Press Michael F. Press, the Harold E. Lee Chair in Cancer Research and professor of pathology at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, was recently supported by a grant from the Dr. Miriam and Sheldon G. Adelson Medical Research Foundation enabling him to collaborate with researchers from several other institutions on the genetics of ovarian cancer.
Courtesy Michael F. Press

Ovarian cancer frequently goes undiagnosed until it has spread, making it difficult to treat and often fatal. Research into genetic mechanisms of ovarian cancer at USC recently received a boost thanks to a grant of more than $300,000 from the Dr. Miriam and Sheldon G. Adelson Medical Research Foundation.

Michael F. Press, the Harold E. Lee Chair in Cancer Research at the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center and professor of pathology at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, received $317,000 for the project “Potential Assays for Patient Selection to Ovarian Cancer Clinical Trials.” Press and his collaborators will continue their work into analyzing genomic alterations and determining how those alterations can be used to map specific treatments for individual patients.  Read More »

May 28th, 2013|Announcements|

New kidney diagnosis center established with $600,000 gift

By Amy E. Hamaker

Excellent care and kind treatments prompted Glen Miller and his wife Wendy to help establish the Glen and Wendy Miller/Inderbir Gill Kidney Cancer Research Program. Courtesy Glen Miller Excellent care and kind treatments prompted Glen Miller and his wife Wendy to help establish the Glen and Wendy Miller/Inderbir Gill Kidney Cancer Research Program.
Courtesy Glen Miller

Glen Miller could never have guessed that a 15-year-old X-ray from a snowmobile accident would lead him to the USC doctor who would change his life.

“Other than a busted ego, I was basically fine after the accident,” said Miller, CEO of Diversified Financial Management Corp. and one of the founders of the Glen and Wendy Miller Family Foundation, a not-for-profit corporation located in Bannockburn, Ill.

The X-ray became important again, years later when Miller’s doctor found a growth on his kidney after prostate problems. “You can see the growth on the old X-ray, although the emergency room staff hadn’t been looking at my kidneys at the time,” he said. Read More »

May 28th, 2013|Announcements|

HSC celebrates as graduates step up to make their mark

By Josh Grossberg

It somehow all flew by in an instant. But here she was, after four years of medical school, receiving her diploma and officially becoming a doctor.

And as if it didn’t go by fast enough, Kaitlin Carroll was the first person called on stage to receive her diploma at the Keck School of Medicine of USC’s commencement ceremony May 18 at the Shrine Auditorium.

USC School of Pharmacy graduate Justin Shintani flashes a victory sign at the school’s May 17 commencement ceremony. Photo/Jon Nalick USC School of Pharmacy graduate Justin Shintani flashes a victory sign at the school’s May 17 commencement ceremony.
Photo/Jon Nalick

“It’s been eight years since high school,” said Carroll, who also served as the co-president of the student body. “It’s blown by.”

With more than 2,000 family members cheering and waving, the Keck School class entered the hall at the start of the ceremony. The class included 154 M.D. graduates, with three of them also receiving a Ph.D., one an M.B.A. and one an M.P.H.

It was one of several graduation ceremonies held during the week for students in various fields of study across the Health Sciences campus.

The newly minted doctors received a wide range of send-offs that were in turn solemn, poignant and funny.

Commencement speaker, and recipient of the Dean’s Humanitarian Award Robert K. Ross, president and CEO of the California Endowment, wove a story about a 2-year-old boy who was rushed to the hospital after being found in the bottom of a swimming pool. Ross was a resident at the time and got to know the family over the course of the boy’s treatment. The initial news was not good, and the family was offered the chance to remove the boy from his respirator. But they refused, deciding instead to hope for the best.

Ross lost touch with the family, but seven years later received a telephone call. On the other end was the young boy, who was then 9.

“I was talking to a miracle,” Ross told the audience. Read More »

May 23rd, 2013|Announcements|

Nobel Laureate discusses key stem cell work

By Josh Grossberg

 Cells can be stubborn things. A skin cell resists changing into a liver cell, and a heart cell wants to remain a heart cell.

Nobel Laureate Sir John Gurdon lectures on stem cells on May 16 at Aresty Auditorium. Photo/Steve Cohn Nobel Laureate Sir John Gurdon lectures on stem cells on May 16 at Aresty Auditorium.
Photo/Steve Cohn

But with the right kind of manipulation, they can be changed—a skin cell can turn into a liver cell or even a pulsing heart cell, Nobel Laureate Sir John Gurdon told a crowd of students, faculty and staff at a talk on May 16 in the Aresty Auditorium.

“The process of cell differentiation is remarkably stable,” Gurdon said. “Very rarely do cells of one kind switch into another kind. We don’t have skin in our brain or liver in our muscles. Nevertheless, it can happen.”

Making it happen is what earned Gurdon the 2012 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. In the early 1960s, he was able to replace the immature nucleus in a frog egg cell with the nucleus from a mature intestinal cell. The modified egg developed into a normal frog with the DNA of the mature cells.

In his talk, “Nuclear Transplantation to Prospects of Cell Replacement,” Gurdon told about the advances made in the areas of cloning and nuclear transplantation since his discovery that mature cells can be reprogrammed to develop into different kinds of tissue. Read More »

May 23rd, 2013|Announcements|

Harlyne J. Norris receives Elaine Stevely Hoffman Award

Harlyne J. Norris received the Elaine Stevely Hoffman Award during commencement ceremonies for the Keck School of Medicine of USC. Through the Norris Foundation, the Norris family has donated nearly $200 million to USC. Photo/Steve Cohn Harlyne J. Norris received the Elaine Stevely Hoffman Award during commencement ceremonies for the Keck School of Medicine of USC. Through the Norris Foundation, the Norris family has donated nearly $200 million to USC.
Photo/Steve Cohn

By Josh Grossberg

For her and her family’s decades-long commitment to health care at USC, Harlyne J. Norris received the Elaine Stevely Hoffman Award during commencement ceremonies for the Keck School of Medicine of USC, held on May 18 at the Shrine Auditorium.

Before she accepted the honor, Keck School Dean Carmen A. Puliafito thanked her for her “longstanding contribution and unwavering dedication to the Keck School of Medicine and its people.

“She serves as a trusted adviser to the president of the university on health care matters,” he said.

The honor comes as the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center celebrates its 40th anniversary. The cancer center is part of the Keck School.

“The Norris relationship with the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center goes back to a lead gift that her husband, Kenneth Norris Jr., made to the center,” Puliafito said.

A trustee and past chairman of the Kenneth T. and Eileen L. Norris Foundation, Harlyne Norris is a renowned medical benefactor. Through the Norris Foundation, the Norris family has donated nearly $200 million to USC. The family’s legacy can be seen across both the Health Sciences and University Park campuses —from the USC Norris Cancer Hospital and Norris Medical Library to the Norris Cinema Theater and Norris Dental Science Center. Read More »

May 23rd, 2013|Announcements|

USC Norris study validates way to improve breast cancer survival

A new study from the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center shows targeting both hormone receptors (HRs) and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) in first-line treatment of metastatic breast cancer patients significantly increased overall survival times.

A team of researchers led by Debu Tripathy, professor of medicine at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, looked at data provided by RegistHER, a prospective, observational study of 1,023 newly diagnosed HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer patients. Read More »

May 23rd, 2013|Announcements|

HSC Newsmakers

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May 23rd, 2013|Announcements|

2013 Keck School Senior and Faculty Awards

Keck School of Medicine honorees Kayla Dewey and Caitlin Carroll display their awards after the May 16 ceremony. Keck School of Medicine honorees Kayla Dewey and Caitlin Carroll display their awards after the May 16 ceremony.

The Keck School of Medicine Senior Awards Ceremony was held on May 16 on campus. Awards were granted to outstanding Doctor of Medicine candidates on the basis of excellence in academic achievement, research and service.

Read More »

May 20th, 2013|Announcements|

Keck Medical Center of USC patient turns room into art gallery

By Josh Grossberg

Patient Dominic Quagliozzi made 20 paintings that reflected the pain and the loneliness he felt during his 11-day hospital stay. Patient Dominic Quagliozzi made 20 paintings that reflected the pain and the loneliness he felt during his 11-day hospital stay.

Dominic Quagliozzi was looking for a unique place to display his artwork. He found it in his hospital room at the Keck Medical Center of USC.

Unusual, yes, but certainly appropriate. Quagliozzi made the art while recovering from an acute exacerbation episode of his cystic fibrosis, a genetic condition that lands him in the hospital two or three times a year.

Quagliozzi channeled his illness through his art, giving viewers a chance to see what cystic fibrosis looks like—at least through the eyes of a trained artist.

In all, he made 20 paintings that reflected the pain and the loneliness he felt during his 11-day hospital stay. An additional image was projected on a bathroom wall. Read More »

May 17th, 2013|Announcements|

Research team awarded $11 million grant to fight stroke

By Josh Grossberg

USC researchers and their partners across Los Angeles County have been awarded an $11 million grant to fund research on community-based interventions to reduce the higher rates of stroke and death from stroke among economically disadvantaged Hispanics, African-Americans and Asian-Americans.

Amytis Towfighi Amytis Towfighi

The Los Angeles Stroke Prevention/Intervention Research Program in Health Disparities is a multi-partnered research center, funded by the National Institutes of Health. The center, led by Barbara Vickrey, professor of neurology at UCLA, will conduct two randomized, controlled community-based trials of stroke prevention interventions.

Amytis Towfighi, assistant professor of neurology at the Keck School of Medicine of USC and associate chief medical officer of Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center, will co-lead the larger trial in the five-year study.

“The reason we’re targeting this population is because minorities are at high risk for stroke and are less likely to receive appropriate stroke preventive services than whites,” Towfighi said. “We plan to bridge this gap.” Read More »

May 16th, 2013|Announcements|

YOU SAY “POTATO,” I SAY “BATTERY”

More than 150 students from elementary schools surrounding USC’s Health Sciences campus participated in the 13th annual HSC Science Fair, held May 9, on the Harry and Celesta Pappas Quad. Read More »

May 16th, 2013|Announcements|

Occupational Therapy kicks off $6 million fundraising initiative

By Mike McNulty

The USC Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy announced its entry into the Campaign for the University of Southern California on April 27 before a capacity crowd of over 400 Trojans gathered at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront hotel ballroom.

The kickoff celebration, scheduled to coincide with the annual conference of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA), included live entertainment, a video presentation, and a toast from Associate Dean and Chair Florence Clark. Read More »

May 16th, 2013|Announcements|

Buitrago named to Keck Medical Center of USC leadership team

By USC Health Sciences Public Relations and Marketing

A seasoned health care executive with decades of experience in the Los Angeles market has been tapped to lead Keck Medical Center’s managed care strategy.

Carol Buitrago joined USC April 30 and serves as executive administrator for managed care and community medical group development, leading the creation and implementation of a managed care strategy for the clinical enterprise. Read More »

May 16th, 2013|Announcements|

New research elucidates a complex gene regulatory circuit

By Candace Pearson

Piece by missing piece, scientists at the Keck School of Medicine of USC are deciphering the powerful gene regulatory circuit that maintains and controls the potential of embryonic stem cells (ESCs) to form any type of cell in the body.

Recent findings by Andrew McMahon, director and Provost Professor, and Qilong Ying, associate professor of cell and neurobiology, at the Eli and Edythe Broad Center for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at USC, underscore the essential role of basic science in paving the way for future medical breakthroughs. Read More »

May 16th, 2013|Announcements|

CHLA speakers stress STEM subjects for girls

By Josh Grossberg

The message to the dozens of school-aged girls was simple—with hard work and diligence, they can achieve meaningful and successful careers in science, technology, engineering and math—the so-called STEM subjects.

And to prove the point, the message was delivered by some of the top female professionals in those fields during a recent symposium at The Saban Research Institute of Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. Among the presenters were several from Keck School of Medicine of USC who perform research at the institute.

The April 24 event, “Women in STEM: Designing, Discovering and Delivering Change,” was in part a response to First Lady Michelle Obama’s call last year to encourage more girls and women to study STEM subjects. Read More »

May 16th, 2013|Announcements|

Director of global health sees cause for optimism on climate change

By Ina Fried

Images of shrinking glaciers and stranded polar bears give powerful evidence of the need for people to work together on the common problem of protecting the planet. Adding art and the voices of community leaders to the data scientists are compiling may help convince decision makers to take action to deal with climate change, said Jonathan Samet, director of the USC Institute for Global Health.

Samet spoke on challenges and opportunities in arts and health care and the need for stewardship of the planet at an Earth Day Forum on April 22 at Los Angeles City Hall. Read More »

May 16th, 2013|Announcements|

CHLA names Levitt inaugural director of Developmental Neurogenetics

By Ellin Kavanagh

Pat Levitt, USC Provost Professor of Neuroscience, Pharmacy, Psychiatry, Pediatrics and Psychology, has been named inaugural director of the Developmental Neurogenetics Program of the newly created Institute for the Developing Mind within The Saban Research Institute of Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.

The Institute for the Developing Mind, envisioned to become an internationally recognized center for innovative research, diagnosis and treatment of neurodevelopmental and behavioral disorders, will provide comprehensive, interdisciplinary research and clinical services at CHLA and the Keck School of Medicine of USC. Read More »

May 16th, 2013|Announcements|

HSC Newsmakers

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May 16th, 2013|Announcements|

Psychiatry resident wins two key awards

By Josh Grossberg

Beating out hundreds of entrants, a third-year psychiatry resident at the Keck School of Medicine of USC has recently been named the winner of two separate prestigious awards.

Sean Sassano-Higgins was one of only 13 people in the country chosen for a GAP Fellowship, awarded by the Group for the Advancement of Psychiatry. Read More »

May 16th, 2013|Announcements|

Study shows dual targeting of HER2 and HR-positive metastatic breast cancer improves survival rates

By USC Health Sciences Public Relations and Marketing

A new study from the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center shows targeting both hormone receptors (HRs) and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) in first-line treatment of metastatic breast cancer (MBC) patients significantly increased overall survival times.

A team of researchers led by Debu Tripathy, professor of medicine at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, looked at data provided by RegistHER, a prospective, observational study of 1,023 newly diagnosed HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer patients. They found that hormonal therapy given with the anti-HER2 antibody trastuzumab (Herceptin) and chemotherapy is associated with improved survival and progression-free survival outcomes, compared to no hormonal therapy. Read More »

May 16th, 2013|Announcements|