ZNI researcher receives grant to study the changing nature of amyloid proteins

By Amy E. Hamaker

Amyloid fibers, abnormal protein aggregates, have been associated with more than 20 serious human diseases, including neurological disorders such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Huntington’s diseases.

However, Ansgar Siemer, PhD, assistant professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at the Zilkha Neurogenetic Institute within the Keck School of Medicine of USC, is working on some amyloid fibers that can actually be necessary for long-term memory in fruit flies and other organisms.

Siemer will have the chance to research how this is possible thanks to a recent three-year award from the Whitehall Foundation. … Read More »

August 13th, 2013|Announcements|

CHLA team receives $1.25 million from NIH to continue research on pollution effects in Mongolia

Mongolia’s economic growth rate in 2012 was 12.3 percent — one of the highest in the world — but that same growth has caused rapid urbanization. These changes have resulted in serious health problems that Mongolia currently lacks the capacity to address. International support has come from volunteers, including a team of physicians and health-care professionals from Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA).

For the last 15 years, David Warburton, MD, professor developmental biology program in the Department of Pediatrics at the Keck School of Medicine of USC and part of the Saban Research Institute of CHLA, has been volunteering in Mongolia’s capital city of Ulaan Baatar and the surrounding Gobi Desert.

Recently, Warburton and his colleagues received a five-year, $1.25 million grant from the Fogarty International Center of the National Institutes of Health and the National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences to continue their research on air pollution and to build capacity among child health experts and government agencies in Mongolia. … Read More »

August 13th, 2013|Announcements|

USC researchers examine cancer incidence among Asian-Americans, Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders

Based on a comprehensive study that included more than half the U.S. Asian-American and Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander (NHOPI) populations, a team of scientists led by members of the Keck School of Medicine of USC and Cancer Prevention Institute of California (CPIC) has produced the first-ever analysis of national cancer incidence trends among 11 Asian-American and NHOPI groups.

The researchers examined rates and trends from 1990 through 2008, using data collected by 13 registries of the National Cancer Institute’s Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) Program. The groups studied in detail include Asian Indians/Pakistanis, Chinese, Filipinos, Guamanians/Chamorros, Japanese, Kampucheans (Cambodians), Koreans, Laotians, Native Hawaiians, Samoans and Vietnamese. … Read More »

August 12th, 2013|Announcements|

Ruth K. Peters, 69

Ruth K. Peters, ScD (nee Ruth Ann Kloepfer), died from complications of progressive supranuclear palsy on July 20. She was 69. … Read More »

August 12th, 2013|Announcements|

CLEAN HANDS = DISEASE PREVENTION

(Photo/Christine Tam) (Photo/Christine Tam)

Hundreds of people joined in a demonstration in proper hand hygiene given by members of Keck Medical Center of USC at a health fair on July 28. The … Read More »

August 9th, 2013|Announcements|

Community comment sought for Health Sciences Master Plan

By Amy E. Hamaker

Big changes are coming to the Health Sciences Campus neighborhood as part of the USC HSC Master Plan. As part of the community, USC recently invited neighborhood residents to add their input to the process.

Two special workshops on implementation of the HSC Master Plan and streetscape were held for community members on Aug. 3 and Aug. 8 at Hazard Park. The events were co-sponsored by the LA-32 Neighborhood Council and the office of Councilmember José Huizar.

Approved by university trustees in 2011, the Master Plan guides future campus growth for academic, research and clinical space over the next 25 to 30 years. Boundaries include Valley Blvd. (north), Soto St. (east), Zonal Ave. (south) and Mission Rd. (west). … Read More »

August 9th, 2013|Announcements|

John Ferrelli appointed chief administrative officer for USC Norris Cancer Hospital

John Ferrelli John Ferrelli

John Ferrelli has been appointed to the position of chief administrative officer (CAO) for USC Norris Cancer Hospital, effective Aug. 1. Ferrelli will be responsible for managing and coordinating the administrative, fiscal and operational activities of USC Norris Cancer Hospital.

“The CAO is a new position for our cancer hospital, and one that will be key in ensuring continued growth of inpatient and outpatient cancer services in and beyond the Health Sciences Campus,” said Scott Evans, PharmD, MHA, CEO of Keck Hospital of USC and USC Norris Cancer Hospital.

… Read More »

August 9th, 2013|Announcements|

USC announces winners of inaugural Regenerative Medicine Initiative Awards

By Cristy Lytal

Three newly assembled research teams within USC Stem Cell, the regenerative medicine initiative at USC, will take steps that could lead to future stem-cell based therapies for certain forms of deafness, bone defects and pediatric leukemia.

The teams are the winners of USC’s Regenerative Medicine Initiative (RMI), a University-wide program kick-started by $1.2 million in funding from the office of Carmen A. Puliafito, MD, MBA, dean of the Keck School of Medicine of USC. Each RMI Award provides up to $200,000 per year for two years to multi-investigator research collaborations that harness the full potential of USC-affiliated faculty members. … Read More »

August 9th, 2013|Announcements|

Thomas McAfee named CEO of new Keck Medicine of USC Medical Foundation

By Leslie Ridgeway

Thomas McAfee, MD, dean of clinical affairs at UC San Diego Health Sciences, has been appointed the CEO of the newly forming Keck Medicine of USC Medical Foundation. He begins his new role on Sept. 3.

The development of a community medical foundation intended to add primary and specialty practices into the Keck Medicine network was a key initiative identified as part of the clinical enterprise-­wide strategic plan. … Read More »

August 9th, 2013|Announcements|

Pasadena Magazine honors USC Doctors

USC physicians continued to make impressive gains this year in an annual ranking of doctors in the San Gabriel Valley.

In all, 345 USC physicians have been included in Pasadena Magazine’s 2013 roster of “Top Doctors,” up from 273 last year and 170 in 2011. The doctors represent 34 different specialties, including oncology, radiology, neurology, orthopaedic surgery, ophthalmology and cardiology. They comprise nearly one-third of the magazine’s entire roster. … Read More »

August 9th, 2013|Announcements|

Practice makes perfect at Surgical Simulation Center

By Josh Grossberg

Becoming a doctor requires years of attending lectures, watching PowerPoint presentations and reading stacks of thick textbooks filled with charts and graphs.

But at some point, young students and physician residents at Los Angeles County + USC will have to put down the heavy tomes and pick up a scalpel or a needle holder to begin the work of helping to make patients better.

To help them reach that goal as skillfully as possible, the Department of Surgery at the Keck School of Medicine of USC provides them with a variety of simulation options to teach procedural based skills. This provides the opportunity to practice — and practice some more — before they ever touch a patient. Now, students and young physicians can hone their skills in an environment that is safe, but also real enough to mimic the stress of a real-life situation. … Read More »

August 9th, 2013|Announcements|