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|

AHA honors USC’s Demetriades for a lifetime of dedication

By Sara Reeve

Demetrios Demetriades, MD, PhD, professor of surgery and chief of the division of trauma & critical care at the Keck School of Medicine of USC’s Department of Surgery, was recently honored with the American Heart Association’s 2013 Lifetime Achievement Award in Trauma Resuscitation Science. The award, presented at the 11th annual Resuscitation Science Symposium in Dallas on Nov. 16, 2013, recognized Demetriades for his leadership, service and contributions to trauma resuscitation science. Read More »

January 14th, 2014|Announcements|

Offering career advice

DSC_2142 Photo/Graciela Medina

Neurosurgeon Frank Acosta, MD, associate professor of clinical medicine at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, recently shared images of spinal disorders or abnormalities with Latino middle and high school boys as part of a career and personal growth event. Read More »

January 14th, 2014|Announcements|

Etcetera

Kathleen Page, MD, chair of the Maternal-Child Health Section at the USC Diabetes and Obesity Research Institute and assistant professor of Medicine at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, recently received a prestigious Pathway to Stop Diabetes award from the American Diabetes Association. The Diabetes Research Accelerator award helps support exceptional early career researchers who intend to continue their careers in diabetes research. Read More »

January 14th, 2014|Announcements|

Stem cell image of the month: A good head start

This colorful series of mouse skulls reveals stem cells, labeled with the protein Gli1, in the sutures between the calvaria bones in the upper part of the cranium.Untitled-1

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January 14th, 2014|Announcements|

Keck School alumnus helps bring $1 million gift to Keck Medicine

By Amy E. Hamaker

The strength of a university can often be measured by the commitment of its alumni. Nowhere is that more apparent than at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, where alumnus Tony Alamo (’91), MD, recently helped bring a gift of $1 million to the school from a family friend.

At a lunch between Alamo, Keck School Dean Carmen A. Puliafito, MD, MBA, and Mike Ensign, retired chairman of the board of directors/CEO of Mandalay Resort Group, Alamo suggested a gift to benefit physicians, Keck Hospital of USC and Keck School students. Read More »

January 14th, 2014|Announcements|

Exploring the connection between Alzheimer’s disease and stroke

By Shelby Roberts

Alzheimer’s disease is the No. 6 cause of death in the United States, and stroke is the No. 4 cause.

Helena Chui, MD, chair, Department of Neurology, Raymond and Betty McCarron Chair in Neurology, and professor of neurology and gerontology at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, recently gave a presentation on Alzheimer’s disease and its relation to stroke on Nov. 6 as the sixth lecture in an ongoing Stroke Seminar Series at the Rio Hando Community Center in Downey, Calif. The event was hosted by the Roxanna Todd Hodges Stroke Foundation. Read More »

December 24th, 2013|Announcements|

Top Trojan scientists converge at Neuroscience 2013

By Robert Perkins

Several key faculty members from USC presented the latest pioneering research in neuroscience at the Society for Neuroscience’s annual meeting in San Diego in November.
More than 30,000 scientists and collaborators from 80 countries gathered for presentations by luminaries in the field, including USC’s Antonio Damasio, MD, PhD, Berislav Zlokovic, MD, PhD, and Dan Campbell, PhD. Read More »

December 23rd, 2013|Announcements|

BEST OF THE WURST

Students, faculty and staff on the Health Sciences Campus were treated to German music and a feast of bratwurst, sauerkraut, German potato salad, beer and pretzels to celebrate the coming of October — and the USC Good Neighbors Campaign. Read More »

December 23rd, 2013|Announcements|

OT symposium convenes scholars of sensory integration research

By Mike McNulty

National experts on the sensory issues tied to autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders exchanged their respective research at the 24th USC Occupational Science Symposium, which brought together dozens of leaders from across the country to assess the field and prioritize future research directions.

Hosted by the USC Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy and its Sensory Integration, Engagement and Family Program, more than 350 researchers, clinicians and educators attended the Nov. 7 event, titled “Sensory Integration at the Crossroads: Diverse Perspectives in Occupational Therapy Research.” Read More »

December 23rd, 2013|Announcements|

USC researchers apply brainpower to understanding neural stem cell differentiation

By Cristy Lytal

How do humans and other mammals get so brainy? USC researcher Wange Lu, PhD, and his colleagues shed new light on this question in a paper published in Cell Reports on Oct. 24.

The researchers donned their thinking caps to explain how neural stem and progenitor cells differentiate into neurons and related cells called glia. Neurons transmit information through electrical and chemical signals; glia surround, support and protect neurons in the brain and throughout the nervous system. Glia do everything from holding neurons in place to supplying them with nutrients and oxygen, to protecting them from pathogens.

By studying early mouse embryo neural stem cells in a petri dish, Lu and his colleagues discovered that a protein called SMEK1 promotes the differentiation of neural stem and progenitor cells. At the same time, SMEK1 keeps these cells in check by suppressing their uncontrolled proliferation. Read More »

December 23rd, 2013|Announcements|

Keck School Faculty Council discusses admissions, GME, research funding

By Amy E. Hamaker

The Keck School of Medicine of USC Faculty Council met in a Town Hall meeting on Oct. 15 at the Edmondson Faculty Center on the Health Sciences Campus to discuss medical recruitment, trends and financing in graduate medical education, research trends at the Keck School and faculty recruitment. Read More »

December 23rd, 2013|Announcements|

Ostrow study illustrates how growth factor defect causes tongue malformation

By Beth Newcomb

New findings about how cell signaling directs tongue development may have big clinical applications for healing tongue defects, according to an Ostrow School of Dentistry of USC study in the Journal of Biological Chemistry.

Yang Chai, DDS, PhD, principal investigator of “Non-canonical transforming growth factor beta (TGFb) signaling in cranial neural crest cells causes tongue muscle developmental defects” and director of the Center for Craniofacial Molecular Biology at the Ostrow School of Dentistry, said the tongue is a unique, highly mobile muscular organ that many view as a “fifth limb.” When the tongue develops improperly or is damaged by injury or disease, it cannot regenerate on its own.

“The current standard of care is to repair the tongue surgically using a skin flap, but it doesn’t have the muscle components to move the tongue and lacks the ability to taste food,” explained Chai. “We want to understand how the tongue is formed and how we can use that knowledge to regenerate the tongue.” Read More »

December 23rd, 2013|Announcements|

BREAST CANCER SURVIVORS, DOCTORS RECOGNIZED

In recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, six Keck Medicine of USC breast cancer health-care professionals and six breast cancer survivors made an on-field appearance during halftime at the Oct. 26 USC Trojan football game vs. Utah State. Read More »

December 23rd, 2013|Announcements|

Six USC professors named fellows of AAAS

By Robert Perkins

Four scientists from the Keck School of Medicine of USC have been elected fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), selected for the honor by their academic peers.

AAAS, the world’s largest general scientific society and the publisher of the journal Science, began the tradition of selecting fellows in 1874. The nonprofit organization has been around since 1848. Read More »

December 19th, 2013|Announcements|

Call to Cure supports USC Norris through art auctions

Art is supporting science thanks to DreamWorks Animation. Once per month for the next year, DreamWorks artists are donating original works for auction on eBay in support of Call to Cure, an organization supporting colorectal cancer research at USC. Read More »

December 13th, 2013|Announcements|

Everything’s coming up roses at HSC

ROYAL VISIT  For the 18th year, the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Parade Royal Court visited the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center on Dec. 5 to spread holiday cheer among day-hospital patients and meet with faculty <span style=Read More »

December 13th, 2013|Announcements|