By Jen Waters

Occupational therapy student Donna Ozawa runs a circular saw to construct a wheelchair ramp for a classmate.
Photo/Photo/Courtesy Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy

To many, do-it-yourself renovation projects can be a costly headache waiting to happen. But for occupational therapy student Donna Ozawa, it’s a real passion.

Ozawa has two decades of experience in disciplines including sculpture, design and wheelchair engineering. She received an executive certificate in home modification from the USC Davis School of Gerontology in 2012, and has worked with several professional and volunteer organizations to adapt home spaces to better fit residents’ needs.

Now a student in USC’s occupational therapy master’s class of 2015, Ozawa is pursuing a career that will allow her to seamlessly combine her experiences and interests to help people lead healthier, happier lives in their residences.

The purpose of home modification projects — such as placing non-slip backing under floor rugs, installing grab bars for easy shower entry and exit, or retrofitting entire houses to be wheelchair accessible — is to make tasks easier, reduce in-home accidents and support independent living. … Read More »

By Cristy Lytal

Valter Longo

Valter Longo, PhD, is out to prove that gerontology is a young man’s game. The 46-year-old USC professor of gerontology and biological sciences has dedicated his career to slowing the implacable process of aging.

Growing up in Genoa, Italy, Longo spent countless hours emulating the guitar stylings of rock legends Jimi Hendrix and Mark Knopfler from Dire Straits. At age 16, he moved to Chicago to take jazz guitar lessons before heading to the University of North Texas to continue his studies.

During his second year of college as a music major, Longo was tapped to direct the marching band. As his music sensibilities were deeply rooted in rock, he refused, and the music department told him to find a different major. “Without hesitation, I said, ‘I want to learn about aging,’” he said.

After receiving his PhD in biochemistry at UCLA, Longo decided to take a molecular approach to aging, so he joined the UCLA labs of chemist Joan S. Valentine, PhD, and geneticist Edith B. Gralla, PhD. … Read More »

By Alison Trinidad

On Dec. 18, 2013, Keck Medicine of USC became the world’s first medical center to surgically implant a responsive brain device newly approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat epilepsy, with the potential to help millions of people worldwide.

The device, manufactured by NeuroPace Inc., detects and then directly responds to abnormal brain activity to prevent seizures before they occur. In a three-hour surgery, USC faculty physicians implanted the device in a 28-year-old Lakewood, Calif., woman who was diagnosed with epilepsy in 2004.

Kathleen Rivas, an aspiring journalist who sought care from the university’s student health center in 2009 while earning her master’s degree elected to have the implant because medication had not fully controlled her seizures. Over the next few months, her doctors will program the device to detect specific brain activity indicative of a seizure’s onset. … Read More »

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 »

By Amy Hamaker

Thomas A. Buchanan, MD, received the Mayo H. Soley Award … Read More »

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 »

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 »

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 »

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 »

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.

… Read More »