Announcements - HSC News

USC scientists ID protein that regulates cellular trafficking, potential for anti-cancer therapy

By Alison Trinidad

Chengyu Liang, MD, PhD, was the principal investigator on a new study that discovered two intracellular processes that could lead to novel therapeutics for cancer treatment.

Molecular microbiologists at the Keck School of Medicine of USC have uncovered intricate regulatory mechanisms within the cell that could lead to novel therapeutics for the treatment of cancer and other diseases. Their findings, which have long-standing significance in the basic understanding of cell biology, appear in the journal Nature Cell Biology.

“Our research reveals a new regulatory mechanism that coordinates two distinct intracellular processes that are critical to cellular homeostasis and disease development,” said Chengyu Liang, MD, PhD, assistant professor of molecular microbiology and immunology at the Keck School and principal investigator of the study. … Read More »

October 18th, 2013|Announcements|

Keck School student receives NAMME scholarship

By Elise Herrera-Green

Sheila Lau, a second-year student in the Keck School of Medicine of USC’s Primary Care Physician Assistant Program, has been selected to receive a 2013 National Association of Medical Minority Educators (NAMME) Scholarship. Lau was one of only eight students in the nation selected for this scholarship. … Read More »

October 18th, 2013|Announcements|

Keck School outreach group receives $180,000 to mitigate port expansion health impacts

The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach generate a huge volume of revenue and high levels of diesel pollution as they move vast amounts of cargo. But this comes at a

Andrea M. Hricko, professor of preventive medicine at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, who directs the Southern California Environmental Health Sciences Center community outreach and engagement program, received a grant from The Kresge Foundation to research how port expansion affects local health.
(Photo/Phil Channing)

cost to the environment — and to the health of nearby residents of low-income communities.

Andrea Hricko, MPH, professor of preventive medicine at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, works with a team of USC and UCLA scientists at the Southern California Environmental Health Sciences Center, directed by Frank Gilliland, MS, MD, MPH, PhD, professor of preventive medicine. The center is dedicated to studying the health effects of air pollution.

The Kresge Foundation recently awarded a $180,000 grant to the center’s community outreach and engagement program, directed by Hricko, for a two-year project entitled, “Translating the Health Impacts of Ports and Goods Movements.” … Read More »

October 17th, 2013|Announcements|

USC associate professor Ko chairs KAMA meeting

David Ko, MD, clinical associate professor of neurology at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, chaired the 31st Annual Korean American Medical Association (KAMA) Scientific Convention meeting in Las Vegas. Held with the World Korean Medical Organization on July 4-6, the meeting included presentations by 11 USC faculty and two USC MD/PHD graduates. … Read More »

October 17th, 2013|Announcements|

USC researchers to study genetic risk and molecular development of ovarian cancer

By Sara Reeve

Researchers at the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center have been awarded nearly $4 million for two ovarian cancer research project grants from the National Institutes of Health. Both projects utilize the multicenter Ovarian Cancer Association Consortium (OCAC) to perform a large population-based analysis of ovarian cancer patients and their tissues. … Read More »

October 17th, 2013|Announcements|

Patient-centered medical home philosophy boosts patient, physician satisfaction with care delivery

By Leslie Ridgeway

The common refrain about health care is that it’s a broken system. The Galaxy Health model, which debuted at Los Angeles County + USC Medical Center in 2012, demonstrated a favorable effect on both patients and medical residents, according to a UCLA/USC study published online Sept. 2 in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA)’s Internal Medicine.

The goal of Galaxy Health was to substantially improve a medical residents’ clinic at LAC + USC and demonstrate to county officials how some intuitive and inexpensive interventions could dramatically improve patient care and the morale physician and staff. The project was funded primarily by a three-year, $750,000 grant from the UniHealth Foundation. … Read More »

October 17th, 2013|Announcements|

BREAST CANCER GENE DECODED IN FILM

(Photo/Leslie Ridgeway)

Stephen B. Gruber (far right), MD, MPH, director of the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, discusses his thoughts about the discovery of the BRCA1 breast cancer gene at … Read More »

October 17th, 2013|Announcements|

Photo-acoustic imaging device design snags top award at USC-Coulter Foundation competition

Top honors for USC’s Wallace Coulter Foundation Award went to a team of collaborators from the Keck School of Medicine of USC and the USC Viterbi School of Engineering.

The $100,000 award, which will fund the design and development of a photo-acoustic imaging device, will be shared by Jacques Van Dam, MD, PhD, professor of medicine (clinical scholar), division of gastroenterology and liver disease at the Keck School; and Qifa Zhou, PhD, research professor, and Thomas Cummins and doctoral candidates Teng Ma at the Medical Ultrasonic Transducer Resource at USC Viterbi. … Read More »

October 17th, 2013|Announcements|

Pfizer’s J. Jean Cui explains modern drug discovery to Keck School students

By Marie Rippen

Only five percent of potential cancer drugs make it from phase I clinical trail to FDA approval, but J. Jean Cui, PhD, associate research fellow at Pfizer, beat the odds.

J. Jean Cui of Pfizer shared her perspective on drug discovery with Keck School students as part of the Careers in Science seminar series.
(Photo/Cristy Lytal)

Cui visited the Eli and Edythe Broad CIRM Center for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research on Sept. 13 to share her perspective on drug discovery with students as part of the Careers in Science seminar series, presented by the center in conjunction with the USC School of Pharmacy and the USC Center for Excellence in Research. … Read More »

October 17th, 2013|Announcements|

KICKIN’ CANCER

(Photo/Courtesy USC Norris Kickin’ Cancer Team)

A team of USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer staff members took to the streets to support the early detection and prevention of women’s cancers. The 12th annual Kickin’ Cancer 5K run/walk and family expo, held on Sept. 29, was held by the Lynne Cohen Foundation for Ovarian Cancer Research. The USC Norris team raised a total of $5,535 for preventive care, collaboration and education for ovarian and breast cancer. … Read More »

October 11th, 2013|Announcements|

Celebrate Breast Cancer Awareness this October

As part of its breast cancer awareness campaign, the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center is offering specially designed breast cancer T-shirts for sale only through the end of October. Your purchase will promote breast cancer awareness while supporting breast cancer research at USC Norris. … Read More »

October 11th, 2013|Announcements|

PRETTY SURE THERE’S A DOCTOR IN THE HOUSE

Salerni Collegium hosted its annual Kick-Off Dinner in Pasadena on Sept. 24, welcoming first-year medical students who joined the group, which raises funds for student scholarships. … Read More »

October 11th, 2013|Announcements|

Dermatologist discusses the science of cellular water at USC

By Amy E. Hamaker

Hydration is vital for a well-functioning body. USC faculty, staff and students had the opportunity to learn more about “the science of cellular water” by the originator of the concept, Howard Murad, MD.

Dermatologist and skin care manufacturer Howard Murad shares his theory of the science of cellular water.
(Photo/Amy E. Hamaker)

Murad, an associate clinical professor of medicine at UCLA and CEO/founder of skin care product company Murad Inc., visited the Health Sciences Campus on Aug. 29 to present “An Integrated Cellular Strategy for Optimizing Whole Body Health.”

Introduced by Marc Weigensberg, MD, associate professor of clinical pediatrics and director of USC’s Institute of Integrative Health, Murad’s lecture focused on the concept of whole-body health, and the skin’s connection to every system within the body. … Read More »

October 11th, 2013|Announcements|

Two grants totaling $1.1 million assist pacesetting programs at USC

By Amy E. Hamaker

The foremost mission of the UniHealth Foundation, an independent private health care foundation founded in 1998, is to support pacesetting programs that positively impact health in the communities it serves. Two recent grants from the foundation totaling $1.1 million will help support vital programs at USC that are making a real difference to the Health Sciences Campus community and its patients. … Read More »

October 11th, 2013|Announcements|

Strengthening the community, one good neighbor at a time

By Sara Reeve

How many high school students voluntarily give up many of their Saturdays just to go to school? Every year, more than 185 Los Angeles students do just that, in the USC Med-COR program, funded in part thanks to the USC Good Neighbors Campaign.

USC’s staff, faculty and friends can pledge to help organizations that improve the community by promoting better health and educational opportunities in the areas surrounding both the Health Sciences and University Park Campuses.

The 2013 USC Good Neighbors Campaign kicked off on Oct. 1 and runs through the end of the month. Begun in 1994, the USC Good Neighbors Campaign encourages USC faculty and staff to contribute a portion of their paychecks to support programs through grants from USC Neighborhood Outreach (UNO) and United Way. … Read More »

October 11th, 2013|Announcements|

Keck Medicine of USC opens diagnostic and treatment center for children with hearing loss

By Alison Trinidad

Hearing loss among children is a major challenge for pediatricians and parents. According to the National Information Center for Children and Youth with Disabilities, children who are hard of hearing often find it much more difficult to learn vocabulary, grammar and word order.

No single treatment is the answer, however. To offer patients and their families comprehensive clinical care backed by innovative research, Keck Medicine of USC recently opened the USC Center for Childhood Communication on the campus of John Tracy Clinic, 806 W. Adams Blvd., in Los Angeles. Pediatric audiology and speech pathology specialists began seeing patients on Oct. 1.

The new center provides audiology and speech language pathology services to children with hearing loss from birth to adulthood, including access to national clinical trials and state-of-the-art rehabilitative care. The center builds on the world-renowned clinical and scientific expertise of the Department of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery at Keck Medicine of USC. … Read More »

October 11th, 2013|Announcements|

Foothills community celebrates the joining of USC and Verdugo Hills Hospital

By Celine Petrossian

Hands-on cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training for adults and children was among the many offerings for the community at the Sept. 28 event.
(Photo/Paul Edward Robison)

More than 700 members of the Foothills community joined the wide array of cardinal-and-gold-themed festivities at the USC Verdugo Hills Hospital Wellness Celebration on Sept. 28 on the USC-VHH campus. The event celebrated the new affiliation of the two organizations.

“I’m terribly in favor of the new partnership,” said Sunland resident Bob Pinkston, who attended the event with his wife Diane. “I love USC. Verdugo Hills has been a great hospital and the association with USC is a step up. All of my three children were born at this hospital.” … Read More »

October 11th, 2013|Announcements|

Magnetic treatment for high-risk neuroblastoma proves less than attractive

By Ellin Kavanagh and Cristy Lytal

Removing tumor cells with a magnet? It may sound strange, but researchers at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) and their colleagues recently explored whether this technique can create better outcomes for patients with high-risk neuroblastoma, which carries a less than 50 percent chance of survival for children who are diagnosed. … Read More »

October 2nd, 2013|Announcements|

USC study shows large pollution exposure reductions possible with car ventilation setting choices

By Leslie Ridgeway

Based on a new study, USC environmental health researchers have advice for drivers who want to reduce their exposure to harmful traffic pollutants: The car ventilation choice you make can be effective in reducing exposure to on-road particle pollution.

Scott Fruin, DEnv, assistant professor of preventive medicine, and Neelakshi Hudda, PhD, research associate in the environmental health department of the Keck School of Medicine of USC, recently conducted the first systematic measurements of in-vehicle exposure that included a full range of car types and operating conditions, and for all types of particulate pollution. … Read More »

October 2nd, 2013|Announcements|

Keck Hospital receives Blue Distinction Centers for Cardiac Care designation

By Amy E. Hamaker

Keck Hospital of USC was recently awarded the Blue Distinction Centers for Cardiac Care program designation by insurers Blue Shield and Blue Cross for the quality of its cardiac care program.

The Blue Distinction Center designation was designed to provide transparent data on the quality of medical providers to patients whose employers are national and who are insured by Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies. … Read More »

October 2nd, 2013|Announcements|

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