Announcements - HSC News

Regulatory Science Students Visit Bay Area Manufacturers

By Laura Sturza

Six students from the USC School of Pharmacy’s regulatory science program received a dose of the real world this summer as they toured two of the San Francisco Bay Area’s major pharmaceutical and medical device companies. The students saw firsthand the operations at Boehringer Ingelheim, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of biopharmaceuticals, and Stryker, one of the world’s leading medical technology companies, on July 22.

Students from the program often tour companies in Southern California, with the goal of gaining additional views of real-world operations. … Read More »

November 20th, 2013|Announcements|

USC researchers to grow organs to unlock secrets of how cancer tumors develop

By Leslie Ridgeway

Using three-dimensional organ creation, Keck Medicine of USC researchers aim to discover clues to metastatic cancer growth by developing a first-ever integrated bioengineered/computational model of metastatic colon cancer.

David B. Agus, MD, director of the USC Center for Applied Molecular Medicine and professor of medicine at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, is the principal investigator of a $2.3 million, four-year “Provocative Questions” grant awarded recently by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), a division of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The project title is “An Integrative Computational and Bioengineered Tissue Model of Metastasis.” … Read More »

November 13th, 2013|Announcements|

Halloween on the Health Sciences Campus!

Halloween celebrations for kids of all ages took place on the Health Sciences Campus last week, both for spooky fun and to raise awareness for health research initiatives.

November 11th, 2013|Announcements|

Keck Hospital Guild celebrates at fall benefit

The Sports Museum of Los Angeles was the setting for the Keck Hospital of USC Guild’s Oct. 13 fall benefit, “Celebrate an Afternoon Among the Superstars.” Thanks to the generosity of the private museum’s owner and collector Gary Cypress, guests toured more than 30 galleries devoted to sports memorabilia spanning the late 19th century to the present. … Read More »

November 11th, 2013|Announcements|

Drug reduces brain damage, hemorrhaging in rodents afflicted by stroke

By Alison Trinidad

An experimental drug called 3K3A-APC appears to reduce brain damage, eliminate brain hemorrhaging and improve motor skills in older stroke-afflicted mice and stroke-afflicted rats with comorbid conditions such as hypertension, according to a new study from Keck Medicine of USC.

The study, which appears online in the journal Stroke, provides additional evidence that 3K3A-APC may be used as a therapy for stroke in humans, either alone or in combination with the FDA-approved clot-busting drug therapy tPA (tissue plasminogen activator). Clinical trials to test the drug’s efficacy in people experiencing acute ischemic stroke are expected to begin recruiting patients in the United States in 2014. … Read More »

November 11th, 2013|Announcements|

Open enrollment an opportunity to choose Keck Medicine physicians

Open enrollment for benefits-eligible faculty and staff of the University has begun, and personnel are encouraged to choose Keck Medicine of USC providers by signing up for the USC Network Medical Plan. … Read More »

November 8th, 2013|Announcements|

Researchers at USC uncover new possibilities for sweat gland stem cells

By Marie Rippen

Sweat is important — without it, we would overheat and die. In a recent paper in the journal Public Library of Science One (PLOS ONE), USC faculty member Krzysztof Kobielak, MD, PhD, and a team of researchers explored the ultimate origin of this sticky, stinky but vital substance — sweat gland stem cells. … Read More »

November 8th, 2013|Announcements|

Keck students, benefactors celebrate success at Scholarship Luncheon

By Ryan Ball

Donor Norene Zapanta with Maria Sandoval, recipient of the scholarship named for Zapanta’s late husband, Edward Zapanta, a USC neurosurgeon and the first Hispanic member of the USC Board of Trustees.
(Photo/Steve Cohn)

The daughter of undocumented immigrants, Maria Sandoval credits excellent mentoring for helping her become the first member of her family to graduate high school and college. Now in her third year at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, she’s getting another boost in her quest to become a primary care physician and practice in her underserved community in the San Fernando Valley.

Sandoval is the recipient of this year’s scholarship named for Edward Zapanta, MD, the late USC neurosurgeon and first Hispanic member of the USC board of trustees. She recently had to the opportunity to thank Norene Zapanta for continuing her husband’s support of Hispanic medical students. The two shared a meal at the Keck School’s annual Scholarship Luncheon, held on Oct. 2 on the Harry and Celesta Pappas Quad. … Read More »

November 8th, 2013|Announcements|

Keck School researchers awarded grant to study Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus

By Jon Nalick

Principal investigator Jae Jung received a $7.5 million grant to help discover how to short circuit development of Kaposi’s sarcoma.
(Photo/Phil Channing)

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) have awarded Keck School of Medicine of USC researchers a five-year, $7.5 million grant to investigate how Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) evades the immune system and triggers certain cancers.

Principal investigator Jae Jung, PhD, the Fletcher Jones Foundation Chair and Hastings Foundation Professor of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology at the Keck School, said the research aims to find ways to short circuit the development of Kaposi’s sarcoma. This malignant tumor, often caused by KSHV, is more prevalent among people with compromised immune systems, such as patients with AIDS. … Read More »

November 5th, 2013|Announcements|

Researchers identify gene variant that raises risk for colorectal cancer from eating processed/red meat

By Suzanne Wu

A common genetic variant that affects one in every three people significantly increases the risk of colorectal cancer from consuming red meat and processed meat, according to a study presented at the annual American Society of Human Genetics 2013 meeting, the largest gathering of human geneticists in the world.

In addition, the study — the first to identify the interactions of genes and diet on a genome-wide scale — also reveals another specific genetic variation that appears to modify whether eating more vegetables, fruits and fiber actually lowers your colorectal cancer risk. … Read More »

November 5th, 2013|Announcements|

MEDICAL STUDENTS GET THE INSIDE STORY ON HEALTH BENEFIT EXCHANGES

More than 50 second-year medical students came to the Edmondson Faculty Center at the Keck School of Medicine of USC on Oct. 17 to hear Kim Belshe, one of the five board members for the California Covered health benefit exchange, and Professor Michael L. Cousineau discuss the public policy ramifications of the new health benefit exchanges that are central to the Affordable Care Act. … Read More »

November 5th, 2013|Announcements|

Keck Medicine of USC researchers to study air pollution/obesity connection

By Leslie Ridgeway

Could air pollution make you fat? Keck Medicine of USC researchers received funding to investigate the hypothesis that children who live near busy roadways may be exposed to air pollution that causes inflammation, leading to obesity and other health problems.

The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency have granted $7.8 million to Keck Medicine’s Southern California Children’s Environmental Health Center (SC-CEHC) over the next five years. Three teams of scientists will mine data from previous research and conduct new studies on near-roadway air pollution’s role in the development of obesity and metabolic abnormalities that may increase the risk of type 2 diabetes. … Read More »

November 5th, 2013|Announcements|

USC researchers to grow organs to unlock how cancer tumors develop

By Leslie Ridgeway

Using three-dimensional organ creation, Keck Medicine of USC researchers aim to discover clues to metastatic cancer growth by developing a first-ever integrated bioengineered/computational model of metastatic colon cancer.

David B. Agus, MD, director of the USC Center for Applied Molecular Medicine and professor of medicine at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, is the principal investigator of a $2.3 million, four-year “Provocative Questions” grant awarded recently by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), a division of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). … Read More »

October 25th, 2013|Announcements|

A WEEK OF USC NORRIS CELEBRATIONS

The USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center has sponsored a host of activities in October to celebrate the 40th anniversary of its founding as one of the eight original National Cancer Institute Comprehensive Cancer Centers. … Read More »

October 25th, 2013|Announcements|

USC, UCLA get $2M to develop stroke center network in Southland

By Mark Wheeler

Stroke is the second leading cause of death in Los Angeles County. To cut those numbers, it’s imperative that new treatments be developed and refined for stroke prevention, acute therapy and recovery after stroke.

Now, a three-way partnership between the USC Comprehensive Stroke and Cerebrovascular Center at Keck Medicine of USC, the UCLA Stroke Center at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, and UC Irvine Health Comprehensive Stroke & Cerebrovascular Center has been awarded a $2 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to address these three stroke priorities. … Read More »

October 25th, 2013|Announcements|

Being a good neighbor can help HEAL a local community

By Sara Reeve

HEAL program youth members Heriberto Alfaro and Eddie Mendoza chop produce grown in the Proyecto Jardin community garden in Boyle Heights. The program teaches participants how to grow and prepare healthy food in several stages: planting, harvesting and cooking.
(Photo/Courtesy Proyecto Jardin)

Q: Can USC staff and faculty help to transform the food environment of East Los Angeles?

A: Yes, if they contribute to the USC Good Neighbors Campaign.

The Community Youth Health Education and Action Leaders (HEAL) program teaches youth in the Boyle Heights area about urban agriculture and healthy food choices. A partnership between the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center’s Patient Education and Community Outreach Center and Proyecto Jardin Community Garden, HEAL received a new grant of $45,000 in June 2013 from USC Neighborhood Outreach (UNO), funded by the Good Neighbors Campaign. … Read More »

October 25th, 2013|Announcements|

USC researcher reveals how to better master stem cells’ fate

By Cristy Lytal

USC scientist Qi-Long Ying, PhD, MSc, and a team of researchers have long been searching for biotech’s version of the fountain of youth — ways to encourage embryonic stem cells (ESCs) and epiblast stem cells (EpiSCs) to endlessly self-renew, or divide to produce more stem cells.

In a pair of studies published in Nature Communications in September and in The EMBO Journal in August, Ying and his team revealed some of the ways that ESCs and EpiSCs retain their pluripotency, or ability to differentiate into virtually any kind of cell. … Read More »

October 25th, 2013|Announcements|

Hoag/USC partnership establishes new comprehensive cancer program

Keck Medicine of USC has announced a new partnership with Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian in Orange County to establish new cancer and oncology services at the Hoag Family Cancer Institute and, eventually, other locations in Orange County.

The new Hoag/USC partnership marries Orange County’s largest community cancer program with the strengths of USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center. The latest collaboration between the two leading medical centers promises to enhance patient care and services by significantly expanding cancer research and treatment — including advanced clinical trials — in Orange County. … Read More »

October 25th, 2013|Announcements|

Gala celebrates USC Norris’ 40 years of progress

By Sara Reeve

Actor-comedian Martin Short was the master of ceremonies for the gala.
(Photo/Steve Cohn)

The USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center has made tremendous advances in the understanding and treatment of cancer during its four decades of existence. At the gala anniversary celebration, “40 Years of Progress – Discovering New Cures,” held on Oct. 11, USC Norris leaders, researchers and supporters came together to honor that advancement.

“This is a very special night for us. We are here to recognize 40 years of movement toward the goal that Ken Norris Jr. set: to end cancer as we know it,” said Carmen A. Puliafito, MD, MBA, dean of the Keck School of Medicine of USC.

The celebration, which raised nearly $2 million to support cancer research at USC Norris, was held at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel in Los Angeles, and attracted 500 guests. Actor/comedian Martin Short served as master of ceremonies, captivating the audience with his witty banter and his personal connection to the cancer center. … Read More »

October 25th, 2013|Announcements|

USC researcher reveals how to better master stem cells’ fate

By Cristy Lytal

Qi-Long Ying and a team of researchers have discovered new ways to encourage human embryonic stem cells like these to self-renew.
(Photo/Courtesy Qi-Long Ying)

USC scientist Qi-Long Ying, PhD, MSc, and a team of researchers have long been searching for biotech’s version of the fountain of youth — ways to encourage embryonic stem cells (ESCs) and epiblast stem cells (EpiSCs) to endlessly self-renew, or divide to produce more stem cells.

In a pair of studies published in Nature Communications in September and a study in The EMBO Journal in August, Ying and his team revealed some of the ways that ESCs and EpiSCs retain their pluripotency, or ability to differentiate into virtually any kind of cell. … Read More »

October 18th, 2013|Announcements|

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