USC professor at CHLA awarded $9.5 million by NIH for sickle cell disease research

By Ellin Kavanagh

Thomas Coates, MD, professor of pediatrics and pathology at the Keck School of Medicine of USC and section head of hematology in the division of hematology oncology at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, along with four other co-principal investigators, recently received a five-year, $9.5 million grant from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health. The award will fund research into the underlying physiology of sickle cell disease (SCD) and identification of biomarkers that will aid in the development of new treatment options. … Read More »

November 20th, 2013|Announcements|

Rare fetal cardiac procedure performed for the first time in Southern California by USC physicians at CHLA

By Lorenzo Benet

A mother and her 25-week-old fetus are doing well after a USC surgeon and pediatrician performed a successful in utero cardiac interventional procedure on the fetus at CHA Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center late last month.

The minimally invasive procedure, known as a fetal aortic valvuloplasty, was a first for a Southern California hospital. Designed to treat a congenital heart defect known as critical aortic stenosis and evolving hypoplastic left heart syndrome, doctors succeeded in using a tiny balloon to open the fetus’s narrow aortic valve to increase blood flow to the body, improve left heart function and promote normal left heart growth during the critical third trimester growing stage. … Read More »

November 20th, 2013|Announcements|

Cardiovascular symposium takes the pulse of current research

By Jennifer Jing and Cristy Lytal

Researchers addressed the leading cause of death in the United States at the Los Angeles Area Cardiovascular Research Symposium and Research Award Reception, which brought together the region’s cardiovascular specialists to examine the developmental origins of heart health and disease.

Held at The Saban Research Institute of Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, the event was the first meeting of its kind since 1997, when the American Heart Association (AHA) disbanded local chapters in favor of regional affiliates. … Read More »

November 20th, 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|

CHLA doctors make 7,500-mile house call to treat children with deformities

By Josh Grossberg

There were too many young patients, too far away. So instead of bringing them to the doctors who could help them, the doctors decided to make a house call.

That house call meant a team of plastic surgeons from Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) traveled 7,500 miles to Jordan, where they operated on dozens of children with physical deformities too complicated to be treated by doctors at the King Hussein Medical Center in Amman. And the team paid for all of it out of their own pockets.

More than 80 complex cases were reviewed the first clinic day. In all, the team of surgeons operated on 44 kids in four days, including a 10-hour facial bipartition procedure. … Read More »

September 27th, 2013|Announcements|

New postdoctoral scholars program announced for clinical residents and fellows

In a memo sent out recently to academic deans, faculty and staff, USC Provost Elizabeth Garrett, JD, announced the creation of a new program to enhance the “success and effectiveness of tomorrow’s health-care professionals.”

Garrett stated that she and Keck School of Medicine of USC Dean Carmen A. Puliafito, MD, MBA, worked together to create the Provost’s Postdoctoral Scholars Program for Clinical Residents and Fellows. Beginning in fall 2013, this new signature program will award qualifying senior residents and fellows at Keck Hospital of USC, LAC+USC Medical Center and Children’s Hospital Los Angeles the rights and privileges of a postdoctoral scholar at USC. Those privileges include up to 20 units of graduate tuition funding to support their education and full access to library material and facilities for their study or work. … Read More »

August 22nd, 2013|Announcements|

CHLA Emergency Department wins Lantern Award for outstanding patient care, research, leadership

The Emergency Department at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles was selected for the Lantern Award, a national honor from the Emergency Nurses Association (ENA) in recognition of the department’s outstanding performance in patient care, research and leadership.

(Courtesy ENA) (Courtesy ENA)

The department was chosen along with eight other emergency departments across the country from an applicant pool of 38 departments. The association then reviewed the extensive submissions.

“This acknowledgement reflects Children’s Hospital’s Emergency Department’s efforts in leadership, practice, education, advocacy and research,” added Alan Nager, MD, MHA, associate professor of clinical pediatrics at the Keck School of Medicine of USC and director of Emergency Medicine and Transport at CHLA. “The application was filled with examples of the superb care and innovation contributed by our team.” … Read More »

August 21st, 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 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|

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|

National ranking places USC hospitals among the best

Keck Hospital of USC and USC Norris Cancer Hospital are once again ranked among the best hospitals in the United States in U.S. News & World Report’s annual “Best Hospitals” rankings. The hospitals have been included in the rankings since 2009, when the University of Southern California purchased the hospitals.

USC-affiliated Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, staffed exclusively by faculty physicians from the Keck School of Medicine of USC, also was named last month to U.S. News’ Best Children’s Hospitals Honor Roll, and ranked in the top five in the nation. … Read More »

July 25th, 2013|Announcements|

SAFETY FIRST

The Injury Prevention Program at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles hosted a free car seat check for families at the USC Child Care Center on June 21, as part of an effort to reduce the potential for accidental injuries. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, three of four car seats are installed incorrectly, so CHLA certified safety technicians checked car seats and reinstalled them to assure best placement — and also provided new ones when needed. … Read More »

July 12th, 2013|Announcements|

CHLA earns back-to-back top five rankings in the U.S. News & World Report survey

By Lorenzo Benet

For the fifth year in a row, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles has been named to the elite Honor Roll of the nation’s “best” children’s hospitals in the U.S. News & World Report rankings released online June 11.

Staffed by faculty from the Keck School of Medicine of USC, the hospital is often referred to as USC’s third campus. It is one of only 10 children’s hospitals in the country and the only West Coast pediatric medical center to make the list. Children’s Hospital Los Angeles also secured a fifth place overall national ranking, repeating its placement from last year’s survey. … Read More »

June 24th, 2013|Announcements|

CHLA speakers stress STEM subjects for girls

By Josh Grossberg

The message to the dozens of school-aged girls was simple—with hard work and diligence, they can achieve meaningful and successful careers in science, technology, engineering and math—the so-called STEM subjects.

And to prove the point, the message was delivered by some of the top female professionals in those fields during a recent symposium at The Saban Research Institute of Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. Among the presenters were several from Keck School of Medicine of USC who perform research at the institute.

The April 24 event, “Women in STEM: Designing, Discovering and Delivering Change,” was in part a response to First Lady Michelle Obama’s call last year to encourage more girls and women to study STEM subjects. … Read More »

May 16th, 2013|Announcements|

CHLA names Levitt inaugural director of Developmental Neurogenetics

By Ellin Kavanagh

Pat Levitt, USC Provost Professor of Neuroscience, Pharmacy, Psychiatry, Pediatrics and Psychology, has been named inaugural director of the Developmental Neurogenetics Program of the newly created Institute for the Developing Mind within The Saban Research Institute of Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.

The Institute for the Developing Mind, envisioned to become an internationally recognized center for innovative research, diagnosis and treatment of neurodevelopmental and behavioral disorders, will provide comprehensive, interdisciplinary research and clinical services at CHLA and the Keck School of Medicine of USC. … Read More »

May 16th, 2013|Announcements|