Keck Medicine and Operation Walk offered free joint replacements

By Amy E. Hamaker

Patricia Domay is a busy woman. At 72 years old, she caters for commercial video shoots, work she’s done for nearly 30 years. She grows her own organic vegetables, bakes an amazing coffee cake and charms those around her with her sunny personality.

In fact, the only thing that slows her down is her hip: The cartilage in Domay’s left hip joint has been worn away completely for nearly eight months, and the pain has taken its toll “My work is really strenuous,” she said. “Events are 10- to 12-hour days, plus an additional two days of prep work — all on my feet. I’ve always been very athletic — I’ve raced motorcycles, competed in tournament racquetball and hiked. It’s all hard on your body, but you don’t think about it when you’re young.” Read More »

December 13th, 2013|Announcements|

Dean’s Distinguished Lecturer discusses overeating, appetite in American culture

By Amy E. Hamaker

Have you ever felt driven to eat something sweet, even when you didn’t want to? The reason for this drive may be the high levels of sugar, fat and salt in food, which produce a dopamine hit that alters brain chemistry, according to David Kessler, MD, professor of pediatrics and epidemiology and biostatistics at the University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine.

Kessler’s comments came during his lecture on Nov. 12 as part of the Dean’s Distinguished Lecture Series, held in Mayer Auditorium. His focus was from his book, The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite. Read More »

December 13th, 2013|Announcements|

L.A. benefactor pledges $5M to Alzheimer’s research at USC

Zlokovic named holder of newly endowed chair; brings total Zilkha giving to $30M

By Alison Trinidad

Los Angeles residents Selim Zilkha and Mary Hayley are raising the stakes in the fight against Alzheimer’s disease, the only cause of death among the top 10 in the United States that cannot currently be prevented, cured or slowed.

Zilkha, a member of the Keck School of Medicine of USC Board of Overseers, has pledged a gift of $5 million to the school to fund a new endowed chair in Alzheimer’s disease research. This latest gift brings Zilkha’s total giving to neuroscience research at the Keck School to more than $30 million. Read More »

December 13th, 2013|Announcements|

MED-SCHOOL PARENTS GO TO CLASS

Keck School of Medicine of USC Dean Carmen A. Puliafito, MD, MBA, speaks at the Parents Association Mini-Medical School on Oct. 25. The annual event offers medical school students’ parents tours of the campus as well <span style=Read More »

November 22nd, 2013|Announcements|

Massry Prize winners discuss mechanics of protein movement in cells

By Ryan Ball

Next time you’re sitting in freeway gridlock, consider the complex system of traffic moving through each and every one of your cells — proteins and other molecules all trying get to the right place at the right time to perform a specific function, such as contacting muscles so you can lay on the horn when the distracted driver in front of you doesn’t move.

Uncovering the mechanisms through which that intracellular traffic works earned researchers Michael P. Sheetz, PhD, of Columbia University, James A. Spudich, PhD, of Stanford University and Ronald D. Vale, PhD, of the University of California, San Francisco, the 2013 Massry Prize. Read More »

November 22nd, 2013|Announcements|