Forum kicks off USC’s summer high school programs in stem cell research

By Cristy Lytal

More than 20 local students are enjoying a summer of hands-on experience in stem research laboratories, through the USC Early Investigator High School (EiHS) and the USC CIRM Science, Technology and Research (STAR) programs.

Darren Harris, a student at Lifeline Education Charter School, explained what the opportunity means to him at the USC Stem Cell Public Policy Education Forum, held in the Aresty Auditorium on July 12. … Read More »

July 25th, 2013|Announcements|

Interdisciplinary health team shows how collaboration bolsters care

By Kukla Vera

Ninety-one-year-old Filomena Flores recently welcomed a very special group of USC students into her home.

Although her visitors came from seven different professional programs spanning the university — dentistry, medicine, occupational therapy, pharmacy, physical therapy, physician assistant practice and social work—they arrived as a team.

This meeting, led by an accompanying faculty mentor, was the first of a series aimed at teaching students to work collaboratively in examining the health issues facing Flores and identifying ways to improve her care. … Read More »

July 25th, 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|

Hinton named associate dean for vision science

David R. Hinton, M.D., professor of pathology, neurological surgery and ophthalmology at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, has been named the school’s inaugural associate dean for vision science. Hinton is a distinguished scientist and educator, and one of the world’s foremost experts on the biology of macular degeneration.

Hinton will spearhead the development of new vision science programs in education, training and research. He will also be responsible for coordinating vision research efforts that are located throughout Keck School departments, and between the Keck School and other departments and schools at USC. … Read More »

July 25th, 2013|Announcements|

Henri Ford honored for working with underrepresented minority students

By Josh Grossberg

Henri Ford (center) celebrates with Keck School National Medical Fellowship winners (from left) Ruth Montes, Miriam Lassiter, Dr. Ford, Maria Sandoval and Edwin Kulubya. Photo/BlankLogo Photography Henri Ford (center) celebrates with Keck School National Medical Fellowship winners (from left) Ruth Montes, Miriam Lassiter, Dr. Ford, Maria Sandoval and Edwin Kulubya.
Photo/BlankLogo Photography

 

He’s a respected researcher, prolific author, valued mentor and selfless humanitarian.

For Henri Ford, professor of surgery, vice dean for medical education at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, and vice president and chief of surgery at Keck School-affiliated Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, life’s journey has been one of learning, sharing and giving.

In recognition of his many contributions to health care, diversity and philanthropy, Ford was recently honored with the 2013 Excellence in Academic Medicine and Clinical Practice Award from the National Medical Fellowships, presented at a ceremony on June 26.

The National Medical Fellowships is a nonprofit organization that provides scholarships for underrepresented minorities entering the health professions. … Read More »

July 16th, 2013|Announcements|

Keck School of Medicine set to open Biosafety Level 3 lab

By Ina Fried

A new infectious diseases laboratory at the Keck School of Medicine of USC will allow researchers to study bacteria and viruses that threaten humans with serious airborne diseases such as tuberculosis (TB), SARS and pandemic influenza.

Now under construction on the top floor of the Zilkha Neurogenetic Institute, the lab is being built to the exacting requirements of a Biosafety Level 3 (BSL3) lab, a federal classification of a facility designed for the study of agents that can cause potentially severe or fatal illness as a result of exposure by inhalation. … Read More »

July 16th, 2013|Announcements|

Keck Medical Center hosts workshops for Latinas

Four staff members of Keck Medical Center of USC recently participated in a conference for Latina girls.

Keck Medical Center hosted two workshops at the 19th annual Adelante Mujer Latina Teen Conference on May 11.  The conference is designed to educate and inspire Latina girls, while providing them with professional role models and plans for their future. … Read More »

July 12th, 2013|Announcements|

Better patient care? Yes, there’s app for that

By Josh Grossberg

Thanks to some cutting-edge technology, inpatient nurses and Keck Medical Center of USC will soon be able to connect with patients and other nurses and receive critical alarms just by reaching into their pockets.

In August, the center will receive 300 specialty iPhones that will enable inpatient nursing staff to work faster, smarter and easier.

“This will become their communication device,” said Keith Paul, chief technology officer for USC Health Sciences. “The idea is to give them one device to do everything.” … Read More »

July 12th, 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|

USC study sheds light on stem cell reprogramming

By Josh Grossberg

Researchers are learning how to turn regular cells into stem cells, a process called reprogramming. However, some of the mechanisms of the process remain unknown, such as why only a small proportion of the cells can be reprogrammed. Researchers have at least part of the answer: the structure of genes.

“Nobody knows anything about how the 3-D genome structure is reorganized during reprogramming,” said Wange Lu, associate professor at the Eli and Edythe Broad Center for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at USC and the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the Keck School of Medicine of USC. “But we found out that it is a very important process. If the structure is not established correctly, the cells may cause diseases when they are used later in clinical applications.”

Lu and his team have made a series of discoveries that shed light on the process. Their findings have been published in the July issue of Cell Stem Cell. … Read More »

July 12th, 2013|Announcements|

NEWSMAKERS

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July 12th, 2013|Announcements|

PhD student’s research featured on journal cover

djs_blood_121_22_cover-sample1.inddZhengfei Lu, a PhD candidate in the lab of Michael Lieber, the Rita and Edward Polusky Professor in Basic Research at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, is the first author of a research study featured on the cover of the May 30 issue of Blood, the journal of the American Society of Hematology.  The paper is titled “BCL6 breaks occur at different AID sequence motifs in Ig–BCL6 and non-Ig–BCL6 rearrangements.”

According to Lu, “chromosomal rearrangements are common in human cancer.  By analyzing chromosomal break sequences collected from patients, we have discovered the fingerprints left by the process that caused the lymphoma. … Read More »

July 12th, 2013|Announcements|

USC research IDs potential treatment for deadly, HIV-related blood cancer

By Alison Trinidad

Researchers at the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center have discovered a promising new way to treat a rare and aggressive blood cancer most commonly found in people infected with HIV.

The USC team shows that a class of drugs called BET bromodomain inhibitors effectively targets primary effusion lymphoma (PEL), a type of cancer for which those drugs were not expected to be effective. … Read More »

July 12th, 2013|Announcements|

It’s never to early to learn about fire safety

From left, Robert Vance, emergency management officer at Keck Medical Center, and Jim Buck, program coordinator for the Rapid Response Team, deliver advice about household fire safety to children from the USC Child Care Center. Photo/Jon Nalick From left, Robert Vance, emergency management officer at Keck Medical Center, and Jim Buck, program coordinator for the Rapid Response Team, deliver advice about household fire safety to children from the USC Child Care Center.
Photo/Jon Nalick

By Josh Grossberg

About 40 preschoolers from the USC Child Care Program at the Health Sciences Campus attended a June 26 presentation, where they learned tools to keep safe if they encounter a dangerous situation.

Meeting in the cafeteria at USC Norris Cancer Hospital, the tots learned such safety rules as what to do if they find matches (don’t play with them) and what to do if a fire alarm goes off (find a safe place). … Read More »

July 12th, 2013|Announcements|

Uttam K. Sinha assumes new leadership roles

Uttam K. Sinha, associate professor of otolaryngology and Watt Family Chair in Head and Neck Cancer at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, has been appointed to two key new leadership positions.

Sinha will serve as medical director of head and neck surgery, and associate dean of surgical simulation, paving the way for novel, innovative programming across clinical, research and educational practices.

As medical director, Sinha will lead the development of a Head and Neck Surgery Institute focused on providing comprehensive, translational care to patients suffering from head and neck diseases. … Read More »

July 12th, 2013|Announcements|

USC supporter John Reid weds — and presents wedding gifts to the Keck School

By Amy E. Hamaker

John and Karen Reid requested that in lieu of traditional gifts for their wedding, guests consider donations to the Darlene Dufau Reid Endowed Scholarship Fund. John and Karen Reid requested that in lieu of traditional gifts for their wedding, guests consider donations to the Darlene Dufau Reid Endowed Scholarship Fund.

When his wife, Darlene Dufau Reid, passed away after a long illness in 2008, John Reid (USC BS ’69), a Superior Court judge for 27 years who presently sits in the Santa Monica courthouse, was not sure love would ever find him again.

Then one day, John bumped into his future wife, Karen, by chance. “Darlene had been gone a couple of years and I was tired of eating my own cooking,” recalled John. “I wandered down to the pier in Malibu, and Karen was standing on the pier talking on the phone to her son. I looked at her, and she looked at me, and I couldn’t help myself — I asked her out to dinner. We stayed talking that evening until the restaurant closed.”

John and Karen were married on April 6, 2013. In lieu of gifts, the couple requested donations in support of the Darlene Dufau Reid Endowed Scholarship Fund at the Keck School of Medicine of USC. The scholarship is presented annually to an outstanding medical student. To date, donations in honor of the ceremony have reached nearly $13,000. … Read More »

July 12th, 2013|Announcements|

Dept. of Ophthalmology announces new branding

Following the expiration of an agreement with the Doheny Eye Institute, the Keck School of Medicine of USC’s Department of Ophthalmology will now be known by a new name, USC Eye Institute, under the campus clinical branding Keck Medical Center of USC.

The new name will be used throughout the organization, and signs bearing the new name will begin to appear in coming weeks. Newspaper and radio ads announcing the change have already begun running. … Read More »

July 12th, 2013|Announcements|

KECK SCHOOL FETES NEW RECRUITS

Keck School of Medicine Dean Carmen A. Puliafito recently celebrated the recruitment of world renowned neuroscientists Arthur Toga and Paul Thompson — and more than 100 faculty, researchers and staff — to the Keck School. … Read More »

July 12th, 2013|Announcements|

Birds of a feather flock together for stem cell research

By Robin Heffler

The cellular and molecular composition of feathers can be experimentally manipulated to test the hypothesis that certain molecular components may enhance or suppress pigment differentiation. The cellular and molecular composition of feathers can be experimentally manipulated to test the hypothesis that certain molecular components may enhance or suppress pigment differentiation.

To eventually use stem cells in regenerative medicine, scientists need to understand how stem cells become organized into particular tissue patterns and shapes. With that in mind, researchers at USC recently found clues by studying the cellular and molecular basis of complex pigment patterns in bird feathers.

Keck School of Medicine of USC researchers uncovered several fundamental rules of morphogenesis ─ the organizational process of functional cellular patterning. Their study appeared on April 25 in Science Express, the online version of the journal Science.

“Feathers are a good research model because they are unique, able to regenerate repetitively under normal conditions and are positioned at the surface of the body so that we can see their patterns,” said Cheng-Ming Chuong, the study’s team leader and professor of pathology at the Keck School. “Therefore their cellular and molecular composition can be experimentally manipulated to test the hypothesis that certain molecular components may enhance or suppress pigment differentiation.” … Read More »

June 28th, 2013|Announcements|