Gift of $90,000 makes the little things possible

By Amy E. Hamaker

The little things are what the Office of Patient and Family Experience at the Keck Medical Center of USC is all about.

The Patient Experience team welcomes and visits every patient within 24 hours of admission. During these visits, the staff answers any questions the patients or family members may have, checks on issues like staff responsiveness and room cleanliness, and makes sure that patients and their families feel cared for at USC’s hospitals. These initial connections help foster communication and trust between patients, their families and their medical care teams. … Read More »

June 21st, 2013|Announcements|

Physician departures reflect well on Keck faculty strength

By Josh Grossberg

Showing that the reputation of the Keck School of Medicine of USC is well regarded in the national medical community, three top doctors in their fields have been recruited for prestigious chairmanships at other institutions.

On July 1, Anthony Senagore will be leaving his position as professor in the Keck School and chief of colorectal surgery at Keck Medical Center of USC to accept a tenured position as chair of Surgical Disciplines at Central Michigan University School of Medicine.

Rohit Varma left his position as associate professor of ophthalmology and has accepted the chair of the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

And Eila Skinner has left her post as associate professor of clinical urology to become chair of the Department of Urology at the Stanford School of Medicine. … Read More »

June 21st, 2013|Announcements|

Students present research at annual MD/PhD symposium

By Sara Reeve

As Tom Buchanan, vice dean for research of the Keck School of Medicine of USC, welcomed the room full of MD/PhD candidates to the annual USC-Caltech MD/PhD symposium, he had a very simple message — doing good science will make you happy.

“To me, at its core, science is fun,” he stated. “There are incredibly complicated structures in the world out there, and as a scientist, you get to figure out how the world works. … And medicine at its core is a real opportunity to do good for society. With an MD/PhD, you can make a difference in the way medicine is practiced. You can have an impact on a very large number of people while doing science, and I can’t think of a better thing than that.” … Read More »

June 21st, 2013|Announcements|

Research points to prospective treatment for Alzheimer’s patients

By Sara Reeve

A USC team of scientists has published research that highlights a new potential therapeutic agent for patients with Alzheimer’s disease.

Researchers from the Zilkha Neurogenetic Institute at the Keck School of Medicine of USC have found that a mutant protein helps to bind amyloid beta peptide in the brain more efficiently than a wild type — or naturally occurring — version. Amyloid beta peptide (Aβ) is a primary component of amyloid plaques — deposits found in the brains of Alzheimer’s disease patients — and most researchers believe it plays a central role in the development of Alzheimer’s. … Read More »

June 21st, 2013|Announcements|

In Memoriam: Don Harper Mills, 85

Don Harper Mills, a longtime clinical professor of pathology and psychiatry at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, died May 21. He was 85.

Don Harper Mills Don Harper Mills

Mills, who taught at the Keck School and was a past president of Salerni Collegium, was also a practicing attorney. He served as medical director of the County of Los Angeles Medical Malpractice Program, devoted to claims management for the public hospitals and clinics in the county. … Read More »

June 21st, 2013|Announcements|