For 20 undergraduate students at USC, stem cell research is more than the topic of a lecture or an article in a textbook. It’s the focus of a comprehensive two-year program designed to prepare juniors and seniors for careers in stem cell biology and regenerative medicine.

Known as USC COMPASS: Creating Opportunities through Mentorship and Partnership Across Stem Cell Science, the program launched in summer 2023 as a multidisciplinary collaboration among three USC schools: the Keck School of Medicine, the Viterbi School of Engineering, and the Dornsife College of Arts, Letters, and Sciences.

The program is supported by a $2.9 million grant from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), the voter-created state agency that distributes public funding to support stem cell research and education. CIRM established a total of 16 COMPASS programs, including several at University of California, California State University, and community college campuses. USC is the only private research university to host a COMPASS program.

To continue reading, click here.