USC Stem Cell

Alex Quiyu Guo

Meet USC CIRM Scholar Alumnus Alex Quiyu Guo, Senior Scientist for Discovery Biomarkers at Amgen. stemcell.keck.usc.edu/cirm-scholar...

Stem cells are revolutionizing the way we approach healing. 🧪

Learn how Leonardo Morsut, PhD, with @stemcell.keck.usc.edu‬ and
‪@viterbischool.usc.edu‬ is leading the way in the field of regenerative medicine to ignite discovery in stem cell research.

#MedSky #Science

Kidney cells from #stemcells. Yep, it's happening.

Nils Lindström, PhD, with @lindstromlab.bsky.social at stemcell.keck.usc.edu explains the process of turning stem cells into organoids, a pathway to identifying new treatments for kidney disease.

#Science 🧪

Skeletal Maturity and Age‐Related Changes in Immune Cells and Circulatory Factors Impair Large‐Scale Bone Regeneration Although the ribs are the only human bones capable of regenerating large-scale defects, this remarkable ability declines with skeletal maturity and age. Here, we reproduce skeletal maturity and age-r....

Rib regeneration declines with age, but a new Aging Cell study shows young blood components can help. The study is a collaboration between corresponding authors Luciana Yamamoto de Almeida & Janice S. Lee from NIH, UCSF & Francesca Mariani from USC Stem Cell. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Joanna Smeeton

Meet USC’s CIRM Scholar Alumna Joanna Smeeton, Assistant Professor at Columbia University. stemcell.keck.usc.edu/cirm-scholar...

Guanyi Huang

Meet USC CIRM Scholar Alumnus Guanyi Huang, Associate Principal Scientist at Merck. stemcell.keck.usc.edu/meet-uscs-ci...

Vivian Medina

Meet USC CIRM Scholar Alumna Vivian Medina, Senior Manager of Digital and Data Analytics at Takeda, who pursues her career in science with the ultimate goal of helping people. stemcell.keck.usc.edu/meet-cirm-sc...

Meet USC’s CIRM Scholar Alumni: Maksim Plikus, Professor at the University of California, Irvine Maksim Plikus was still an undergraduate when he first became fascinated by the study of hair biology. His lab supervisor asked him to dissect a rat whisker, and to recombine parts of it to see if it ...

Meet USC CIRM Scholar Alumnus Maksim Plikus, a professor at the University of California Irvine who studies hair biology. stemcell.keck.usc.edu/meet-cirm-sc...

Yang Chai named dean of USC’s Herman Ostrow dentistry school The school’s associate dean of research has been serving as interim dean.

Congratulations to USC Stem Cell clinician-scientist Yang Chai, who has been named Dean of the Ostrow School of Dentistry of USC! today.usc.edu/yang-chai-na...

Meet USC’s CIRM Scholar Alumni: Suhasni Gopalakrishnan, Director at Allogene Therapeutics “I feel like I'm a person who goes with the flow,” said Suhasni Gopalakrishnan, Director at Allogene Therapeutics in San Francisco. Going with the flow has led Gopalakrishnan to many fascinating place...

Meet USC’s CIRM Scholar alumna Suhasni Gopalakrishnan, Director at Allogene Therapeutics in San Francisco. Later this year, a product called ALLO-329, which she helped design and develop, will go into clinical trials for rheumatology disorders. stemcell.keck.usc.edu/cirm-scholar...

Meet USC’s CIRM Scholar Alumni: Noah Merin, Assistant Professor at Cedars-Sinai For physician-scientist Noah Merin, the form of stem cell transplantation known as bone marrow transplantation remains the “coolest thing in medicine” and the focus of his career.“I do bone marrow tra...

Following CIRM’s investment in his postdoctoral training at USC, clinician-scientist Noah Merin is not only saving lives, but also advancing the science that is improving bone marrow transplantation outcomes at Cedars-Sinai. stemcell.keck.usc.edu/cirm-scholar...

USC trains biotech leaders, thanks to state stem cell funding To accelerate stem cell treatments to patients with unmet medical needs, the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) has always recognized the need to educate and train a scientific work...

$13.5 million from a CIRM Scholars program at USC Stem Cell has supported and will support 110 trainees, including PhD students, postdocs and clinical trainees. They've had an outsized impact on the biomedical field in California and beyond. stemcell.keck.usc.edu/usc-trains-b...

Goldwater scholarships go to USC Dornsife student scientists The undergrads, majoring in neuroscience and biological sciences, are conducting research in developmental biology and pediatric neurology

Congrats to junior Catcher Salazar from the USC Stem Cell lab of Leonardo Morsut on his Goldwater Scholarship! This year’s USC awardees, biological sciences major Catcher Salazar & neuroscience major Jason Toliao, plan to pursue advanced degrees after graduating. dornsife.usc.edu/news/stories...

R. Rex and Carrol Parris Make $10 Million Gift to Launch USC Longevity Research Accelerator at Keck School of Medicine Related News National Academy of Inventors elects four Keck School of Medicine of USC faculty as senior members February 27, 2024 Organoids reveal how to protect the brain against dementia […]

Getting older is inevitable. Feeling older doesn’t have to be. A $10M gift from R. Rex & Carrol Parris is launching @keck.usc.edu's Longevity Accelerator to fast-track treatments for age-related disease.

Check out the paper from Tom Lozito’s lab at USC Stem Cell & USC Orthopaedic Surgery in the Journal of Developmental Biology. Darian Gamble & team reveal the role of cells that break down bone—osteoclasts—in supporting skin regrowth critical for lizard tail regeneration. www.mdpi.com/2221-3759/13...

USC team develops a powerful new analytical tool to advance CAR T cell therapy research Related News THE CANCER LETTER ◆ USC team develops analytical tool to advance CAR T-cell therapy research May 2, 2025 New USC study shows immigrant adults with liver cancer have […]

Check out the new publication in Molecular Therapy from the USC Stem Cell lab of Mohamed Abou-el-Enein, executive director of the USC/CHLA Cell Therapy Program. keck.usc.edu/news/usc-tea...

Ready to make a difference in health care? 🧫 Your future in #StemCell biology and regenerative medicine starts today! Applications are now open for the @stemcell.keck.usc.edu
Master of Science in Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine at @keck.usc.edu! → scrm.usc.edu

Guided by COMPASS, USC undergraduates navigate stem cell research at inaugural symposium Thirty undergraduates gathered to share their research at the first year-end symposium for USC CIRM COMPASS, a comprehensive two-year program designed to prepare juniors and seniors for careers in ste...

Thirty undergraduates gathered to share their research at the first year-end symposium for USC CIRM COMPASS, a comprehensive two-year program designed to prepare juniors and seniors for careers in stem cell biology and regenerative medicine. stemcell.keck.usc.edu/guided-by-co...

Meet the nine scholarship winners in USC’s stem cell master’s program This year, philanthropic giving supported scholarships for nine students in USC’s master of science (MS) program in stem cell biology and regenerative medicine. Launched in 2014 as one of the only pro...

Meet the nine scholarship winners in USC’s stem cell master’s program. stemcell.keck.usc.edu/meet-the-nin...

Getting lost in translation—the clinical kind—at USC’s stem cell retreat At the retreat for USC’s Department of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, newly appointed leader Chuck Murry shared a vision as sweeping as the panoramic view of the Pacific Ocean from the t...

USC's stem cell department gathered for a retreat in Ventura, where leader Chuck Murry outlined plans for strengthening interdisciplinary and clinical collaborations across USC and the LA Basin, and accelerating translational medicine. stemcell.keck.usc.edu/getting-lost...

Gage Crump

Congratulations to Gage Crump, professor and vice-chair of the Department of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research @keck.usc.edu on receiving the 2025 USC Provost Mentoring Award! @crumplab.bsky.social @stemcell.keck.usc.edu stemcell.keck.usc.edu/gage-crump-r...

USC Stem Cell mouse study identifies shared genes involved in hearing and vision regeneration The same genes could hold the key to regenerating cells in the ear and eye, according to a new mouse study from the USC Stem Cell laboratory of Ksenia Gnedeva, PhD, published in the Proceedings of the...

The same genes could hold the key to regenerating cells in the ear and eye, according to a new mouse study from the USC Stem Cell laboratory of Ksenia Gnedeva, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). stemcell.keck.usc.edu/mouse-study-...

How to clear the toxic tau protein that can lead to Alzheimer’s and related diseases The neurotransmitter glutamate is essential for regulating everything from mood to memory, but it can also encourage a toxic buildup of the notorious tau protein, which can contribute to Alzheimer’s a...

Scientists from Justin Ichida's lab at USC Stem Cell discover a new way to rid cells of tau protein that can lead to #Alzheimer's in a study involving mice & human brain organoids. Their results appear in Neuron. stemcell.keck.usc.edu/how-to-clear...

Ready to make a difference in health care? 🧫 Your future in #StemCell biology and regenerative medicine starts today! Applications are now open for the @stemcell.keck.usc.edu
Master of Science in Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine at @keck.usc.edu! → scrm.usc.edu

Our Ears Share a Common Ancestry with Fish Gills The genes that build the cartilage of fish gills were repurposed to build the cartilage in mammals’ outer ears

Nice article in Scientific American about our work on outer ear evolution and a complimentary study from the lab of Maksim Plikus on role of unique lipids in mammalian ear cartilage. www.scientificamerican.com/article/our-...