Congratulations to Dr. Jonathan Santoro, recipient of the Dean’s Early Career Award for Excellence in Scholarship. His NIH-funded research is advancing diagnosis and care for complex neurodevelopmental conditions.

The Children's Hospital of Los Angeles' commitment to advancing care, conducting research, and providing education for individuals with rare conditions is not going unnoticed! Congratulations on being recognized as a Center of Excellence. 👏 Learn more ➡️ https://bit.ly/4iGg4DV #ResearchSky

Dean’s POV 📸 Checking in at the end of the fall semester, students. Feels like I took these selfies with you yesterday. Now, you are done with your first round of classes and ready for some time to reflect and recharge. I can’t wait to see what discoveries the new year brings!

A USC Viterbi undergrad is revolutionizing cancer radiation treatments. Arjun Karnwal wrote a game-changing software script that Los Angeles hospitals now use to improve the speed and precision of radiation therapy for children. More about his work ⬇️ #CancerResearch #ResearchSky #Pediatrics

A recent gift from the Linda and Mike Mussallem Foundation will spur the development of specialized treatment and targeted Alzheimer’s care for the 95% of people with Down syndrome who develop the disease.

Congratulations to Dr. Alan Epstein, recipient of the Dean’s Award for Excellence in Mentoring! His hands-on guidance and unwavering advocacy have launched countless scientific and clinical careers.

Researchers at the USC Roski Eye Institute, part of Keck Medicine of USC, are exploring whether a stem cell-derived patch can replace cells damaged by age-related macular degeneration, potentially restoring eyesight. #ResearchSky #Science #StemCell

Congratulations to Dr. Megan Herting, recipient of the Dean’s Early Career Award for Excellence in Mentoring! Her leadership in environmental health and neuroscience mentorship has empowered dozens of trainees to achieve independent funding and research success.

Congratulations to both @keckmedicineusc.bsky.social and @uscnorriscancer.bsky.social on this well-deserved recognition! 👏

Big things are happening here. Drs. Chuck Murry, Summer Decker, and Hussein Yassine are leading game-changing advances in #Alzheimers prevention, 3D printing in medicine, and heart regeneration. #Science #ResearchSky

When a routine day becomes a publication-worthy discovery💡 An unexpected find by 1st yr students in the Integrative Anatomical Science learning lab led to published research that could influence surgical techniques and prenatal development research. https://bit.ly/4iXDEfS

Congratulations to Dr. Thomas Coates, recipient of the Dean’s Award for Excellence in Clinical Practice! His decades of leadership in red-cell disorder care have transformed access, innovation, and patient outcomes across the region.

Researchers have developed a new type of CAR T cell that elicits a more controlled immune response to cancer in mice, effectively killing cancer cells, including those that typically escape detection, with fewer toxic side effects. #CancerResearch #Science #ResearchSky

The Keck School's new residency programs in family medicine, anesthesia, psychiatry and internal medicine are shaping trainees to lead tomorrow’s care. Senior associate dean Glenn Ault, MD, shares how these programs propel them to the front of the field. https://bit.ly/3MsIsgY

Congratulations to Dr. Darrin Lee, recipient of the Dean’s Early Career Award for Excellence in Clinical Practice! His leadership in neurosurgery and movement-disorder care continues to expand access to advanced therapies across LA County.

Centering on neuroimaging data. Two USC researchers have recently won a $3 million grant from the NIH to investigate pain pathways in the brain, aiming to better understand which patients respond to treatment for #endometriosis, who do not, and why. #ResearchSky #Neuroscience #MedEd

Dean's POV 📸 #RSNA25 brought snowy views, fresh insights, and Trojan spirit. Great to connect with Renee Cruea w/ Academy for Radiology and Biomedical Imaging Research and USC colleagues, and to hear @summerin3d.bsky.social share updates on @rsnasky.bsky.social#RSNA25growing 3D-printed models registry.

🧠 Our fall newsletter is live! From bold new NIH-backed grants, breakthroughs in Alzheimer’s, brain aging, and AI-driven imaging, discover how we’re mapping the brain, advancing precision rehab, and training the next generation of neuroscientists. bit.ly/4oU6tv3

Middle-schoolers turning into surgeons for a day 🩺 The Surgeon for a Day program brings kids from public schools — mainly in and around Boyle Heights — to the USC Health Sciences Campus to take part in hands-on activities and explore future options for working in health care.

A Department of Population and Public Health Sciences study discovered that higher nighttime temperatures are linked to shorter sleep times and lower sleep quality, especially for people with chronic health conditions, lower socioeconomic status, or those living on the West Coast.

In a recent study, researchers at Keck School of Medicine found that teens with higher blood levels of #PFAS measured before bariatric surgery had smaller improvements in blood sugar over five years. #MedSky #MedEd

Dean's POV 📸 What an exciting evening that showcased the amazing talent of @usc.edustudents…and President! Enjoy interim President Kim playing the cello at the Widney Society Dinner. The event gathered some of our generous supporters who help keep USC positioned to succeed.

Congrats to NEMO Prize winners Keyue Shen and Yali Dou — trailblazers advancing engineering and medical innovation to push the boundaries of childhood cancer research. Their work brings new hope to families. #CancerResearch #MedEd #MedSky

USC JEP's Medical STEM Program brings a world of possibility to local 3rd graders at Vermont Avenue Elementary School for an exciting hands-on gross anatomy lesson taught by Chuck Murry, head of @stemcell.keck.usc.edu. Read the full story here: https://bit.ly/3Xz7woW.

Modern imaging and data science are transforming #brainhealth research. Researchers at Mark and Mary Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute (Stevens INI) have identified a previously unknown pattern of organization in one of the brain’s most important areas for learning and memory.

Today is the day! This Giving Tuesday, join us by making a gift to support research and help us FIGHT ON for health. #GivingTuesday #FightOnforHealth

Help us by giving here: fightongiveback.usc.edu/c/fight-on-f... Thank you for your support!

Congratulations, Dean Meltzer!

The USC Alzheimer’s Therapeutic Research Institute will be named in honor of its longtime philanthropic leaders, the Epstein Family. Their support strengthens @usc.edu’s leadership in ending Alzheimer’s. Full story below ⬇️

A breakthrough in #autism research. Researchers at USC Mark & Mary Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute have uncovered new insights into how brain wiring differs in children and young adults with autism, pointing to more precise ways of understanding the condition. #ResearchSky #MedEd

This Thanksgiving, I am grateful for: ‣Students asking tough questions ‣Researchers moving science forward ‣Faculty excited about teaching (and learning from!) their students ‣The simple fact that the work we do matters...every day Happy Thanksgiving! —Dean Carolyn Meltzer, MD

USC Street Medicine goes to unhoused Angelenos to deliver the same quality of medical care on the street you’d expect in a brick-and-mortar clinic. This holiday season, they are requesting food and support items via this link: https://amzn.to/3MlxMR0

Bringing visibility to pharmacy access. As pharmacy closures rise, USC researchers are rebooting their pharmacy desert mapping tool to help protect access to essential medicines like insulin, antibiotics, contraceptives, and flu shots.

Dean's POV 📸 Taking a moment to acknowledge the hardworking community engagement team at the Keck School. Because of their efforts and the work of our inclusive clinical trial leaders and researchers, we won the @AAMCtoday Spencer Foreman Award!

Keck School of Medicine researchers conducted a new meta-analysis that revealed that people with type 1 diabetes are 4.29 times more likely to develop bladder cancer. #CancerResearch #Cancer

To overcome the barriers of traditional motion tracking devices, researchers from @viterbischool.usc.edu are reshaping the field of motion tracking with a new wireless, wearable, and real-time motion-tracking technology based on magnetic induction. #Engineering #ScienceNews #Technology

Did you test your medical research knowledge in our latest trivia? How many did you get right? 👀 #MedicalResearch #Science

Dean's POV 📸 My view of the the @keckmedicineusc.bsky.social Pasadena facility opening. This new state-of-the-art building is going to make an impact on a new set of patients in the Pasadena area and provide training opportunities for our students, residents, and fellows.

Ready, set, research! 🔬Let’s put your medical research knowledge to the test!

Using cell cultures and animal models, researchers from the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center showed that innovative ways to engineer CAR T cells can further safely and effectively shrink solid tumors. #Cancer #CancerResearch #MedSky #MedEd

Dean’s POV 📸 Is AI in medicine living up to its promise? The current acceleration and the promise of what can be achieved is astonishing. But with this incredible promise comes a responsibility to understand the algorithms, not simply use them. https://bit.ly/3Lp8ilA

Five genes linked to aggressive prostate cancer in men of African descent, @keck.usc.edu study identifies https://cancerletter.com/clinical-roundup/20251107_8a/

Fun fact: Zebrafish share many of the same genes as humans. Gage Crump, PhD, Professor and Vice Chair of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine at USC Stem Cell, explains how this tiny fish is helping advance human health research. #Research #ScienceNews #ResearchSky #StemCell

Liver disease is typically caused by alcohol use, fat buildup from conditions like obesity or diabetes, or hepatitis B and C. Now, a new study by @keckmedicineusc.bsky.social suggests another culprit, tetrachloroethylene (PCE). #ResearchSky #ScienceNews

Breakthroughs in organoid-directed brain modeling. 🔬 USC Stem Cell scientists have created a brain organoid that mimics the cerebellum—producing granule cells and Purkinje neurons, key players in movement, cognition, and emotion. #StemCell #ResearchSky #ScienceNews

From our combined nationwide team. What a great mission driven family @keck.usc.edu @uscsurgery.bsky.social @keckmedicineusc.bsky.social @americanheart.bsky.social

Breaking new ground. Using AI, researchers mapped the brain’s largest communication pathway, the corpus callosum, to uncover how genetic factors influence its structure. Their findings could unlock new insights into mental illness, neurological disorders, and more. #Neuroscience #ResearchSky

Dean's POV 📸 Thrilled that Ramen Chmait, MD, director of the fetal surgery department program, was highlighted as part of Spina Bifida Awareness Month on KCAL 9. Watch the full story: https://cbsn.ws/3XbHis8

Nicotine addiction is increasing in teens, and public health advocates are sounding the alarm. According to a USC study, youth who vape are vaping more each day and finding it harder to quit. #Research #ResearchSky #MedEd

Celebrating Halloween with our students, staff, faculty, and community. 🎃 Check out the creative costumes we found around the HSC campus! Happy Halloween! Stay healthy and #HealOn.