Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

USC Stem Cell @stemcell.keck.usc.edu · 1d

USC’s Drs. Denis Evseenko and Toby Maher earned a $3.2M NIH grant to develop a regenerative drug for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, advancing hope for lung regeneration and recovery. Learn more: https://bit.ly/4o3hOss.

USC physician-scientists Denis Evseenko and Toby Maher win $3.2 million grant from the National Institute on Aging to develop regenerative drug for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

It might start with a shortness of breath that’s easily dismissed as getting older or needing more exercise. But for the nearly 3 million patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), this subtle...

stemcell.keck.usc.edu

1

USC Stem Cell @stemcell.keck.usc.edu · 8d

Exciting breakthrough: USC Stem Cell researchers create genuine embryonic stem cells from birds using egg yolk! Discover more: stemcell.keck.usc.edu/study-genera....

Keck School of Medicine of USC @keck.usc.edu · 8d

🔬 @stemcell.keck.usc.edu researchers have unlocked a new way to derive and maintain authentic embryonic stem cells from chickens and seven other avian species using egg yolk.

This paves the way for advances in developmental research, food innovation, and more.

#MedSky #StemCell #Research

USC Stem Cell-led study generates authentic embryonic stem cell from birds

Egg whites may be perfect for a health-conscious breakfast, but egg yolks turned out to be the key ingredient for cultivating bird embryonic stem cells (ESCs) in the lab. Using a growing medium of egg...

stemcell.keck.usc.edu

USC Stem Cell @stemcell.keck.usc.edu · 13d

Congratulations to USC COMPASS student Alara Berkmen for winning the Astronaut Scholarship award for her research on pediatric cancer. viterbischool.usc.edu/news/2025/09...

USC Viterbi Student Wins Prestigious Astronaut Scholarship - USC Viterbi | School of Engineering

Alara Berkmen, a biomedical engineering student, is recognized for leadership and dedication to cancer research.

viterbischool.usc.edu

1

USC Stem Cell @stemcell.keck.usc.edu · 13d

Congratulations to the winners of this year's Broad Collaborative Challenge Grants for Graduate Students and Postdoctoral Fellows at USC Stem Cell! stemcell.keck.usc.edu/students-and...

USC Stem Cell students and trainees win $15,000 collaborative research grants

When learning to become a great scientist, the most important lesson might be how to collaborate. To encourage this essential skill, for the past decade, USC Stem Cell has awarded one-year challenge g...

stemcell.keck.usc.edu

2

USC Stem Cell @stemcell.keck.usc.edu · 19d

Which signals drive cells to heal large-scale bone injuries? For exploring this question, USC Stem Cell PhD student Shuwan Liu won a 2025 Young Investigator Award from the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research. stemcell.keck.usc.edu/phd-student-...

USC Stem Cell PhD student Shuwan Liu receives award from the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research

Which signals drive cells to heal large-scale bone injuries? For her research into this question, USC Stem Cell PhD student Shuwan Liu has won a 2025 Young Investigator Award from the American Society...

stemcell.keck.usc.edu

USC Stem Cell @stemcell.keck.usc.edu · 21d

In a Cell Stem Cell paper, a team led by Zhongwei Li at USC Stem Cell combines kidney filtering and urine-concentrating components to make “assembloids,” the most mature and complex kidney structures ever grown in a lab and a tool for developing new therapies. stemcell.keck.usc.edu/team-makes-m...

2

USC Stem Cell @stemcell.keck.usc.edu · Sep 3

A Nature Communications paper from Nils Lindström's lab at USC Stem Cell identifies key molecular switches that generate distinct cell types within the kidney’s filtering units, or nephrons. The lab is getting closer to making therapeutic kidney cells on demand! stemcell.keck.usc.edu/scientists-u...

Kidney images (Images by MaryAnne Achieng/Lindstrom Lab/USC Stem Cell)

1 1

USC Stem Cell @stemcell.keck.usc.edu · Jul 24

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

Reposted by USC Stem Cell

Keck School of Medicine of USC @keck.usc.edu · Jul 11

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

2 3

Reposted by USC Stem Cell

Keck School of Medicine of USC @keck.usc.edu · Jul 21

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 🧪

2 4

USC Stem Cell @stemcell.keck.usc.edu · Jul 21

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/...

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....

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

USC Stem Cell @stemcell.keck.usc.edu · Jul 19

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

1

USC Stem Cell @stemcell.keck.usc.edu · Jul 9

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

1

USC Stem Cell @stemcell.keck.usc.edu · Jul 9

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...

1

USC Stem Cell @stemcell.keck.usc.edu · Jul 8

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...

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 ...

stemcell.keck.usc.edu

1

USC Stem Cell @stemcell.keck.usc.edu · Jul 3

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...

Yang Chai named dean of USC’s Herman Ostrow dentistry school

The school’s associate dean of research has been serving as interim dean.

today.usc.edu

3

USC Stem Cell @stemcell.keck.usc.edu · Jul 2

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: 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...

stemcell.keck.usc.edu

1

USC Stem Cell @stemcell.keck.usc.edu · Jun 30

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...

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...

stemcell.keck.usc.edu

3

USC Stem Cell @stemcell.keck.usc.edu · Jun 27

$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...

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...

stemcell.keck.usc.edu

1 5

USC Stem Cell @stemcell.keck.usc.edu · May 27

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...

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

dornsife.usc.edu

1 2

Reposted by USC Stem Cell

The University of Southern California @usc.edu · May 20

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.

R. Rex and Carrol Parris Make $10 Million Gift to Launch USC Longevity Research Accelerator at Keck School of Medicine

keck.usc.edu

2 4

USC Stem Cell @stemcell.keck.usc.edu · May 8

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...

2

USC Stem Cell @stemcell.keck.usc.edu · May 6

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...

USC team develops a powerful new analytical tool to advance CAR T cell therapy research

keck.usc.edu

1

Reposted by USC Stem Cell

USC Stem Cell @stemcell.keck.usc.edu · Mar 1

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

1 3

USC Stem Cell @stemcell.keck.usc.edu · May 2

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...

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...

stemcell.keck.usc.edu

1 1 4