Keck School of Medicine of USC

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Dean's POV 📸 Proud to welcome our 2026 commencement speakers: Elena Fuentes-Afflick, MD, MPH, Chief Scientific Officer of the AAMC, for our MD and clinical programs ceremony, and Paula Cannon, PhD, Distinguished Professor and CRISPR pioneer, for our graduate programs. #KSOMGrad

A rare heart disease often kills infants within their first year. USC researchers led by Yao Wei Lu, PhD, identified a second gene, PCBP1, that may offer a new treatment path for AARS2-related cardiomyopathy. bit.ly/3OMi7vP

"We are committed to providing compassionate, patient-centered care while continuously pushing the boundaries of what is possible." Learn more: bit.ly/4tt3xIH

A founding anesthesiologist of the USC Liver Transplant Program, Strum helped grow it into one of the largest in the US. He also pioneered transfusion-free liver transplantation for Jehovah's Witness patients.

Earl Strum, MD, MMM, is the new chair of the Department of Anesthesiology at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, stepping up after 8 months as interim chair. @AnesthesiaUSC

Restoring walking and sensation after paralysis is an ambitious goal. A team of researchers from the Keck School of Medicine of USC, Caltech and UC Irvine is now one step closer, testing a two-way brain-computer interface w/a wearable robotic exoskeleton. bit.ly/4trDrWv

Celebrating four @KECKSchool_USC researchers honored with 2026 awards: 🔸 Lourdes Baezconde-Garbanati, PhD, MPH: health equity storytelling 🔸 Amy Lee, PhD: 45 yrs of cancer biology 🔸 Andy McMahon, PhD, FRS: founded @USCStemCell 🔸 W. Martin Kast, PhD: defeating HPV cancers

IIGH Director Sofia Gruskin traveled to Geneva for a series of meetings with partners, with a particular focus on sexual and reproductive health and rights. 🌐

Discovery on display at the 2026 Medical Student Research Forum. Thank you to our students, faculty moderators, and attendees for supporting a day of research, collaboration, and innovation at USC.

“There are times when you’ll ask for change, and times when you’ll have to create it.” @keckschool_usc announces a $2.3M gift from @allysonfelix to advance maternal health research. Supporting @DrFejzo, this work focuses on GDF15 to identify early risk. bit.ly/4toeUBF

Largest study of pregnancy sickness identifies new genetic drivers of hyperemesis gravidarum (HG). Led by @DrFejzo, Keck School of Medicine of USC researchers expand on GDF15 findings, pointing to potential treatment pathways. bit.ly/4ejSbSu

USC Street Medicine's Kaitlin Schwan shared the success of a multi-agency effort to bring people experiencing homelessness indoors in Northeast Los Angeles in this @SpecNews1SoCal feature. #StreetMedicine

Stem cell identity may be controlled by a shared checkpoint. Keck School of Medicine of USC and NIH researchers identify GSK3α as a regulator of differentiation, advancing regenerative medicine and cancer research. bit.ly/4cfZLuT 📷 Duo Wang/Ying Lab/@USCStemCell

Retired and former faculty sat down with current M1 and M2 students to talk candidly about the realities of medical training, including the importance of well-being and support. “If you’re feeling stressed or anxious, talk to someone. You don’t have to carry it alone.”

Paula Cannon, Alan Epstein, Heinz-Josef Lenz, and Bodour Salhia, have been named 2026 @AcadofInventors Senior Members for advances in gene therapy, antibody technologies, precision oncology, and liquid biopsy diagnostics. @PaulaUSC @bsalhia @uscnorris → bit.ly/4tBZf1q

A packed house for our @KeckSchoolofMedicine Medical Student Research Forum

Dean's POV 📸 Staff award selfies✌️ Proud to celebrate the dedicated staff who power our mission every day. Your excellence, collaboration, and commitment to our community make everything we do possible.

Children living near California’s Salton Sea are showing slower lung development. A USC study of nearly 500 children links dust exposure from the drying lakebed to reduced lung function growth, with potential lasting health effects. bit.ly/4c4Nyca #PublicHealth

Keck School of Medicine of USC is advancing Alzheimer’s disease research with a $30.7M NIH investment to expand AI-driven analysis of brain imaging, genetics, and multi-omics data. bit.ly/4tvwALv 📷 Stevens INI/@USCLONI

Paul Thompson, PhD, has been installed as the inaugural Popovich Chair in Neurodegenerative Diseases at Keck School of Medicine of USC, recognizing his global impact on brain research and work spanning disciplines from ophthalmology to computational biology. 📷:Stevens INI/USC