Better Treatments and Care

Support research to transform the future of health

Our researchers are discovering ways to prevent disease, helping people be well and stay well. For those who are ill, we’re creating cures and treatments and getting them to patients more quickly to improve and save lives. The National Institutes of Health believes in our work: Eight USC faculty disciplines rank in the top 10 nationally in federal research grants. We could make many more breakthroughs in emerging areas of health with your contributions and support.

“Research and clinical practice are two of the most important ways that America’s leading universities – especially those with strong academic medical centers, like USC — can take on big societal challenges and restore trust in science.”

– USC President Carol L. Folt

Building a place for breakthroughs

To take on the biggest disease challenges, we need to recruit top scientists and create new labs. That’s why we’re building the Discovery and Translational Hub, where experts in emerging fields will collaborate and move quickly. With your support, we’ll accelerate the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of major diseases like cancer and Alzheimer’s — in ways that are more individualized and precise than ever.

Contact Marijana Lekousis, Executive Director of Development, to learn more about the hub.

Treating diseases precisely

Three different people with breast cancer might require different, tailored therapies that fit their unique bodies best. At USC, technological advances, the digital revolution, and genomics enable physicians and researchers to customize treatments to each person. Technology also has led to robot-assisted, minimally invasive surgeries that reduce risks and recovery time. With momentum created by your support, USC will advance this revolution of precision health.

Discovering better therapies

USC is a leader in the development of new drugs, therapies, and technologies to prevent and treat diseases. Our new Current Good Manufacturing Practice facility will enable experts to engineer a patient’s own powerful cells to heal injuries or fight disease. It’s a joint venture of the Keck School of Medicine of USC, Keck Medicine of USC, USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, and Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. Our investigators are also making strides at the USC Center for Drug Discovery and Development, drawing on experts from the USC School of Pharmacy.

Regenerating healthy tissues

Restore sight to the blind? At USC, we’re testing the approach using stem cell technology — part of the future of medicine. Stem cells could potentially be used to repair or replace many kinds of damaged tissue. The Eli and Edythe Broad Center for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at USC is one of only 23 such institutes in the country. Fund the future by supporting USC Stem Cell’s more than 100 experts in regenerative medicine.

Computing and artificial intelligence for health

Digital solutions could bring better health to more people, more easily. Virtual psychotherapy sessions, a smartphone app that helps families eat more healthfully, and virtual reality training that helps Parkinson’s disease patients walk with confidence — they’re all in development at USC. Your support can turn the next big ideas in artificial intelligence and health into reality.

Harnessing the power of the immune system

Immunotherapy enlists a patient’s immune system to attack cancer. It’s lengthening the lives of many people with advanced disease. Oncologists in coming years will increasingly use it as part of treatment, alongside chemotherapy, surgery, and radiation. Your support can help USC make huge leaps in immunotherapy.