Public health alum puts her preparedness skills to use during COVID-19
USC grad Nicole Mercado Anazagasty has always wanted to help communities prep for disasters. She never realized her first would be a global pandemic.
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President Carol L. Folt’s Thanksgiving message to the Trojan Family
As the fall semester comes to a close and the holidays approach, the president offers words of appreciation and gratitude to students, faculty, staff and the community.
🎧 ‘March Madness’: How science-based COVID decisions brought USC athletics to a halt — and a restart
For USC and the Pac-12, science led the way in all the decision-making around COVID-19. Hear the behind-the-scenes story about how the Trojans went from not playing to playing, thanks to the medical breakthroughs.
USC to begin tracking and reporting its environmental progress
The university’s commitment to the respected Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Ratings System will include a full review of its environmental footprint, including water use and energy consumption.
Six USC researchers named 2020 AAAS fellows
The USC professors join 40 previously selected faculty members as fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Variety
USC screen scoring diversity scholarship expands opportunities for Black composers
Sony/ATV Music Publishing and Bleeding Fingers Music have established a Screen Scoring Diversity Scholarship for Black composition students at the USC Thornton School of Music. The scholarship is funded by a gift from Quincy Jones and will cover the full cost of the school’s Screen Scoring master’s program.
Psychology Today
New AI predicts movie ratings before filming
The machine learning model, which analyzes language data in a movie script, was developed by USC researchers in collaboration with a UCLA colleague.
KCET
Even with museums closed, art finds a way through public spaces
Art can help us make sense of these charged, complex and difficult times, says USC Dornsife’s Enrique Martínez Celaya. And Amelia Jones of the USC Roski School of Art and Design notes that art displayed in public needs to reflect the current conditions — not just be plunked down without context.
NPR
FDA advisory panel rejects controversial Alzheimer’s drug
USC Alzheimer’s expert Lon Schneider says the panel made the right call in rejecting aducanumab. Studies showed the drug’s impact to be insignificant at best.
CBS This Morning
What to expect from Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine
The vaccine’s 90% effectiveness far exceeds the FDA’s bar of 50%, says David Agus of the Ellison Institute for Transformative Medicine of USC: “This is a momentous occasion.”
Forbes
A lack of vision is driving AMC toward bankruptcy — what’s next?
It may seem that movie theater chain AMC’s troubles are solely due to COVID-19, but Gene Del Vecchio of the USC Marshall School of Business writes that the company was in trouble well before the pandemic. ()
EdSource
For the first time, the heads of all California’s public education systems are Black or Latino
Diversification of leadership can be an important step toward meeting the goals of racial equity, notes Adrianna Kezar of USC’s Pullias Center for Higher Education: “The ability to speak from your heart and authentically about this issue and to have a vision for a direction forward is much more likely to happen with leaders of color.” ()
U.S. News and World Report
Economy and pandemic overshadow climate for young U.S. voters
Even for voters who are concerned about climate change, the issue is often eclipsed by other topics of greater immediate concern, notes Joe Arvai, director of the USC Wrigley Institute for Environmental Studies: “Our attention span is limited.”
Time
Women are deciding not to have babies because of the pandemic — and that’s bad for all of us
Birth rates were already on the decline. If hundreds of thousands of millennial women choose to delay pregnancy even longer, “we’re looking at a fundamental and unprecedented change to our population,” says demographer Dowell Myers of the USC Price School of Public Policy.
CNBC
Shopping online too much? How you can cut back
Shopping could be a way of coping with being alone, USC Marshall’s Lars Perner says. To reduce your impulse purchases, he suggests a “cooling off” period after you spot something you want — even just overnight.
U.S. News & World Report
Economy and pandemic overshadow climate for young U.S. voters
Even for voters who are concerned about climate change, the issue is often eclipsed by other topics of greater immediate concern, notes Joe Arvai, director of the USC Wrigley Institute for Environmental Studies: “Our attention span is limited.”
USA Today
Health experts doubt NBA can begin next season with fans in arenas
Exploring the unique history of downtown L.A.’s Bunker Hill neighborhood
Today it’s home to gleaming office towers. You’d never guess it used to be where L.A.’s elite lived — and, later, lower-wage workers and seniors.
What diabetes patients need to know about COVID-19
As National Diabetes Month comes to a close, Keck Medicine of USC experts discuss how people with diabetes can stay healthy during the pandemic.
🎧 ‘History Repeating Itself’: Why 2020 looks a lot like 1918, especially to USC football
A century ago, USC football was in a similar bind, battling the Spanish Flu while trying to prepare for the 1918 season. Hear how a football powerhouse grew from the ashes of that pandemic.
COVID-19: Mandatory curfew for Los Angeles County
Los Angeles County is one of 41 counties included in a California Department of Public Health order prohibiting most nonessential activity outside of the home between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. from Nov. 21-Dec. 21.
President’s Leadership Circle honored for giving back to the community
The circle — USC faculty and staff members who pledged at least 1% of their salaries to the university’s Good Neighbors Campaign — has helped nonprofits stay up and running during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Seniors susceptible to scams show brain differences and are frailer
Two studies from the Keck School of Medicine of USC shed new light on what makes certain older people more at risk of being defrauded.
Studying tiny worms could unlock new insights into human life
Two USC studies on diet and sperm quality in C. elegans illustrate how changes in the worm species could lay the groundwork for further research on human lifespan and reproduction.
Many employees feel underappreciated at work and would like a ‘thank you’ more often
Most workers — regardless of age or gender — would also prefer to receive written thanks and find them more meaningful than public praise, a new USC study has shown.
These tips will help you stay safe this Thanksgiving
Neha Nanda, an infectious disease expert with Keck Medicine of USC, answers questions about how to connect with loved ones while lessening the risk of spreading COVID-19.
Five lessons we’ve learned about COVID-19 since the pandemic began
Though COVID-19 is surging in the U.S., researchers have learned a lot about how the virus behaves — and how to thwart it. USC experts share the most important findings thus far.
Does air pollution increase women’s risk of dementia?
High levels of fine particle pollution are associated with brain shrinkage patterns common in Alzheimer’s disease, a USC study finds.
Election polls are more accurate if they ask participants how others will vote
Pollsters’ predictions can be more accurate if they ask people about the political preferences of others in their social circles and their states. That could help paint a fuller picture of the American electorate.
To help reach zero waste, USC invests in recycling
One bin does not fit all, which is why new sorting stations on USC campuses will keep materials separate from the start.
Physical therapy program launches comprehensive anti-racism plan
The goal of the plan, which will be revised every academic year, is to create a welcoming, inclusive educational environment for everyone.
Student-athletes’ graduation success rate hits all-time high for seventh consecutive year
The 91% four-year figure is 1 percentage point higher than last year’s mark, and matches the overall university’s graduation rate.
How to cope with a complicated winter amid COVID-19
Days are getting shorter, the pandemic continues and the holidays may be more isolating than ever. USC experts offer advice on how to make the best of it.
Building tech devices that don’t gorge on electricity
To better process modern mountains of big data, USC’s Joshua Yang creates novel devices called ”memristors“ that use the least amount of energy and physical space possible.
Measuring the response to COVID-19 in diverse communities
Cross-campus research will examine why certain communities encourage behaviors like mask-wearing and social distancing more than others.
Most Medicare beneficiaries don’t receive cognitive screenings at annual wellness visits
Despite the importance of detecting cognitive impairment as early as possible, only a quarter of the respondents to a USC survey reported receiving a yearly structured assessment.
How a Hollywood hitmaker-turned-professor brought virtual filmmaking to USC
Gail Katz has produced smash successes like Air Force One and The Perfect Storm. Now, she’s helping students at the USC School of Cinematic Arts embrace a new era of filmmaking.
COVID-19 antibody treatment volunteers sought by Keck Medicine of USC
They’ll be part of a national phase 3 clinical trial to test the efficacy and safety of a monoclonal antibody drug for mild to moderate COVID-19.
Regulators can help clear the way for entrepreneurial energy companies to innovate
Giving state-level regulators more discretion in approving hydropower facilities in the United States led to faster adoption of the clean technology, a USC researcher and colleague find.
Predicting the long-term effects of prenatal COVID-19 exposure
Infants born to mothers infected by the virus that causes COVID-19 could suffer from developmental difficulties and accelerated aging down the line, USC research finds.
National plan needed to address COVID-19’s impact on mental health, USC review finds
USC researchers catalog physical and mental issues that have been exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic.