Leigh Hopper

Leigh Hopper is a media relations specialist with USC University Communications. She previously worked in communications for UCLA, in state government at the Texas Medical Board and as a medical reporter at the Houston Chronicle.

Stories by Leigh Hopper:

Pancreatic cancer risk in Native Hawaiians and Japanese Americans — USC experts have researched how deadly diseases like pancreatic cancer impact diverse populations via the collaborative Multiethnic Cohort Study. (Photo/Miquel Llonch, Stocksy)

Native Hawaiians have a 60% greater risk than whites for pancreatic cancer

A new USC study highlights uninvestigated disparities between certain ethnic groups as to their risk of developing pancreatic cancer.

Los Angeles air quality asthma — Air quality in Los Angeles has long been among the nation‘s worst, but recent improvements have been linked with fewer kids in the area developing asthma. (Photo/iStock)

Improved air quality leads to fewer L.A.-area kids developing asthma

USC scientists have linked nitrogen dioxide and fine particulate matter reductions to a decrease in new asthma cases, reinforcing the health detriments of air pollution.

Lead in baby teeth from Exide plant — A worker investigates at the Exide facility, which released 3,500 tons of lead until it closed as part of a legal settlement for its hazardous waste production. (Photo/Department of Toxic Substances Control)

Lead contamination found in baby teeth of children living near Exide battery plant

A new USC study revealed high amounts of lead in the teeth of children in five Los Angeles communities and reinforced the need to test for lead exposure before and during pregnancy.

This colored scanning electron micrograph shows a T cell (red) attached to a cancer cell. CAR T-cell therapy involves harvesting T-cells from a patient, reengineering them in the lab to target a particular kind of cancer, then reinfusing them into the patient. (Image/Steve Gschmeissner, Science Source)

USC-led advance in groundbreaking cancer treatment eliminates severe side effects

Though the study was designed to assess safety, six out of 11 lymphoma patients who received a commonly used dose of the improved CAR T-cell therapy went into complete remission.

What makes people smoke? Nearly 60 percent of people reporting five or six disadvantages in the USC study were smokers. (Photo/Lindsay Fox)

Study finds disadvantages in life add up to increased smoking risk, difficulty quitting

With each additional disadvantage — unemployment, poverty, low education, disability, serious psychological distress and heavy drinking — smoking rates climbed.

brain swelling stroke recovery — Brain swelling following stroke can increase the area of damage. USC researchers found that, in a lab model of stroke, a dose of a particular gene stopped inflammation and led to better recovery. (Photo/iStock)

This gene could play a major role in reducing brain swelling after stroke

A new USC study suggests a dose of the TRIM9 gene could decrease the extensive — and detrimental — brain swelling that follows a stroke.

Diet and Alzheimer’s: Green tea — USC researchers are studying plant-derived substances, like green tea, that inhibit production of the sticky amyloid beta plaques known to cause Alzheimer‘s disease. (Photo/Pixabay)

Diet reverses Alzheimer’s-like symptoms in lab model

The findings — focused on components contained in green tea and carrots — lend credence to the idea that certain readily available, plant-based supplements might offer protection against dementia in people.

E-cigs and cancer: Woman vaping — While studies have indicated that vaping can help smokers quit, USC researchers say the health consequences of using a e-cigarettes may be worse than widely believed. (Photo/Pixabay)

E-cigarette users show cancer-linked genetic changes

E-cigarettes may not be risk-free: A USC study shows users develop some of the same molecular changes as cigarette smokers.

Air pollution and obesity in teens: Photo of person with fries — A USC study found that exposure to traffic pollution during childhood makes adolescents more likely to eat foods high in unhealthy trans fats. (Photo/iStock)

Does air pollution make teens eat fattening foods?

A new USC study suggests that early exposure to traffic pollution may be linked to unhealthy diet in adolescence.

USC Alzheimer's research: Illustration of leaky blood vessel — This image depicts a blood vessel in the brain that has become leaky, or permeable. (Illustration/Courtesy of Jim Stanis and Arthur W. Toga)

USC Alzheimer’s researchers find new culprit and potential treatment target for disease

Brain changes associated with leaky capillaries suggest new, potential drug targets as well as a way to diagnose the disease sooner.

Jill Henley and Younho Choi — Research facility manger Jill Henley, left, and Younho Choi, work with a sample of hemorrhagic fever transmitted by the Asian longhorned tick. (USC Photo/Gus Ruelas)

USC researchers race against tick-borne illness before it spreads in U.S.

The Asian longhorned tick, new to North America, can transmit a disease that causes nausea, diarrhea and muscle pain — and, often, death.

e-scooter social media — Instagram posts rarely show Bird e-scooter users with helmets or other protective gear, USC researchers say. (Photo/USC News staff)

E-scooter companies should consider safety on social media, USC study finds

Research suggests that the vehicles aren’t promoted with protective gear in mind.

Freeze Dried Polio Vaccine — A polio vaccine that doesn’t needs no refrigeration could be transported to hard-to-reach areas. (Photo/Integrity Bio via Wikimedia Commons)

Vaccine breakthrough brings researchers closer to eliminating polio worldwide

USC scientists create a temperature-stable vaccine for use in developing countries where refrigeration may be unavailable.

New e-cig study shows vaping is no deterrent to teen smoking

The USC study is likely to add heft to a growing chorus seeking changes in regulation or industry practice for the nicotine delivery devices.

Zika Virus biomarkers — The Aedes mosquito can spread the Zika virus. (Photo/Muhammad Mahdi Karim)

Zika biomarkers in blood could lead to prenatal screening for birth defects

The highest risk of birth defects is from Zika virus infection during the first and second trimester, USC researcher says.

Gabriel Zada pituitary research — Gabriel Zada received funding to study tumors of the pituitary gland. (Photo/Chris Shinn)

Pituitary tumors that invade bone, brain to be focus of USC research

National Institutes of Health will back USC’s research of little-studied tumors — the results could provide potential targets for precise treatment.

Cancer Equity Center USC — Mariana Stern and John Carpten have received a grant to create a cancer health equity center at USC and partner organizations. (USC Photo/Gus Ruelas)

To diversify research, USC teams with Florida universities on cancer disparities

Federal grant will address disease in Latinos and African-Americans, and help train the next generation of cancer researchers.

Young adults cancer survival rates: Doctor and patient — A new USC analysis of long-term cancer data shows the survival rates for young people with cancer has been consistently higher than previously thought. (Photo/iStock)

Young adults’ cancer survival rates jump in surprising new study

USC analysis shows that 15- to 39-year-olds had the best survival of any age group for many years after HIV/AIDS-related cancers are taken into account.

cannabis market: Teen Cannabis use — USC researchers collected data via questionnaires at 10 Los Angeles area high schools from January to October 2015 — three years before California’s 2018 legalization of recreational marijuana. (Photo/Pixabay)

Most teens who tried marijuana used it in various forms, research finds

A USC study raises concerns about adolescent health amid a booming cannabis market that touts sleekly packaged products claiming an array of health benefits.

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