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
This world-wise veteran is ready to assist in the ER
After eight years in the Navy, Brian Phan is a well-traveled vet with a knack for photography who plans to put his USC education to use as a physician assistant.
Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine announcement sparks hope, along with questions about next steps
The drugmaker says its vaccine is more than 90% effective. How did they do it? What does that mean for other vaccines in development? USC experts weigh in.
Social work grads make a career out of assisting veterans
Graduates from the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work have found not only jobs but personal satisfaction working with service members and their families.
How social factors impact our genes — and our health
A $2.9 million grant to Eileen Crimmins of the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology supports multination research on how life circumstances influence gene expression and affect health.
First-gen Trojan aims to serve, whether by mentoring USC students or identifying unknown bodies
Angelina Crittenden is already making a difference through the First Generation Student Leadership Program she helped create. Her long-term plan: becoming a medical examiner.
Air Force veteran dreams of going to space
After graduating from USC Viterbi, astronautical engineering student Edward Proulx hopes to work at NASA and someday explore the final frontier.
As the pandemic progressed, younger and older adults resumed risky behaviors
A USC study also found that being female, Black, Hispanic or Asian and trusting CNN more than Fox News were all linked with practicing more preventive behaviors.
When it comes to food, consumers confuse beauty with nutrition
According to new USC research, many people believe that pretty food is more natural and healthier — and companies, advertisers and restaurants know it.
Injury puts Navy veteran on path toward medicine
Thanks to his alumnus father, Garrett Wagner was very familiar with the Trojan Family. After suffering a torn ACL on duty, he decided to help others the way his surgeon helped him — starting at USC.
Community college reform is working, but there’s much to do
Reform expert Tatiana Melguizo discusses community college legislation.
Flaws emerge in modeling human genetic diseases in animals
USC stem cell expert Gage Crump notes that the desire for speed in research must not come at a cost of accuracy and reproducibility.
Air Force vet takes his math talents to USC Viterbi
After spending four years keeping some of the world’s biggest planes in the air, first-generation transfer student Matt Mena is climbing toward a computer science degree.
Virtual mentors bring the campus experience to remote first-year students
When classes moved online, the USC students set to be RAs were left wondering: Who do you assist when there aren’t any residents? Enter the virtual peer mentors.
Decoding complex brain signal patterns could help people with neurological and mental disorders
A new algorithm developed by USC researchers may someday help a paralyzed patient move a robotic arm just by thinking about it.
A dual graduation for Army reservist: college and kindergarten
After celebrating academic successes with her daughter during the pandemic, Melissa Hooper is now working her way through USC Marshall’s Master of Business for Veterans program.
California voters want a ‘fresh and new voice’ in the U.S. Senate
With Kamala Harris poised to become vice president, almost half of California voters want someone with no experience in Washington or Sacramento to fill the Senate vacancy, the USC Schwarzenegger Institute’s latest poll finds.
Through photojournalism, young women document injustices and reasons for hope in L.A.
Partly funded by a grant from the USC Good Neighbors Campaign, the Digital Promotoras program helps students tell the local stories that matter to them.
How Reagan’s notions of a ‘good society’ resonate with Trump supporters today
Many leaders have invoked God to justify their policies and cement their power. While Ronald Reagan was more successful than most, USC Annenberg’s Diane Winston notes that Donald Trump uses a similar strategy.
At the USC Balance Center, dizziness patients find much-needed relief
Audiologist Alaina Bassett uses modern tech tools and old-school strategies to help steady anyone frustrated by constant dizziness.
Professor keeps his students on their toes, especially when they’re learning at home
At age 64, John “Old Doc” Walsh of the USC Leonard Davis School recognizes the need to stay limber — especially in the middle of a two-hour online class.
How minimally invasive glaucoma surgery saved a young student’s eyesight
Narsing Rao, interim dean of the Keck School of Medicine of USC, and glaucoma specialist Brian Song joined forces to successfully treat an uncommon, vision-threatening condition.
Meet Edwin Bodney, USC Student Health’s new LGBTQ+ campus advocate and educator
The poet and performer wants his art and his own experiences as a Black, queer undergrad to help guide underrepresented members of the USC student community.
50 years of keeping ‘the flame of the healing relationship alive’
“Introduction to Clinical Medicine” — one of the first programs of its kind in the U.S. — reminds medical students why they’re going through this rigorous training.
New Trojans embrace forming friendships with virtual roommates
More than 300 first-year students signed up for a USC Dornsife program designed to build connections in a supportive online community.