USC News http://news.usc.edu University of Southern California News Sat, 16 Dec 2017 01:19:44 +0000 en-us hourly 1 http://news.usc.edu/wp-content/themes/news-tfm/images/usc-logo-feed.png USC News http://news.usc.edu https://wordpress.org/?v=4.9 Young classical music fans show their support for KUSC http://news.usc.edu/133126/a-new-generation-finds-joy-in-kuscs-classical-offerings/ http://news.usc.edu/133126/a-new-generation-finds-joy-in-kuscs-classical-offerings/#respond Fri, 15 Dec 2017 16:00:41 +0000 USC News https://news.usc.edu/?p=133126 A new generation is inspired to donate an allowance or encourage parents to make a contribution. For as long as he can remember, KUSC has been a big part of Owen Dupuy's life -- almost all 13 years of it.

The station's classical music often plays in the background as the Irvine teenager does his homework, eats dinner with his family or drifts off to sleep. So when he heard some of his favorite KUSC announcers, like Alan Chapman and Jim Svejda, asking for pledges from listeners, he knew he had to act.

"It's important to keep this type of great music on the air, so during the membership drives, they need our support," he said. "Remember, the station gets about 75 percent of its total operating budget from people like me."

He pestered his parents to contribute. "I think he must have asked us for two days straight," his mother, Sue Dupuy, added. "He finally said, 'Mom, this is really the last day, we have to do it now.'"

The young teen dipped into his allowance and gave $20, although he is quick to point out that he waited until a matching challenge to ensure that his support was doubled.

Dupuy's encyclopedic knowledge of all things KUSC -- he rattles off the titles and air times of various shows without a second thought -- bowled over employees during his recent tour of the station. It prompted Chapman to proclaim him KUSC's "biggest 13-year-old fan."

But he isn't the only youngster who has been inspired to donate to the radio station. During every membership drive, dozens of pledges come in from children who want to make a contribution. It's an encouraging sign for station leaders, who hope to build a new generation of listeners who appreciate classical music.

Striking a chord

"When we hear those kinds of stories, we're really excited," said Minnie Prince, KUSC's executive director of development. "It's helping introduce kids to classical music."

Gail Eichenthal, a longtime on-air announcer and KUSC's chief engagement officer, said that children's support gives the KUSC staff a lift.

Not only are they listening -- which in itself is a thrill -- but they feel a connection to the station and want it to succeed.

Gail Eichenthal

"Not only are they listening -- which in itself is a thrill -- but they feel a connection to the station and want it to succeed."

In recent years, the station has made a concerted effort to build up its engagement efforts with children and local communities, including initiatives like collecting lightly used instruments from listeners to donate to public school and afterschool music programs in need.

A recent event called KUSC Kids Discovery Day brought thousands of children to the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County for live performances by artists from LA Opera and the USC Thornton School of Music, interactive musical games and ukulele lessons. In addition to planning a return to the museum in April 2018 for a similar event, KUSC is holding "playground popup" concerts -- bringing live shows to local public elementary schools.

"We definitely want to spark some excitement about live performance, and perhaps an interest in playing music themselves," Eichenthal said. "If you haven't had any access to classical music, it can be foreign and scary and intimidating. We really want to try to knock down those walls."

All the right notes

One young fan who doesn't need any encouragement when it comes to classical music is Benjamin Roberts. Before leaving the driveway with his dad in Calabasas to head to school, the 5-year-old has the opportunity to pick a radio station, and more often than not, he flips the dial to 91.5 FM.

On one occasion, his father had to take a call while on the road, and when he hung up, Benjamin exclaimed that the station had played a piece by Tchaikovsky. His passion for the genre became apparent as he showed off a book featuring 12 top composers and recited their full names, even though the cover only lists their surnames.

"The more classical music I've heard, the more interesting it sounds," he said. "Some of it is kind of wild and crazy and gets me really excited, and some of it is really calm."

It's thrilling for Matt Roberts, Benjamin's father, to listen to his son describe his favorite classical pieces -- Mozart's Symphony No. 41 and Beethoven's F?r Elise. His own father often listened to KUSC or classical music CDs on the drive to school when he was a boy, so it feels like he is continuing a family tradition.

"It's a beautiful thing to pass this on to my son like my dad passed it on to me," he said. "What's also great about this whole experience is that it was never forced on him. It was just sort of organic, and he gravitated toward it quite naturally."

The Roberts family had a recent opportunity to tour the KUSC studios, and Chapman even had Benjamin record a short message to play during an upcoming pledge drive. The recording ended up on the air a few weeks later, prompting calls from friends and family who happened to hear a familiar voice encouraging listeners to support the station.

Chapman also had Owen Dupuy try out the microphone and headphones during his visit, and the 13-year-old was a natural. He quickly launched into a story about how his family first started listening to the station to lull his older brother to sleep when he was a baby. Sue Dupuy and her husband, Roger, had tried everything to calm down their wailing infant, but nothing worked.

"My dad thought for a moment, then flipped a switch," Owen said. "It was some German opera on KUSC, and that's what finally made him calm down and go to sleep."

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A new generation is inspired to donate an allowance or encourage parents to make a contribution Alan Chapman, right, called Owen Dupuy KUSC’s “biggest 13-year-old fan” after he motivated his parents to contribute to the pledge drive of his favorite station. (USC Photo/Eric Lindberg)
Is Netflix bad for you? How binge-watching could hurt your health http://news.usc.edu/131981/is-netflix-bad-for-you-how-binge-watching-could-hurt-your-health-amazon-hulu-tv/ http://news.usc.edu/131981/is-netflix-bad-for-you-how-binge-watching-could-hurt-your-health-amazon-hulu-tv/#respond Fri, 15 Dec 2017 16:00:34 +0000 USC News https://news.usc.edu/?p=131981 USC experts share when it's time to put down the remote when watching The Crown or The Fall. Back in the day, you'd wait a whole week for the next episode of your favorite TV show. Now we can watch the whole series in one sitting -- and many of us do.

With the advent of streaming platforms like Netflix, Amazon and Hulu, binge-watching has become the new normal. But this new habit of watching hours of back-to-back television could take a toll on us -- particularly when it comes to sleep.

When you're sleep-deprived, nothing good happens.

Raj Dasgupta

"When you're sleep-deprived, nothing good happens," said Raj Dasgupta, a physician in the Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine at the Keck School of Medicine of USC.

A study published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine reported that binge-watching could lead to sleep deprivation. The study looked at 423 young adults, 80 percent of whom called themselves binge-watchers, bingeing an average of 3 hours and 8 minutes daily.

Everyone knows sleep is a necessary human function that helps the mind and body repair: It's essential in warding off disease and maintaining memory. Adults are advised to get seven to eight hours of sleep -- but these days, Dasgupta said, millennials are scraping by with as little as six hours.

When we're deprived of sleep, lots of stuff can go wrong. For one, anxiety and depression can increase. That makes us prone to mistakes, which can stress us out more, Dasgupta said.

Research shows binge-watchers report higher levels of loneliness and depression. But they do say their binge-watching is sometimes helpful in social interactions, giving them something to talk about with friends and colleagues.

And Netflix knows what they're fighting, tweeting in April that "Sleep is my greatest enemy." The streaming platform reports its viewers take in at least two hours a day of their favorite shows.

Technology makes it easy

It's not surprising we're glued to the tube. The platforms have adapted to the habit, according to Wendy Wood, Provost Professor of psychology and business at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences.

Once, you had to physically get off the couch to change the channel. Then, Wood said, the remote control came along.

Netflix has taken this one step further … You just sit there.

Wendy Wood

"Netflix has taken this one step further," she said. "It automatically gives you the next program in a series without you making any decisions at all. You just sit there and the next episode is queued up and it plays."

With only seconds to decide, Dasgupta joked, "That's not enough time to even grab the remote."

It also tricks your brain. Let's say you're watching a suspenseful show and the episode ends on a cliffhanger. That excitement is keeping your brain aroused and making it hard to transition to a sleep state. Plus, it's luring you to watch a bit more.

Netflix reported that horror and thrillers -- such as Breaking Bad and The Fall -- are binged the quickest, with viewers watching an average of 2.5 hours daily.

Lack of sleep can have significant long-term effects, according to Dave Baron, a psychiatrist at the Keck School of Medicine.

"It affects the brain's ability to do all the things the brain does," he said, noting its impact on everything from heart health to cognition, such as planning and decision-making.

What to do about it

To keep from compromising those important hours of shut-eye, Dasgupta recommends setting some limits -- such as deciding ahead of time how much TV you'll watch. He also suggests turning off the episode before the cliffhanger, maybe during a slow part in the middle.

It's also recommended to give yourself a consistent bedtime and wakeup time. That gets the body into a rhythm and improves sleep quality, Baron pointed out.

Wood, a Netflix customer herself, notes users can turn the "autoplay" function off. But she added: "Personally, I haven't turned mine off yet."

Like any guilty pleasure, she said, "In moderation, it's great."

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USC experts share when it’s time to put down the remote when watching The Crown or The Fall Before you know it, you’ve watched the whole season. (Photo/iStock)
Expanded fitness facilities at Lyon Center and USC Village help Trojans stay in shape http://news.usc.edu/133000/expanded-fitness-facilities-at-lyon-center-usc-village-help-trojans-stay-in-shape/ http://news.usc.edu/133000/expanded-fitness-facilities-at-lyon-center-usc-village-help-trojans-stay-in-shape/#respond Fri, 15 Dec 2017 16:00:09 +0000 USC News https://news.usc.edu/?p=133000 Renovations are part of a $10 million investment to enhance facilities across the University Park Campus. Fitness is easier to achieve than ever at USC, as students are enjoying new, state-of-the-art and significantly renovated recreational facilities.

Over the summer, the 28-year-old Lyon Center underwent the largest facelift in its history. The gym, which gets up to 3,500 users a day, opened this fall with new Olympic weight-training equipment, cardio machines and a freshly built F45 room.

And a new, 30,000 square-foot fitness complex opened along with the new USC Village, vastly increasing the indoor recreation space available to Trojans.

It's the biggest increase in workout space since the Lyon Center opened in 1989.

Ainsley Carry

"It's the biggest increase in workout space since the Lyon Center opened in 1989," said Vice President for Student Affairs Ainsley Carry. "This has transformed student wellness at USC."

The new and improved recreational spaces are part of a $10 million investment to enhance student facilities across campus.

Power lifting and free weights

The fitness complex at USC Village features power-lifting cages, benches and dumbbells, free weights and stacking stations, plus nearly a hundred cardio machines.

Among the new fitness offerings at that gym is the Queenax, a suspended bodyweight training system that includes a boxing system on wheels.

The sleek new F45 room in the Lyon Center is home to what has been the most popular workout class among Trojans since it launched last spring. The 45-minute classes focus on cardio and weight training through six body movements: squats, lunges, hip hinges, upper body pushing, and upper body pulling and rotation.

Senior Matt Sanchez said he loves the new spaces.

"There has been a huge drop in wait times for equipment, like benches and barbells, so now I'm able to have a better-quality workout in a shorter time," said the accounting major, who visits one of the two gyms at least six times a week.

"The new studios for classes like F45 and Queenax make me feel like I'm getting a top-of-the-line fitness experience at USC, something I couldn't say before."

Students, faculty and staff can use the two University Park Campus facilities from 6 a.m. to midnight weekdays and from 11 a.m. to midnight weekends. Members can also participate in 16 types of group fitness classes, which take place daily from the early mornings to late evenings.

For more information about recreational facilities, fitness classes, and club and intramural sports at USC, visit the USC Recreational Sports website.

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Renovations are part of a $10 million investment to enhance facilities across the University Park Campus The renovated F45 training room in the Lyon Center is one of the most popular workout spaces. (Photo/Courtesy of USC Recreational Sports)
L.A., Boston among cities that have reached ‘peak millennial,’ as number of young adults declines http://news.usc.edu/133511/l-a-boston-among-cities-that-have-reached-peak-millennial-as-young-people-begin-to-leave/ http://news.usc.edu/133511/l-a-boston-among-cities-that-have-reached-peak-millennial-as-young-people-begin-to-leave/#respond Fri, 15 Dec 2017 14:00:40 +0000 USC News https://news.usc.edu/?p=133511 USC demographics expert Dowell Myers says it's only a matter of time before millennials head to the suburbs for more space and more-affordable housing. Read more from Time

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Alzheimer’s that hits people in their 40s? Jalisco mutation challenges experts http://news.usc.edu/133079/jalisco-mutation-rare-strain-of-alzheimers-affecting-people-in-their-40s-challenges-usc-experts/ http://news.usc.edu/133079/jalisco-mutation-rare-strain-of-alzheimers-affecting-people-in-their-40s-challenges-usc-experts/#respond Thu, 14 Dec 2017 22:20:48 +0000 USC News https://news.usc.edu/?p=133079 These early onset Alzheimer's patients -- descendants of a common ancestor in Mexico -- are often misdiagnosed. Maria Barocio is 45 and she has Alzheimer’s disease.

She also has four children. The youngest is only 3. Her husband can’t work, because he cares for his wife full time.

While millions of others develop Alzheimer’s and its associated dementia in their 80s or 90s, people like Barocio with what’s called the Jalisco mutation may be diagnosed during middle age. Jalisco gene patients are descended from a common ancestor with roots in Mexico's state of Jalisco. The mutation, identified in 2006, spread through generations of large families and a limited gene pool. Only 1 percent of Alzheimer’s patients develop their disease due to a known gene mutation. But because of Southern California’s large Mexican population, Keck School of Medicine of USC neurologists see a surprising number of Jalisco mutation cases. And each one of them hits the neurology team in the heart.

Alzheimer’s superstitions and misdiagnosis

Freddi Segal-Gidan, known as "Dr. Freddi" to her patients, works closely with patients like Barocio. She and USC neurologist Helena Chang Chui direct the Geriatric Neurobehavior and Alzheimer's Center at Rancho Los Amigos in Downey, where they care for about a dozen families affected by the Jalisco gene mutation.

"It's heartbreaking when we see these patients going through Alzheimer's at age 40," Chui said. "Their children are still in school and they have to watch their father or mother go through this decline."

Segal-Gidan notes that the disease can carry a stigma in the patients’ ancestral homeland.

"In small villages, when someone suffers from dementia in their early 40s, it's taboo," Segal-Gidan said. "There is a belief they were cursed in some way."

It can challenge physicians in the U.S., too. Physicians aren't usually looking for Alzheimer's in a 40-year-old patient, and they sometimes initially misdiagnose Jalisco patients as schizophrenic.

Debilitating stiffness in the limbs, common in Jalisco patients, can mislead doctors to incorrectly conclude that multiple sclerosis is the cause.

The next generation

Sons and daughters of Jalisco patients are faced with stark choices. They have a 50 percent chance of carrying the mutation, which can be determined with a blood test. A positive result brings the prognosis of early-onset Alzheimer's and the risk of passing on the mutation to children.

"Some decide not to get tested," Chui said. "They don't want to know. For those who do, we have a genetic counselor ready in case they get a positive result."

Pre-symptomatic Jalisco carriers face decisions about whether to get married and have children. They can also consider in-vitro testing for the mutation during pregnancy, and plan career and life choices with the knowledge they will develop the Alzheimer's relatively early.

"I hope we can stop the spread of this mutation by educating the families so they can speak honestly with their children," Segal-Gidan said. "We want them to understand they have some control of their own destiny, and make decisions about being tested and procreating."

A rare opportunity for research

Chui and Segal-Gidan refer some patients and their families to John Ringman, a USC researcher who's been studying the Jalisco mutation for almost two decades. Some of Ringman's patients travel long distances to see him at his Los Angeles practice, where he hopes to extend research and education efforts.

"I saw my first Jalisco patient in 1999," Ringman said. "I wasn't particularly interested in dementia at the beginning of my career. Then I saw these families getting Alzheimer's in their 40s. This isn't a phenomenon of aging, and I thought if we can learn to prevent this, my life's work will be accomplished."

Jalisco mutation carriers give researchers like Ringman an unusual edge in the fight against Alzheimer's. The timeline of their disease development is pre-set. Biological changes that accompany Alzheimer's can be monitored before symptoms surface, and medications can be tested to see if they slow or mitigate the disease.

"If we ever find an effective medication, I'll be out of a job -- and I'd love that," he said.

Connecting with care

"Some of our patients can't work. They were fired," Segal-Gidan said. "They've paid into the system and they should have access to disability, but they need help navigating the process. Some have even faced deportation because they weren't able to pass a citizenship test."

At Rancho Los Amigos, Jalisco patients and their families are connected with social services and support networks. Clinicians and social workers assist with applications for in-home services, insurance coverage and emotional support. Medication is monitored and adjusted to help patients with symptoms like depression.

"We can also adjust medication to make some of our patients easier to care for," Segal-Gidan said. "We want to keep these families together and keep our patients at home as long as they can be there. That's really my hope."

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These early onset Alzheimer's patients &mdash; descendants of a common ancestor in Mexico &mdash; are often misdiagnosed Maria Barocio, 45, who has early-onset Alzheimer’s, walks with her doctor, Freddi Segal-Gidan, at the Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center. (USC Photo/Gus Ruelas)
Andrew J. Viterbi and Ming Hsieh named fellows of the National Academy of Inventors http://news.usc.edu/133269/andrew-j-viterbi-and-ming-hsieh-named-fellows-of-the-national-academy-of-inventors/ http://news.usc.edu/133269/andrew-j-viterbi-and-ming-hsieh-named-fellows-of-the-national-academy-of-inventors/#respond Thu, 14 Dec 2017 18:45:28 +0000 USC News https://news.usc.edu/?p=133269 Prestigious honor recognizes USC trustees for their innovations in cellular technology and fingerprint identification. USC Trustees Andrew J. Viterbi and Ming Hsieh have been named fellows of the National Academy of Inventors. The honor is one of the highest professional accolades given to people who have created or facilitated outstanding inventions that benefited society.

Viterbi, co-founder of Qualcomm Inc., is a professor of electrical engineering and namesake of the USC Viterbi School of Engineering. Fifty years ago, his groundbreaking Viterbi Algorithm, a mathematical formula to eliminate signal interference, paved the way for the widespread use of cellular technology.

He is a developer and manufacturer of mobile satellite communications and digital wireless telephony who received his PhD in 1962 from USC and remains a dedicated supporter of the school. Under his leadership, Qualcomm received international recognition for innovative technology in digital wireless communication systems.

Viterbi is a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, a Marconi fellow, a Franklin Medalist and a member of the National Academy of Engineering, the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 2007, he received the National Medal of Science, one of the nation's highest honors for science and technology.

He currently serves as president of the Viterbi Group, LLC, a company founded in 2000 that advises and invests in startup companies, predominantly in wireless communications, network infrastructure, voice recognition and digital recording.

Cogent thinking

Hsieh '83, MS '84 is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and the founder of 3M Cogent Inc., which revolutionized fingerprint identification. In 2006, the self-made entrepreneur endowed the Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical Engineering, which was named in his honor.

In 2010, he established the Ming Hsieh Institute to further support the department through initiatives that foster creativity and invention. He currently serves as president and CEO of Fulgent Genetics Inc.

"Andrew Viterbi and Ming Hsieh have revolutionized the fields of communication and biometric identification," said USC Viterbi Dean Yannis C. Yortsos. "Their accomplishments are awe-inspiring and have helped create our modern world. Their election to the NAI is long overdue and very well deserved. We are thrilled that the USC Viterbi of School of Engineering and the Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical Engineering carry their names."

The National Academy of Inventor fellows will be inducted on April 5 in Washington, D.C.

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Prestigious honor recognizes USC trustees for their innovations in cellular technology and fingerprint identification Andrew J. Viterbi and Ming Hsieh have been named fellows of the National Academy of Inventors. (Photos/Courtesy of Andrew Viterbi and Steve Cohn)
USC’s physical therapy division goes digital with online/on-campus hybrid http://news.usc.edu/132561/uscs-physical-therapy-division-goes-digital-with-online-oncampus-hybrid/ http://news.usc.edu/132561/uscs-physical-therapy-division-goes-digital-with-online-oncampus-hybrid/#respond Thu, 14 Dec 2017 16:00:30 +0000 USC News https://news.usc.edu/?p=132561 Online students in the new program DPT@USC will take the same courses as Trojans on campus -- but in a different format. The USC Division of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy is diving into the digital world with DPT@USC, an innovative online/on-campus hybrid program that reimagines the way doctors of physical therapy are trained.

The physical therapy job market is expected to increase by 34 percent -- much higher than most other occupations -- by 2024, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates.

With this in mind, the division began to assess the ways in which it might expand to not only help meet that demand but also to ensure the profession continued to be populated by high-quality physical therapists providing patient-centered, evidence-based care.

As one of the nation's top-ranked physical therapy programs, the division considered its responsibility to help maintain the quantum leaps that the profession has made in the past two decades toward its now recognized position as a doctoring profession.

And how could it provide a top-ranked educational experience to ambitious prospective students across the nation who might not be able to relocate to Los Angeles?

Turning to technology

The answers came two years ago when the division was approached by 2U Inc., an education technology company that works with schools across the country -- including the USC Rossier School of Education, the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work and the USC Jimmy Iovine and Andre Young Academy -- to build online degree programs comparable to their classroom-based counterparts.

2U was interested in doing the same for USC's doctor of physical therapy program. Under the leadership of Associate Dean James Gordon, division faculty went through months of careful contemplation and discussion to figure out if it was the right move.

We all knew we wouldn't do it if we couldn't do it to the standards we hold for ourselves.

Julie Tilson

"We all knew we wouldn't do it if we couldn't do it to the standards we hold for ourselves," said Associate Professor of Clinical Physical Therapy Julie Tilson DPT '98, MS '09.

The division decided to move forward and launch DPT@USC next summer.

"Our goal is to revolutionize how we educate physical therapists," said Tilson, director of DPT@USC. "This is our opportunity to do just that."

Questions and answers

Students in the new hybrid program will take the same courses as on-campus students -- just in a different format. They will study full-time, starting each week with asynchronous content -- video combined with bidirectional learning materials -- that after 10-minute chunks of instruction will require them to answer questions by looking for information on their own or by meeting with other students.

Every week, DPT@USC students will also meet with a professor from each of the courses they're taking to continue in a live-classroom environment. The ratio is one faculty member to 12 students.

"The motto of 2U is 'no back row,'" Tilson said. "You really can't hide and not be asked questions about the material."

These meetings take place every week for every course, so on average, hybrid students will spend six to eight hours with faculty members in small-group settings every week.

And once or twice per semester, depending on the lab content, the hybrid students will be required to travel to USC for six- to eight-day stints. Once on campus, they'll be attending lab sessions, building on what they've learned.

Examining what works -- and what does not

Like the residential students, they will have mentorship and practice time during the immersion where they will refine and be tested on their physical skills. Over the three-year program, hybrid students are expected to be on campus approximately 60 days for hands-on clinical skills laboratories.

Associate Professor of Clinical Physical Therapy Dan Kirages '94, DPT '98 sees opportunity for both future hybrid students as well as those who are part of the traditional program.

Creating the hybrid program is allowing us to dissect our curriculum and really figure out what we are teaching, how we're teaching it.

Dan Kirages

"Creating the hybrid program is allowing us to dissect our curriculum and really figure out what we are teaching, how we're teaching it," he said. "We're laying it out on the table and translating it from the residential to the hybrid program."

In designing the new program, Kirages said he can examine the efficiency and the content of the existing residential program and revamp certain things, if needed.

"That's really good for a program because you want to stay fresh and think about new ways to disseminate information to students," he said. "This is a process that prevents us from being stale.

Overcoming challenges

For someone in their 30s with a couple of kids and trying to change career paths, the opportunity to study at a world-class institution can be challenging. Tilson said that the program hopes to attract ambitious, dedicated future physical therapists who want to experience the rigor and excellence of USC physical therapy education and who feel that the hybrid environment with asynchronous and live sessions is a good fit for their learning style.

"That may be people who can't relocate, maybe because a spouse has a job in another city, but they're still able to make the full-time commitment," she said.

While there are some other physical therapy online learning options, USC is the first research-intensive institution to offer a full-time entry-level doctor of physical therapy degree using a hybrid online/on-campus format.

"This program will continue to set us apart from the pack, and it does expand our reach," Tilson said.

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Online students in the new program DPT@USC will take the same courses as Trojans on campus — but in a different format The DPT@USC program will be a combination of online and in-classroom instruction. (Illustration/Dave Murray, i2i Art)
Researchers test new ultrasound technology to detect breast cancer http://news.usc.edu/133302/researchers-test-new-ultrasound-technology-to-detect-breast-cancer/ http://news.usc.edu/133302/researchers-test-new-ultrasound-technology-to-detect-breast-cancer/#respond Thu, 14 Dec 2017 14:00:17 +0000 USC News https://news.usc.edu/?p=133302 Doctors at the Keck School of Medicine of USC are testing technology that could help the more than 40 percent of U.S. women who have dense breast tissue, which can make it more difficult to detect potential cancers on a mammogram. Read more from CBS News

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Interactive exhibit lets visitors ‘talk’ with Nanjing Massacre survivor in Mandarin http://news.usc.edu/133043/new-exhibit-with-mandarin-language-testimony-on-nanjing-massacre-opens-in-china/ http://news.usc.edu/133043/new-exhibit-with-mandarin-language-testimony-on-nanjing-massacre-opens-in-china/#respond Wed, 13 Dec 2017 20:58:07 +0000 USC News https://news.usc.edu/?p=133043 USC Shoah Foundation develops technology that allows audiences to interact with the recorded image of a genocide survivor. The Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall in China today debuted its permanent exhibition of New Dimensions in Testimony -- interactive survivor testimony technology developed by USC Shoah Foundation -- The Institute for Visual History and Education. The event marks the 80th anniversary of massacre in Nanjing.

This is the first permanent museum exhibition of New Dimensions in Testimony, or NDT, outside the United States and the first exhibit anywhere featuring the Mandarin-language testimony of Madame Xia Shuqin, a survivor of the massacre as a child. She is the only non-Holocaust survivor who has been interviewed for NDT.

"With the partnership between USC Shoah Foundation and the Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall, Madame Xia's story is brought to light through New Dimensions in Testimony," said Yi Huang, president of the Tianfu Bank, which funded the creation of the testimony with the Tianfu Group. "Madame Xia will continue to educate, to inspire and to preserve memory of the atrocities of the Nanjing Massacre for future generations so people around the world will learn from history long after the survivors are gone."

The exhibit is part of the newly reconstructed Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall. NDT uses groundbreaking natural-language software to allow audiences to interact with the recorded image of a genocide survivor, who responds to questions in real time. The testimony is powered by complex algorithms that provide realistic conversation.

Extensive interviews

Xia traveled to Los Angeles in October 2016 to be interviewed by Cheng Fang for the NDT interview. Fang, a 2014 USC School of Cinematic Arts graduate and USC Shoah Foundation research fellow, interviewed her over five days on a 60-degree "light stage" at the USC Institute for Creative Technologies. High-definition cameras and lights captured the interview from all angles as Xia answered numerous questions about her life before, during and after the massacre.

Xia was 8 years old when Japanese soldiers stormed into her family's home on the morning of Dec. 13, 1937 and murdered 11 of the 13 people in the house -- Xia's parents, grandparents and siblings as well as neighbors. Only Xia and her 4-year-old sister survived. About 300,000 civilians and unarmed soldiers were killed over the course of two months during the 1937 massacre.

When I first saw a demonstration of New Dimensions in Testimony with a Holocaust survivor, I quickly understood how important it would be to bring the technology to the people of China.

Hao Wu

Hao Wu, president of China Tianfu, said: "When I first saw a demonstration of New Dimensions in Testimony with a Holocaust survivor, I quickly understood how important it would be to bring the technology to the people of China. A lot of people worked hard to make this happen, but without the generous cooperation of Madame Xia, this would not have been possible."

An inspiring life story

Xia filmed her testimony for USC Shoah Foundation's Nanjing Massacre Collection in 2012 at the Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall. Her Mandarin-language testimony is part of a collection of more than 100 Nanjing survivors' testimonies collected by USC Shoah Foundation, 30 of which are already preserved and subtitled and accessible in USC Shoah Foundation's Visual History Foundation Archive.

In October, USC Shoah Foundation staff traveled to Nanjing to introduce students in Nanjing University's Oral History Association to the indexing methodology of the Visual History Archive. The students will use the foundation's new online indexing training course to learn how to index Nanjing survivor testimonies that have been recorded but not yet integrated into the Visual History Archive.

The people who first imagined the possibilities of creating something as advanced as NDT are thrilled to see it reach fruition.

"It's incredible to see how far this has come in just a few short years," said Heather Smith-Maio, who came up with the concept for NDT. "Madame Xia's important life story will now be able to inspire people across China -- and the world -- long into the future."

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USC Shoah Foundation develops technology that allows audiences to interact with the recorded image of a genocide survivor The USC Shoah Foundation recorded an interview with Nanjing Massacre survivor Xia Shuqin in 2016. (USC Photo/Gus Ruelas)
Badly behaved teens? Air pollution could be to blame http://news.usc.edu/132850/increased-air-pollution-linked-to-bad-teenage-behavior/ http://news.usc.edu/132850/increased-air-pollution-linked-to-bad-teenage-behavior/#respond Wed, 13 Dec 2017 16:00:54 +0000 USC News https://news.usc.edu/?p=132850 Tiny, toxic particles creep into developing brains, cause inflammation and may damage brain pathways responsible for emotion and decisions, USC researcher finds. A new study linking higher levels of air pollution to increased teenage delinquency is a reminder of the importance of clean air and the need for more foliage in urban spaces, a Keck School of Medicine of USC researcher said.

Tiny pollution particles called particulate matter 2.5 (PM2.5) -- 30 times smaller than a strand of hair -- are extremely harmful to your health, according to Diana Younan, lead author of the study.

"These tiny, toxic particles creep into your body, affecting your lungs and your heart," said Younan, a preventive medicine research associate at the Keck School of Medicine. "Studies are beginning to show exposure to various air pollutants also causes inflammation in the brain. PM2.5 is particularly harmful to developing brains because it can damage brain structure and neural networks and, as our study suggests, influence adolescent behaviors."

The study, published Dec. 13 in the Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, suggests that ambient air pollution may increase delinquent behavior among 9- to 18-year-olds in urban neighborhoods in Greater Los Angeles. The insidious effects are compounded by poor parent-child relationships and parental mental and social distress, researchers said.

"Previous studies by others have shown that early exposure to lead disrupts brain development and increases aggressive behavior and juvenile delinquency," Younan said. "It's possible that growing up in places with unhealthy levels of small particles outdoors may have similar negative behavioral outcomes, though more research is needed to confirm this. Both lead and PM2.5 are environmental factors that we can clean up through a concerted intervention effort and policy change."

More than just a lung and heart concern

The study followed 682 children in Greater Los Angeles for nine years starting when they were 9. Parents completed a child-behavior checklist every few years and noted if their child had engaged in 13 rule-breaking behaviors, including lying and cheating, truancy, stealing, vandalism, arson or substance abuse. Up to four assessments were recorded per participant.

Researchers used 25 air quality monitors to measure daily air pollution in Southern California from 2000 to 2014. They computed each participant's residential address and used mathematical modeling to estimate the ambient PM2.5 levels outside each home. About 75 percent of the participants breathed ambient air pollution that exceeded the federal recommended levels of 12 micrograms per cubic meter. Some areas had nearly double the recommended amount of these particles.

"It is widely recognized that ambient air pollution is detrimental to the respiratory and cardiovascular health of young and old alike. But in recent years, scientists have come to acknowledge the negative impact of air pollution on human brains and behaviors," said Jiu-Chiuan Chen, an associate professor of preventive medicine at the Keck School of Medicine and senior author of the study.

Environmental scientists and economists have speculated that elevated air pollution levels could increase criminal activities in communities. Interestingly, data show that both ambient PM2.5 concentration and crime rates in Southern California have been on the decline, the study stated. Future studies need to examine whether that is mere coincidence or if tightened air regulations might have contributed to the declining crime rates in many metropolitan areas, the researchers said.

"Poor people, unfortunately, are more likely to live in urban areas in less than ideal neighborhoods," Younan said. "Many affordable housing developments are built near freeways. Living so close to freeways causes health problems such as asthma and, perhaps, alters teenagers' brain structures so that they are more likely to engage in delinquent behavior."

A one-two hit that may increase teenage delinquency

The study identified higher air pollution estimates near freeways and in neighborhoods with limited greenspace or foliage.

Researchers noticed more delinquent behavior from boys, African-Americans, adolescents from lower socioeconomic backgrounds and people who lived in downtrodden neighborhoods with limited greenspace when compared to their counterparts.

The bad behaviors associated with increased outdoor air pollution levels were magnified when children did not have good relationships with their parents, lived with depressed mothers or grew up in homes with higher levels of parental stress.

Try to compensate for air pollution by having a good indoor environment and healthy family dynamics.

Diana Younan

"If you live in an area with high air pollution, like near a freeway or in a neighborhood with little greenery, try to avoid being outside so much and keep windows closed as much as possible when the ambient PM2.5 levels are high," Younan said. "Try to compensate for air pollution by having a good indoor environment and healthy family dynamics.

"A bad parent-child relationship causes a stressful family environment, and if this goes on for too long, the teenager could be in a chronic state of stress. This could wreak havoc on the body, making teens more vulnerable to the effects of exposure to small particles. Many scientists suspect PM2.5 causes inflammation in the brain or somehow travels directly into the brain and messes with neural network connections, resulting in the observed bad behaviors."

The data was adjusted for gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, neighborhood socioeconomic characteristics and neighborhood quality.

Less foliage, more aggression

Younan and her colleagues at the USC Environmental Health Sciences Center have collaborated with researchers and engineers from different disciplines at USC for more than two decades to investigate the insidious effects of air pollution. They found that air pollution increases obesity, that teenagers in urban communities with less foliage, such as parks, tend to be more aggressive and that older women living in areas with PM2.5 levels exceeding the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's standard had nearly double the risk for dementia when compared to their counterparts.

Contributing to the study were: Catherine Tuvblad and Laura A. Baker of the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences; Meredith Franklin, Lianfa Li and Kiros Berhane from the Keck School of Medicine; Fred Lurmann from Sonoma Technology; and Jun Wu from the University of California, Irvine.


The research was fully funded by the federal government using a portion of $993,000 in grant funds from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (R21 ES022369, F31 ES025080). Administrative support was provided by the Southern California Environmental Health Sciences Center. The USC Twin Cohort Study was funded by the National Institute of Mental Health (R01 MH058354).

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Tiny, toxic particles creep into developing brains, cause inflammation and may damage brain pathways responsible for emotion and decisions, USC researcher finds Teens who live in urban neighborhoods with air pollution could experience changes in brain structure that influence their behavior, USC researchers say. (Photo/iStock)
Speed skater-turned-physical therapy student helps athletes avoid injury http://news.usc.edu/132556/speed-skater-turned-physical-therapy-student-helps-athletes-avoid-injury/ http://news.usc.edu/132556/speed-skater-turned-physical-therapy-student-helps-athletes-avoid-injury/#respond Tue, 12 Dec 2017 16:00:25 +0000 USC News https://news.usc.edu/?p=132556 Trojan's nonprofit gives coaches the knowledge needed to maximize performance -- at no cost. USC physical therapy student Alex Goldenring was training as a short-track speed skater nearly a decade ago when he had the idea for a new nonprofit.

"There's a saying in speed skating," he said of the competitive ice skating sport. "Go fast and turn left!"

But all that "turning left" eventually took its toll on Goldenring's body when he suffered knee injuries as a result of the intense asymmetrical training.

Thinking that his injuries might've been avoided had his coach had some basic physical therapy knowledge, Goldenring saw an opportunity.

"I kept thinking how cool it would've been if a movement expert had evaluated the program and said to the coach, 'I see that you're principally only training your athletes to go to the left, but studies have shown that body asymmetries can predispose people to injury. Here are my recommendations to modify your program,'" Goldenring said.

Though he intended to pursue this opportunity after school, he brought the idea up to classmates, who were not only excited but also said they couldn't wait to start it.

The idea blossomed into Movement Alliance, an organization that aims to empower coaches and performing arts teachers with the knowledge needed to maximize performance and prevent injury -- all for free.

"We believe that quality health care services are at their best when they are made available to all people irrespective of their socioeconomic status, culture, age, race, religion, gender orientation, medical history or state of mental health," said fellow student Lindsay Backiev, the nonprofit's vice president.

The organization is composed of 14 doctor of physical therapy students -- four of whom make up its executive board.

Goldenring serves as the group's president. Four physical therapists (including faculty members Beth Fisher '78, MS '81, PhD '00 and Sam Franklin) serve as advisers.

Spreading the message

The way the program works is that a coach, parent or performing arts teacher will reach out to Movement Alliance, having learned about the group through its social media marketing efforts on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.

From there, a small group of physical therapy students will conduct a face-to-face consultation with the coach or teacher to get a 365-degree view of their program.

Movement Alliance will then present a customized, evidence-based protocol to be implemented to prevent injury and enhance performance. With its goal of getting physical therapy education out to the masses, the Movement Alliance team hopes that working with coaches and teachers -- rather than individual athletes or artists -- will help amplify their message.

If we empower one coach at a basketball camp, they're taking care of 250 kids.

Alex Goldenring

"If we empower one coach at a basketball camp, they're taking care of 250 kids," Goldenring said.

Though the idea for the group was all his, Goldenring is quick to point out how truly collaborative it has become.

In fact, it's this group effort -- bringing together individuals with backgrounds in many sports and performance arts -- that Goldenring hopes will be the key to the nonprofit's success.

"Seeing how each person has contributed and developed her or his own passion for Movement Alliance has been truly spectacular to watch," he said.

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Trojan’s nonprofit gives coaches the knowledge needed to maximize performance — at no cost Alex Goldenring skates his way to a gold medal in a relay event at National Championships a decade ago. (Photo/Courtesy of Alex Goldenring)
Trojan brings the beauty of dance to Boyle Heights students http://news.usc.edu/132132/trojan-brings-the-beauty-of-dance-to-boyle-heights-students/ http://news.usc.edu/132132/trojan-brings-the-beauty-of-dance-to-boyle-heights-students/#respond Tue, 12 Dec 2017 16:00:00 +0000 USC News https://news.usc.edu/?p=132132 Brianna Sims reaches out to youngsters, showing them what matters about movement. It's been quite a year for Brianna Sims, a USC Kaufman School of Dance junior who has found more ways than one to apply her dance training and education.

On top of appearing in an Herbal Essences campaign and performing in d. Sabela Grimes' "The Electrogynous Experience," she both designed and implemented a pilot outreach program for students at Malabar Street Elementary in Boyle Heights, where she teaches a dance class once a week.

Movement is "a fun way to expose children to people, perspectives and ways of being that they might have never been exposed to," Mims said.

With her guidance, fifth-graders at Malabar not only explore movement principles, but also answer questions and participate in open discussion. Steps and rhythms are more concrete -- they can be taught with counts and shapes -- but she uses them in class to communicate less tangible concepts like courage and beauty.

Mims works with students to explore their weekly curriculum through a different lens. She incorporates the history they learn in their academic classes and the functions of dance in their communities into the movement she teaches them to help foster personal development at a young age.

Working with kids

The Malabar Street program is not Mims' first outreach experience -- she started working with kids at the Salvation Army in Jacksonville, Fla., when she was in high school.

"I realized that they [couldn't] go out that much, so I was trying to ... bring something that was fun to them. So I was like, 'Oh, I'm a dancer, I [can] bring dance to them,'" she said. "Then I realized how therapeutic the art form was, so then I started to explore that a little more."

The program blossomed into Mims' nonprofit organization S.A.R.A.H.'s Foundation Incorporated, which still runs in her hometown of Jacksonville. Children at the Salvation Army receive mentoring, tutoring and dance classes. Since then, it has expanded to Los Angeles, where the foundation provides dance classes and various art performances to women at the Union Rescue Mission.

At USC, Mims works with USC Civic Engagement to connect and manage her outreach programs, and is currently building a partnership with the Los Angeles County of Education's Juvenile Court Schools in hopes of bringing dance to another underserved community.

Free arts education in L.A.

A 2015 Los Angeles Times article noted that California has one of the strongest arts education policies in America, but that eight out of 10 elementary schools in the L.A. Unified School District don't meet California policy's requirements.

Malabar Street Elementary is one of those L.A. Unified schools -- Mims is bringing them a free option for arts education. The pilot program at Malabar brings access to 26 students and aims to expand to serve even more. The students come from similar communities, so Mims' original goal of discussing different backgrounds has shifted slightly -- she discusses a different topic with them each week.

Mims recently gave a worksheet to her students that asked what made them feel beautiful, and a student noted that the question had almost made her cry -- she had never before thought about the answer to that question.

"That made me happy," Mims said. "She's understanding something, she's analyzing and processing things. I think that was one of my favorite moments so far."

Mims' weekly classes are becoming very popular, and beyond that, are using dance to make important discussions accessible to young students.

"My goal is just for them to understand themselves better and to continue that process after they leave the program," she said.

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Brianna Sims reaches out to youngsters, showing them what matters about movement Brianna Sims taught a dance program with elementary school students this year. (USC Photo/Mary Mallaney)
Why bitcoin’s success could be its downfall http://news.usc.edu/133026/why-bitcoins-success-could-be-its-downfall/ http://news.usc.edu/133026/why-bitcoins-success-could-be-its-downfall/#respond Tue, 12 Dec 2017 14:00:39 +0000 USC News https://news.usc.edu/?p=133026 USC's Benjamin Graham and a colleague note that bitcoin could become a viable substitute for government-backed currencies -- but national governments have little incentive to allow that type of direct competition. Read more from The Wasington Post

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How can race inform art and architecture? http://news.usc.edu/132961/how-can-race-inform-art-and-architecture/ http://news.usc.edu/132961/how-can-race-inform-art-and-architecture/#respond Tue, 12 Dec 2017 14:00:29 +0000 USC News https://news.usc.edu/?p=132961 Architecture faces a critical moment, writes Milton S. F. Curry, dean of the USC School of Architecture. He asks: What do black citizens of major cities have to look forward to in terms of urban conditions and how those conditions change? Read more from CNN

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USC, Harvard hospitals and Mayo Clinic to build national Alzheimer’s research system http://news.usc.edu/132831/usc-and-others-team-up-to-streamline-alzheimers-research/ http://news.usc.edu/132831/usc-and-others-team-up-to-streamline-alzheimers-research/#respond Mon, 11 Dec 2017 18:00:22 +0000 USC News https://news.usc.edu/?p=132831 New infrastructure could enable researchers to accelerate clinical trials and find new treatments for the disease, thanks to a grant from the National Institutes of Health. Three premier researchers from the Keck School of Medicine of USC, two Harvard-affiliated hospitals and Mayo Clinic have been awarded up to $70 million to build essential nationwide infrastructure that would remove a bottleneck in the development of techniques to treat Alzheimer's disease.

The new infrastructure will implement more efficient methods to recruit participants for clinical trials. It will provide centralized services, enabling Alzheimer's researchers to run innovative clinical trials, manage and analyze huge amounts of data and recruit participants from diverse backgrounds. The group will also share data, software, instruments and biologic samples such as blood, tissue and cerebrospinal fluid.

Combining brainpower to solve this intractable problem is necessary because everyone will be affected or will know someone affected by this disease in their lifetime, said Paul Aisen, one of the principal investigators of the National Institutes of Health grant and the director of the USC Alzheimer's Therapeutic Research Institute (ATRI) in San Diego.

Alzheimer's disease is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States.

"A new therapy for Alzheimer's disease has not been approved in the past 14 years, and none of the approved therapies actually change the course of the disease," Aisen said. "Scientists have made great strides in understanding Alzheimer's disease, and technological advances have placed us on the verge of a breakthrough. This collaboration will remove some of the barriers that have hamstrung researchers from timely completion of clinical trials in Alzheimer's disease and other dementias."

Aisen from USC ATRI, Ronald Petersen from Mayo Clinic in Minnesota and Reisa Sperling from Brigham and Women's Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital -- both Harvard-affiliated hospitals in Boston -- comprise the leadership team that will collaborate with others to create the Alzheimer's Clinical Trial Consortium (ACTC).

The consortium is expected to receive nearly $70 million over five years, pending the availability of funds, to build an initial network of 35 Alzheimer's disease trial sites at top universities across the nation. More sites may be added later, the NIH said.

"When we announced the funding opportunity for a new publicly supported clinical trials network, we envisioned a next-generation consortium, where shared expertise could enhance the ideas and approaches of individual investigators proposing and conducting trials," said Laurie Ryan, chief of the Dementias of Aging Branch in the National Institute on Aging's Division of Neuroscience, which leads NIH research on Alzheimer's. "I think we will have that now. I am particularly interested in how we can better engage diverse communities into research, so that trials can more effectively include and benefit everyone who is affected by Alzheimer's."

Specific clinical trials would be funded separately. The consortium expects to have the capacity to manage five to seven trials over the five years of the award.

"We must overhaul our current recruitment strategies for clinical trials, particularly to improve the diversity of our study participants and to reach people who do not yet have symptoms of Alzheimer's disease for inclusion in future prevention trials," said Sperling, who leads the Center for Alzheimer Research and Treatment at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School. "The new ACTC presents a terrific opportunity to innovate in recruitment, cognitive assessments and neuroimaging for the next generation of Alzheimer's trials."

Software, data and networks galore

Alzheimer's disease is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States. About 5.5 million Americans are living with Alzheimer's in the U.S. this year, according to the Alzheimer's Association. Without successful treatments, that number is projected to rise to about 13.5 million by 2050.

As a research institution devoted to promoting health across the life span, USC researchers across a range of disciplines are examining the health, societal and political effects and implications of the disease.

The NIH allocated $1.3 billion to Alzheimer's disease research in fiscal year 2017 -- $884 million more than in 2013. In fact, federal funds used to find a cure or treatment for this disease, which kills 1 in 3 seniors, have steadily increased over the years.

The goal of the consortium is to accelerate Alzheimer's clinical trials toward finding effective interventions that will treat or prevent this devastating disease.

The consortium will help scientists intervene early, before memory loss occurs, when treatments are expected to be most effective. Early intervention requires screening thousands of volunteers to identify eligible participants -- a time-consuming task that can result in delayed recruitment or under-enrollment. To speed up the process, the consortium will develop new and more efficient methods for recruiting and retaining participants.

"Some clinical trials fail simply because time runs out before researchers are able to finish signing collaboration agreements or recruit the requisite number of participants," Petersen said. "The ACTC will do the hard work of recruiting potential participants. These 'trial-ready cohorts' allow researchers to spend their time investigating hypotheses and gaining a better understanding of Alzheimer's disease rather than dealing with tedious logistics."

Vanguards in their field

Scientists who lead Alzheimer's clinical trials must assess participants' cognitive state, analyze brain scans and manage data -- areas in which the three principal investigators excel.

Aisen has 25 years of experience designing Alzheimer's disease clinical trials. He and USC ATRI are renowned for developing the gold standard for measuring study outcomes and for creating techniques to catalog massive amounts of data using biostatistics and advanced information systems. In a way, Aisen is like a traffic cop who helps direct vehicles so that drivers can avoid congestion and reach their destination without encountering roadblocks.

Sperling is a world leader in rethinking the Alzheimer's problem. As the project director of global, multi-site prevention trials in Alzheimer's disease, she has helped redefine the stages of Alzheimer's disease, including those before symptoms arise. Her research team has developed cutting-edge cognitive and imaging tools for therapeutic trials at the preclinical stage of Alzheimer's disease, before symptoms arise.

Petersen has made a name for himself in mild cognitive impairment research. He developed the first clinical trial for people suffering from this early dementia condition and has contributed a wealth of information about the stage of the disease when symptoms theoretically could be halted or reversed.

"This nationwide collaboration will move us closer toward techniques to prevent Alzheimer's disease," Aisen said. "Perhaps one day we'll be able to do a blood draw to identify individuals in need of preventive measures to stave dementia and Alzheimer's disease. We're not there yet, but we've had many promising studies that have provided bread crumbs on how to get there."

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New infrastructure could enable researchers to accelerate clinical trials and find new treatments for the disease, thanks to a grant from the National Institutes of Health Paul Aisen is one of three principal investigators whose work could remove a bottleneck in the development of techniques to treat Alzheimer’s. (USC Photo/Gus Ruelas)
Meet a digger of ancient artifacts, french fries food truck owner and USC Trojan http://news.usc.edu/132649/unearthing-ancient-artifacts-is-a-priceless-pursuit-for-usc-alumnus/ http://news.usc.edu/132649/unearthing-ancient-artifacts-is-a-priceless-pursuit-for-usc-alumnus/#respond Mon, 11 Dec 2017 16:00:49 +0000 USC News https://news.usc.edu/?p=132649 Max Novak's fascination with Greek and Roman history could lead to a career as a museum curator. Max Novak probably watched too many gladiator movies as a kid.

At least that's his theory for why he's so interested in Greek and Roman history. As a USC undergraduate, he spent weeks excavating a funeral site near Rome, uncovering pottery shards, painted objects and chunks of a marble sarcophagus.

Now, fresh from dual majors in classics and art history at USC, he's pursuing his master's degree in classical art and archaeology at Oxford University. He envisions a career in museum work, possibly as a curator responsible for classical art and archaeological objects.

"There's something special about being able to touch and interact with materials that way," he said. "They are just really beautiful -- they are priceless and one-of-a-kind."

But if you are envisioning a quiet and bookish scholar interested only in ancient artifacts, Novak might catch you off guard. He skateboards, designs streetwear and recently launched a french fries-focused food truck in Los Angeles with a couple of buddies from high school.

These diverse passions are likely part of the reason he earned USC's highly selective Mork Family Scholarship, which covered his undergraduate tuition and included a stipend for living expenses. In addition to providing motivation and encouragement to push his limits, the scholarship enabled his trip to Italy for the archaeological excavation and made attending graduate school at Oxford University much more feasible because he didn't have to take on student loan debt.

"You have to live up to it," he said of the scholarship. "It does motivate you to take advantage of what you've been given."

Digging deep

Novak's road to Oxford began at the USC Dornsife College of Arts, Letters and Sciences, especially in courses taught by Thomas Habinek, a professor of classics, and John Pollini, a professor of art history who specializes in classical art and archaeology.

Pollini also oversaw the archaeological dig in Italy's Ostia Antica, a neighborhood that served as the seaport for ancient Rome. During the six-week visit in 2015, Novak and other USC students explored the foundations of what might have been a storage area for funeral offerings and tributes.

Novak's primary task was unglamorous: digging a 5-foot-deep hole. His swings with a pickax gave way to more delicate tools as he neared a layer of broken pottery believed to have been scattered sometime in the medieval period to create a floor.

"Everyone there was pretty much new to digs, so we constantly had to ask if something was new or old," he said.

Eventually, he carefully swept away dust with a brush, pausing to take photos every few minutes to document his progress.

Novak enjoyed the experience, and Pollini said he was one of the few students who would drop by the office to chat after the dig. But weeks of taking a train to the site at 6 a.m., digging all day and returning to Rome dirty, sweaty and tired gave him invaluable insight: A career in museum curation and administration might be a better fit.

What's cooking

That's not to say he doesn't enjoy hard work. Before he left for Oxford, Novak hit the streets of Los Angeles with a couple of friends from his hometown of Oakland, Calif., in their food truck, Fries First. The entrepreneurial initiative grew out of a business pitch competition that the group entered and won in early 2017, netting them $20,000.

After polishing up their business plan with support from Novak's father, an accomplished chef and restaurant consultant, they rented a food truck and started dishing up their take on gourmet fries. Their trays of waffle-cut fries come with internationally themed toppings, from carne asada to kimchi to curry.

"Some people like the Greek, but I think the lomo saltado is the most interesting one," said Novak, referring to their version of the Peruvian dish of stir-fried steak, onions and roasted tomatoes.

Although he is now studying overseas, Novak remains involved with the business, providing some design work thanks to a few elective courses in art and graphic design he took at USC. He said it's another opportunity he might not have had without the Mork Family Scholarship.

"It's absolutely a blessing and made a lot of other things possible," he said. "I don't think I'll ever stop being thankful."

USC offers the largest financial aid program in the country, but only a fraction of USC undergraduate scholarship aid is offered through the endowment. To learn how to make a USC education possible for more students with the help of scholarships, visit the scholarships page on the Campaign for USC website.

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Max Novak’s fascination with Greek and Roman history could lead to a career as a museum curator Mork Family Scholar Max Novak visits the Getty Villa. (Photo/Zoie Petrakis)
Los Angeles teen dreams of dentistry and USC http://news.usc.edu/131966/thanks-to-uscs-trio-program-a-first-generation-dental-student-is-bound-for-usc/ http://news.usc.edu/131966/thanks-to-uscs-trio-program-a-first-generation-dental-student-is-bound-for-usc/#respond Mon, 11 Dec 2017 16:00:24 +0000 USC News https://news.usc.edu/?p=131966 Former TRiO student Rosalinda Larios faces intense competition, but she's determined to beat the odds. At 16, Rosalinda Larios could identify a mandibular bicuspid from a maxillary lateral incisor. By her senior year at Washington Prep High School, she had assisted dentists on dozens of complicated dental procedures.

She’s is currently taking general education courses at Los Angeles Southwest Community College, but she’ll enroll at USC for the spring semester in January. She'll take anatomy, molecular biology, calculus, nutrition and 3-D graphic imaging -- prerequisites she needs to enter the Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry of USC's Dental Hygiene program.

She dreams of being admitted to the school's elite Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS) program, something few can achieve. Nearly 3,000 candidates applied for just 144 spots in the current first-year DDS class. But in her quest to become a dentist, Larios has enjoyed an early advantage.

The path to becoming a dentist

Growing up in South Los Angeles, the daughter of Mexican immigrants enrolled in TRiO Upward Bound, a program now in its fourth decade at USC.

It meant three years of weekly Saturday academies and residential summer institutes at USC. She also worked year round.

One day, USC TRiO adviser Christopher Washington told her about a new dental assistant training program designed to expand the high school experience to include relevant job-ready skills in a pipeline dentistry program for underserved high school students. At first Larios wasn't interested, because she wanted to be a veterinarian, but she gave it a try. She soon developed a passion for dentistry.

The USC Concurrent Enrollment Dental Assistant Certificate Program brought Larios and some 40 other teens -- all students from 13 TRiO-affiliated area schools and the USC Family of Schools -- to USC every Monday and Wednesday night for college-level courses in radiography, infection control and practice management. In Saturday lab classes at partner community colleges, the students practiced X-raying the mouths of mannequins and sterilizing drills, probes and scalers.

It was a serious time commitment, and only half of the participants made it to graduation. Larios was among them.

She's an outstanding young woman.

Theda Douglas

"She's an outstanding young woman," said Theda Douglas, associate senior vice president for government partnerships and programs, who oversees USC TRiO and many other school-based community outreach programs. "The dental assistant certificate program is unique. It has augmented self-esteem in many youth in the program and has given them career options that have created a new world of experiences for their future."

Taking care of the community’s teeth

The final requirement to earn the certificate called for Larios to log four hours in a working dental practice. Her family dentist, Miriam Romero, agreed to supervise Larios. Impressed with the teenager's skills, she invited Larios to come back as a volunteer intern. By February 2016, she was working as many as 20 hours a week in Romero's office as a paid dental assistant.

After sterilizing tools and exposing X-rays, Larios quickly advanced to passing instruments and mixing amalgam during procedures. She even got trained in making dental impressions.

"I really like learning new techniques," said Larios, who assisted on about 40 procedures, including complicated root canals. "Those take a very long time. Sometimes my back would start hurting."

The best part of the job was the satisfaction of helping people in distress.

I felt like I was there for the patients. I helped them get better.

Rosalinda Larios

"Sometimes patients would come in crying, 'Oh, this tooth hurts.' But they left with a smile. And that made me feel good," she said. "I felt like I was there for the patients. I helped them get better."

Larios worked as a dental assistant for more than a year. Her afternoons were hectic. She'd dash home when school let out, quickly change into her scrubs and head over to Romero's office. On Saturdays, when her TRiO academy schedule permitted, she'd put in an eight-hour shift, assisting on as many as five procedures a day.

Welcome to the Trojan Family

Along the way, the USC TRiO team provided support and encouragement.

During her senior year, the team coached Larios, a first-generation student, through the college application process. She couldn't believe her good fortune when she was admitted to her dream school. All her friends had already received USC rejection letters when a big yellow carton showed up in the family's mailbox.

"I opened it and it said: 'Welcome to the Trojan Family.' I started crying and jumping on my mother and my brothers."

The euphoria faded when Larios' financial aid package arrived. "It said I had to pay $16,000 per semester. That might not be a lot to other students, but it is to me and my family," she said.

Larios' dad supports the family of six on a trucker's salary. Rosy Larios was contemplating an offer from the University of California, Davis when Douglas and TRiO program assistant Pablo Escobar stepped in. They helped her identify, apply for and receive several scholarships. But it still wasn't enough.

So they helped her appeal her financial aid package.

"Everyone got together from TRiO Upward Bound to help me," Larios said. "They went with me to the USC financial aid office. We showed them my dad's bills, mortgage payments and tax returns."

A revised financial aid package had Larios owing just $1,000 a semester.

"That is something I can definitely work with," she said. "I'm really grateful."

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Former TRiO student Rosalinda Larios faces intense competition, but she’s determined to beat the odds Rosalinda Larios worked at her own dentist's office and took classes on Saturdays to better prepare for her start at USC. (USC Photo/Gus Ruelas)
How stores get you to buy more this holiday season and all year long http://news.usc.edu/132109/from-senses-to-store-layout-unexpected-ways-retailers-lure-shoppers-in-their-doors/ http://news.usc.edu/132109/from-senses-to-store-layout-unexpected-ways-retailers-lure-shoppers-in-their-doors/#respond Mon, 11 Dec 2017 16:00:19 +0000 USC News https://news.usc.edu/?p=132109 Now more than ever, retailers are doing everything they can to lure you in and persuade you to buy -- in ways you probably don't even notice. With more and more shoppers doing their buying online, brick-and-mortar stores must find more creative ways to lure you in and keep you. USC’s Debbie MacInnis, a marketing professor at the USC Marshall School of Business, says that retailers can use everything from a store’s background music to its layout to get you to spend.

The sounds of buying

You know it's officially the holidays when malls across the country put up wreaths and blast holiday cheer over the loudspeakers -- say, Norah Jones' rendition of "Winter Wonderland."

But it's not just the holidays when music plays a role in shopping, MacInnis said. It's year-round.

Slow music encourages more browsing -- and if they're in the store longer, they are likely to buy more.

Debbie MacInnis

"There's research that shows tempo or speed has impact on how much time people shop and spend in a store," she said. "Slow music encourages more browsing -- and if they're in the store longer, they are likely to buy more."

Stores like Nordstrom, which employs pianists to play in its stores, are creating an ambiance that encourages you to linger. And if you're there all day, you are more likely to buy something.

Shoppers feel like it's not just a store, MacInnis said, but that "this is a special place."

There's also the nostalgia factor. Research shows that people have a fondness for music that was popular when they were young. Knowing this, retailers will often play the music of their target demographics.

And there's research showing that music lifts your mood -- and if you're feeling good, you're more open to buying.

"When we're thinking positively, we tend to think more creatively," she said. Shoppers “might see connections between products and people they might not have otherwise seen if not in a good mood."

In other words, maybe you went shopping for the kids, but spotted a gift for Uncle Jack ... and Fido ... and your neighbor Susan. You get the idea.

Smells like sales

Sly as it may sound, retailers have been tapping our senses for a while, especially the olfactory one -- the sense of smell.

Think about it: Walking around the mall, you might get a whiff of freshly baked cookies and suddenly want to stop for a snack. That's no accident. MacInnis said the smell of cookies is nostalgic for many.

"We have a strong memory for scents," she said. "It's tied to our emotional memories."

The scent has to be congruent with the product, however. The smell of cookies works for cookie shop Mrs. Fields, but it would be confusing at a department store like Macy's. So perfume and fragrance are used in retailers. And that encourages visitors to tap into their other senses.

"Scent facilitates touch, and touch facilitates the act of trying to smell," she said.

But it can be tricky. If a retailer pumps up the cologne too high, shoppers might hold their nose and pass by.

A unique experience

When it comes to getting shoppers to visit a brick-and-mortar retailer, the experience is key. For some stores, this means curating items in a way that feels unique.

Stores like the clothing retailer Anthropologie, which is decorated like a boutique, are particular about the placement of merchandise. Items must be arranged so they don’t feel out of place.

As stores get bigger and bigger, the chance of getting overwhelmed gets bigger and bigger.

Debbie MacInnis

"As stores get bigger and bigger, the chance of getting overwhelmed gets bigger and bigger," MacInnis said. Anthropologie gives shoppers "a smaller chunk of information to process."

Curation also extends to the styling. In stores like West Elm, shoppers might notice that furnishings aren't just stacked up with tags on them. Their products are arranged like you would find them in your home. A living room features a couch, coffee table and a rug, for example.

MacInnis calls this tactic creating "moments."

"It's not being in a store. It's having a shopping experience," she said, noting that it gives shoppers a different experience in the store compared to one online.

It's also about making the store a destination.

"Kids cannot walk by the Disney Store without wanting to go in," MacInnis said. "It just has that gravitational pull."

The store exudes the Disney brand and the fun feeling of its theme parks.

Said MacInnis: "You're entering a different world, almost."

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Now more than ever, retailers are doing everything they can to lure you in and persuade you to buy &mdash; in ways you probably don’t even notice Need a little help feeling the holiday spirit? Perhaps some festive scents and a little nostalgia can do the trick. (Photo/Stocksy)
USC researchers develop method to ensure human rights in public health services http://news.usc.edu/132635/usc-researchers-develop-method-to-ensure-human-rights-in-public-health-services/ http://news.usc.edu/132635/usc-researchers-develop-method-to-ensure-human-rights-in-public-health-services/#respond Fri, 08 Dec 2017 19:00:39 +0000 USC News https://news.usc.edu/?p=132635 Health practitioners and others look for ways to ensure their work serves the people they intend to reach. When measuring the success of public health work -- from immunizations to family planning services -- experts rely on sets of standardized indicators. But these indicators often neglect the voices and human rights of people who use the services, according to USC researchers.

The USC Program on Global Health & Human Rights and the World Health Organization (WHO) developed a new methodology, published by PLOS ONE, to determine the extent to which commonly used public health indicators capture human rights concerns.

"Health practitioners, researchers and policymakers are looking for ways to ensure their work is sensitive to inequalities and that they are truly serving the people the intend to reach, and this is one of those ways," said Sofia Gruskin, director of the Program on Global Health and Human Rights, and lead author of the study.

Indicators are considered a vital component of any public health initiative -- they provide guideposts to steer research and evaluate a program's performance and impact in relation to its goals.

"This is the first effort to identify indicators, select the ones that reflect people's experiences and provide a rigorous method of analysis to ensure that human rights are considered and people's voices are heard when decisions are made regarding what services will be strengthened or prioritized," said study co-author Laura Ferguson, assistant professor of preventive medicine.

Key test case

The researchers used contraceptive services and programs as a test case for creating the methodology. In November, they launched a tool based on their findings with the WHO. The document guides countries looking to strengthen human rights efforts in their contraceptive services and programming.

With support from WHO and an expert advisory group, the researchers created an analytic framework that helps sift through -- and evaluate -- indicators, from the quantitative (e.g. contraceptive prevalence rate) to the qualitative (e.g. contraceptive user satisfaction with services) to the political (e.g. whether the government ensures access to contraceptive information and services).

From the hundreds of commonly used indicators, they identified approximately 40 that could be used to monitor human rights concerns in public health work. They also pinpointed gaps where additional indictors are needed to capture certain human rights dimensions and ensure people's voices will be heard in determining if services are effective.

Shubha Kumar, assistant professor of clinical preventive medicine, and Alexandra Nicholson, program administrator for the Program on Global Health and Human Rights, also contributed to the study.

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Health practitioners and others look for ways to ensure their work serves the people they intend to reach Doctor Fauzia Amin tends to a patient at a clinic in Pakistan. (Photo/Courtesy of United States Agency for International Development Pakistan)
Looking below the locks: teaching hairdressers to spot melanoma http://news.usc.edu/132797/looking-below-the-locks-teaching-hairdressers-to-spot-melanoma/ http://news.usc.edu/132797/looking-below-the-locks-teaching-hairdressers-to-spot-melanoma/#respond Fri, 08 Dec 2017 18:06:23 +0000 USC News https://news.usc.edu/?p=132797 Keck School of Medicine of USC researchers and their colleagues are educating hairdressers how to recognize the signs of melanoma. They provided a training video for interested hairdressers so they could better identify possible lesions. Read more from NPR

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