Philanthropy Today:Keck Foundation Key to USC Medicine

The vast complex of institutions comprising the USC medical enterprise is to be renamed Keck Medicine of USC in recognition of its major benefactor,the W.M. Keck Foundation.The foundation,established in 1954 by oil magnate William Myron Keck,funds science,engineering,medical research and undergraduate education,as well as community service projects and programs in Southern California.
The Keck Foundation has just made a 150 million dollar gift to the USC medical enterprise,which comprises two private hospitals,a doctor group,medical school and several research institutes,as well as community outreach programs.The USC Norris Cancer Center Hospital will retain its current name,but many of the other constituents of the medical enterprise will have the Keck name applied to them.
USC President C.L. Max Nikias described the new gift as a catalyst for dramatic discoveries and developments in medical research,teaching and patient care.It is helping USC's academic medical center take a momentous leap forward in its efforts to improve and advance the human condition.
USC's Keck School of Medicine had previously recieved a 110 million dollar gift from the Keck Foundation in 1999.Robert Day,CEO of the 1.2 billion dollar foundation,said the new gift reflects their commitment to bringing cutting edge science,medicine and engineering together to find new and better ways forward.
William Myron Keck,who created the foundation bearing his name,was founder of the leading U.S. independent oil producer,Superior Oil Company,which operated from 1921-84.It was eventually absorbed into Exxon Mobil.
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Frontiers in Medicine:USC's Stem Cell Center Opens Soon

On October 29,the Eli and Edythe Broad CIRM Center for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at USC will open in Los Angeles.The 80 million dollar center,much of which was funded by the Broads' generous gift,will house up to 18 principal investigators and their research teams.
Consisting of 87,500 square feet on five stories,the center is characterized as an integral hub for stem cell research in Southern California by businessman and philanthropist Eli Broad(rhymes with "road").It is built to silver LEED standards-a mark of high environmental integrity-and will take its place alongside several other institutes on the USC Health Sciences Campus.
The center is led by Keck School of Medicine Professor Martin Pera,PhD,who describes its purpose as research aimed at the treatment of a vast spectrum of diseases.It will enable USC researchers and their colleagues to convert exciting fundamental discoveries into new therapies.The center focuses on liver disease;diabetes;heart,eye and blood diseases;as well as cancer.
Dr.Pera,a pharmacologist,is a graduate of George Washington University and Oxford University.Principal donor The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation supports progress in education,science and the arts.

Getting Organized:Frontiers In Critical Care

Since October of 2009,critically ill patients in the Los Angeles area have had access to a new rapid transport service.A specially outfitted ambulance rushes them to USC University Hospital for the special care they need that isn't available at their hospitals of origin.The effort was spearheaded by Dr.Ray Matthews,Professor of Clinical Medicine at USC's Keck School of Medicine,who had encountered similar programs at other hospitals.Noting the increasing usage of the service,Dr.Matthews expressed satisfaction and confidence in its continued growth.The service is presently used by USC's cardiovascular medicine,vascular surgery,cardiothoracic surgery and neurology programs.
USC University Hospital contracted with a local ambulance company to transport the patients,had its logo painted on the ambulance,and implemented rapid admission procedures for these critically ill souls.A large organizational effort was required to provide the extra care,involving systems integration and learning to work together for the greater good of the patients,Dr.Matthews explained.
It has gone so well,there are plans to expand the service to urgent,non-emergency patients across the USC Health Sciences Campus.

Not Your Grandfather's Dentistry

Dentistry today has gone far beyond pulling teeth and filling cavities,as important as these basic procedures are.One example of this is the amount of research being done at USC's Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry.The school recently advanced its ranking on the funding list of the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research,one of the National Institutes of Health.The dental school's research funding rose from 3.2 million in 2008 to nearly 5 million in 2009,moving its rank up to third among private dental schools.
The USC dental research faculty is working on such areas as dental disease diagnosis from saliva,stem cell utilization in wound healing,and creating a comprehensive craniofacial genetics database,among other projects.Dr.Yang Chai is Associate Dean of Research at the school and Director of the Center for Craniofacial Molecular Biology.Dr.Chai attributed the ranking advance to a team effort by the creative and ingenious research faculty.This increase in federal funding in a difficult and highly competitive economic environment tells you about the quality of research the USC dental school is conducting,Dr.Chai observed.