Jump To:  Graduate Search  >  Institution  >  College/School  >  Department/Program      

My Saved Schools  |  Print

School Web Site	Program Information	Publications
Apply Now	Research	PhD Programs
News and Events

Others also viewed:

• Brown University, Program in Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
• University of Cincinnati, Program in Pathobiology and Molecular Medicine
• The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

View full list

Detailed Information

Programs of Study

The Department of Pathology offers a program leading to the M.S. or Ph.D. degree in pathobiology. The purpose of the program is to educate individuals who are interested in investigating mechanisms of disease and who will pursue careers in research, biotechnology, and teaching. Emphasis is placed on interdisciplinary approaches to the study of human disease. Areas currently under investigation include cellular and molecular biology of cancer, chemical carcinogenesis, virology, stem cell and developmental pathology, liver and pulmonary diseases, environmental pathology, and circulatory, endocrine, and neurodegenerative diseases.

Courses are offered in general pathology, eukaryotic gene expression, viral oncology, molecular biology of cancer, and biochemical and molecular bases of diseases as well as techniques in cellular and molecular pathology. Other graduate courses offered include biochemistry, physiology, histology, and microbiology. A wide range of courses geared to contribute to the individual’s educational objectives are available.

The master’s program in experimental and molecular pathology offers students the flexibility to prepare for a wide range of careers, including research, teaching, industry, or consulting.

The Ph.D. program in pathobiology may be pursued as part of the M.D./Ph.D. program offered by the University of Southern California (USC). Medical students, residents, and fellows may also apply to this program.

Postdoctoral positions are also available.

Research Facilities

The facilities of the Department include the latest equipment for research in cell biology, biochemistry, and molecular biology. Excellent facilities are also available in the neighboring Kenneth Norris Jr. Cancer Hospital Research Institute, Topping Research Tower, Institute for Genetic Medicine, and Childrens Hospital of Los Angeles. A separate containment level-3 facility is available for studies related to AIDS and human retroviruses and oncogenes. Library services are available at the Health Sciences Campus.

Financial Aid

Teaching assistantships are available for outstanding graduate students in their first year. Research assistantships are also available through faculty research grants. Special fellowships are available for qualified students. Most students are financially supported beginning in the second year by their mentors. No financial aid is available for the master’s program at this time.

Cost of Study

Research assistantships and teaching assistantships include tuition. Full tuition for both the M.S. and Ph.D. programs is $37,470 for the 2009–10 academic year, plus mandatory fees of $1731 per year.

Living and Housing Costs

Housing arrangements are the responsibility of the students. Housing costs vary greatly, depending on location and type of accommodations. There are ample housing facilities in the many communities surrounding the medical school.

Student Group

Of the 33,747 students enrolled at the University of Southern California, 16,213 are engaged in graduate or professional study. The student body includes undergraduates from all parts of the United States and many other countries. There are 32 students enrolled in the Ph.D. pathobiology program and 10 enrolled in the M.S. in experimental and molecular pathology program.

Student Outcomes

Job opportunities for graduates are available in academic, hospital, and government institutions and in industry.

Location

The Health Sciences Campus of the University of Southern California is located in the center of Los Angeles, close to other universities and medical schools and within an hour’s drive of both beaches and mountains. The city’s excellent climate makes it possible to participate the year round in outdoor sports: camping and hiking at nearby mountain parks, skiing during the winter months, and swimming, surfing, and water sports. This exciting seaside city is rich in cultural, athletic, and scholastic opportunities.

The University and The Program

The graduate program in pathobiology is based at the Health Sciences Campus, which is approximately 10 miles from the main University campus. The Health Sciences Campus comprises the School of Medicine, School of Pharmacy, LAC-USC Healthcare Network, Doheny Eye Foundation, Norris Cancer Research Institute, Topping Research Tower, Harlayne J. Norris Research Tower, Institute for Genetic Medicine, and USC University Hospital.

Applying

Admission to the graduate program requires an undergraduate degree in the natural sciences and demonstration of competence and achievement in these studies. Scores on the General Test of the Graduate Record Examinations are required of all students, with a combined score of 1100 or better for the verbal and quantitative sections. The GRE score is preferred over the MCAT score. A score of 600 or better on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) is required of international applicants. Applicants must have a minimum GPA of 3.0. Application forms and further information about this program and the requirements of the Graduate School can be obtained by writing to the Department. The deadline for applying to the Ph.D. program is December 1 for fall admission. For the M.S. program, there is no set deadline; applications are accepted all year.

The program is also integrated with the Ph.D. Programs in Biomedical and Biological Sciences (PIBBS), an integrated pan–Health Sciences Campus graduate program. Students can also enter the pathology program through the broader PIBBS program. For the PIBBS application, students can visit http://www.usc.edu/pibbs for directions on how to apply to their program.

The Faculty and Their Research

• Michael J. Anderson, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., California, Irvine, 1993. Sarcoma biology: cell signaling, expression profiling, and tumor modeling. Am. J. Pathol. 174:550, 2009. Mol. Diagn. Ther. 12:359, 2008. Cancer Res. 68:6587, 2008. Oncogene 27:2004, 2008. Cancer Res. 66:6936, 2006.Transgenic Res. 15:595, 2006.
• Saverio Bellusci, Associate Professor; Ph.D., Paris, 1994. Molecular control of stem cells in organogenesis, homeostasis, repair after injury, and cancer. PLoS One 3(1):e1516, 2008. Hepatology 46(4):1187, 2008. Dev. Biol. 307(2):237, 2007. Development 133(24):4796, 2006; 133(12):2325, 2006.
• Thomas C. Chen, Associate Professor and Director, Neuro-Oncology; M.D., California, San Francisco, 1988; Ph.D., USC, 1996. Translational research for brain tumors. Vaccine 26:1764, 2008. Cancer Res. 67(20):9809, 2007; 10920, 2007. Mol. Cancer Ther. 6(4):1262, 2007.
• Cheng-Ming Chuong, Professor and Chairman, Graduate Committee; M.D., Taiwan, 1978; Ph.D., Rockefeller, 1983; Academician, Academia Sinica, 2008. Stell cells, regenerative biology, hair engineering, Evo-Devo integument. Cell Stem Cell 4:100, 2009. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 103:951, 2006. Science 305:1465, 2004. Nature 451:340, 2008; 438:1026, 2005; 420:308, 2002.
• Thomas D. Coates, Professor; M.D., Michigan, 1975. Pathophysiology of vaso-occlusion in sickle cell disease; iron overload and inflammatory damage in chronically transfused sickle cell and thalassemia patients; computer image analysis of biologic systems; role of inflammation in vascular damage in sickle cell disease; abnormal autonomic cardiac response to transient hypoxia in sickle cell anemia. Physiol. Meas., in press. Blood 106(4):1460, 2005; 103(5):1934, 2004. Ann. NY Acad. Sci. 1054:386, 2005. Cell Motil. Cytoskeleton 44(4):234, 1999. Biophys. J. 67:2535, 1994.
• Edward D. Crandall, Professor; Ph.D., Northwestern, 1964; M.D., Pennsylvania, 1972. Alveolar epithelial development, growth, differentiation, and pathobiology. Toxicol. Vitro 21:1373, 2007. Am. J. Pathol. 168:1452, 2006; 166:1321, 2005. J. Histochem. Cytochem. 2:759, 2004. Cell Tissue Res. 312:313, 2003. J. Virol. 75:11747, 2001.
• J. A. Louis Dubeau, Professor; M.D., 1979, Ph.D., 1981, McGill. Biology, molecular genetics, and animal modeling of ovarian cancer. Curr. Biol. 15:561, 2005. Gynecol. Oncol. 72:437, 1999.
• Alan L. Epstein, Professor; M.D./Ph.D., Stanford, 1978. Monoclonal antibody–based immunotherapy of cancer. J. Immunother. 31:235, 2008. Clin. Cancer Res. 13:4016, 2007; 11:8492, 2005; 11:3084, 2005; 5:51, 1999. Blood 101:4853, 2003. Cancer Res. 63:8384, 2003.
• Parkash Gill, Professor; M.D., Punjabi (India), 1974. Molecular mechanisms of angiogenesis. Blood, in press. Nature, in press. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 94:978, 1997. N. Engl. J. Med. 335:1261, 1996.
• John Groffen, Professor; Ph.D., Groningen (Netherlands), 1981. Genetics of Ph-positive leukemias and innate immune system regulation. J. Biol. Chem. 283:3023, 2008. Hum. Genet. 123:321, 2008. J. Cell. Physiol. 212:796, 2007. Leukemia 21:178, 2007. Mol. Cell. Biol. 27:899, 2007. Cancer Res. 66:5387, 2006.
• Yuan-Ping Han, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., CUNY, Mount Sinai, 1996. Extracellular matrix (ECM) and MMP-mediated degradation in cell-fate determination and disease development. J. Biol. Chem. 279:4820, 2004; 277:27319, 2002.
• Nora Heisterkamp, Professor; Ph.D., Groningen (Netherlands), 1981. Cell biology and innate immunity; signal transduction, drug resistance, and treatment of Bcr-Abl-positive leukemia. J. Biol. Chem. 283:3023, 2008. Hum. Genet. 123:321, 2008. Mol. Cancer 25:67, 2007. Leukemia 21:178, 2007. Mol. Cell. Biol. 27:899, 2007. Cancer Res. 66:5387, 2006. Blood 106:1355, 2005.
• David R. Hinton, Professor and Vice Chairman, Department of Pathology; M.D., Toronto, 1978. Age-related macular degeneration; retinal pigment epithelial pathophysiology; viral demyelination. J. Biol. Chem. in press. Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci. 49:4078, 2008. Cell Death Differ. 15:1460, 2008.
• Alan L. Hiti, Professor of Clinical; Ph.D., UCLA, 1981; M.D., Miami (Florida), 1983. Relationship of beta globin haplotypes and alpha gene status to sickle cell disease; applications of flow cytometry to diagnostic hematopathology and HIV disease. Am. J. Dis. Child. 147:1197, 1993.
• Florence M. Hofman, Professor and Director, Ph.D. Program; Ph.D., Weizmann (Israel), 1976. Antiangiogenic therapy for primary and metastatic brain tumors; signal transduction mechanisms in tumor-derived vasculature. Mol. Canc. Res. 6(8):1268, 2008. Am. J. Pathol. 173(2):575, 2008.
• Emil P. Kartalov, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., Caltech, 2004. Nanotechnology in biology and medicine; focus on elastomer microfluidics in biomedical diagnostics. Electrophoresis 29, 2008. J. Appl. Phys. 102, 2007; 101, 2007. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 103:33, 2006; 100, 2003.
• Linda Koss Kelly, Assistant Professor of Clinical; Ph.D., USC, 1985. Immunoelectron microscopy; renin and prorenin processing as related to nephropathy in diabetes and other disorders.
• Anthony J. Keyser, Professor of Clinical; Ph.D., Emory, 1976. Connective tissue; clinical pathology; non-mucinous nature of the surface material of the bladder mucosa. Clin. Biochem. 30:613, 1997. Am. J. Med. Sci. 304:285, 1993.
• Yong-Mi Kim, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and Pathology; M.D./Ph.D., Düsseldorf (Germany), 1998; M.P.H., Harvard, 2003. Leukemia stem cells; survivin in acute lymphoblastic leukemia; preclinical leukemia models. Leukemia 22(1):66, 2008. Biol. Blood Marrow Transplant. 12(6):623, 2006. Blood 103(2):732, 2004; 102(6):2300, 2003. J. Clin. Invest. 111(5):659, 2003.
• Krzysztof Kobielak, Assistant Professor of Pathology; M.D., 1996, Ph.D., 1999, Marcinkowski University of Medical Sciences (Poland). Regulation of hair follicle stem cell niche; morphogenesis of skin appendages; skin and hair follicle regeneration. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 104:10063, 2007. J. Cell Biol. 163:609, 2003.
• Robert D. Ladner, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., Rutgers, 1996. Regulation and posttranslational modification of enzymes involved in thymidylate nucleotide metabolism. Nucleic Acids Res. 37(1):78, 2009. Mol. Canc. Therapeut. 7(9):3029, 2008. Mol. Pharmacol. 66:620, 2004. Pharmacogenetics 14:319, 2004.
• Joseph R. Landolph Jr., Associate Professor; Ph.D., Berkeley, 1976. Molecular biology of neoplastic transformation by carcinogenic Ni+2/Cr+6 compounds; differential gene expression in transformed cell lines; oncogene activation/tumor suppressor gene inactivation. Metal Ions in Biology and Medicine 10:63, 2008. Toxicol. Appl. Pharmacol. 206:138, 2005. Mol. Cell. Biochem. 255:203, 2004.
• Elizabeth R. Lawlor, Assistant Professor; M.D., McMaster, 1989; Ph.D., British Columbia, 2002. Cellular origins of pediatric sarcoma; cancer stem cells; molecular mechanisms of oncogene-induced transformation. Cancer Res. 68:6507, 2008. Stem Cell. 26:2237, 2008. Stem Cell. Dev. in press. Genes Dev. 20:2527, 2006. Cancer Res. 66:4591, 2006; 58:2469, 1998. Oncogene 21:307, 2002.
• Michael R. Lieber, Professor; Ph.D., 1981, M.D., 1983, Chicago. DNA repair in human cancer, aging, and the immune system. Mol. Cell 31:485, 2008; 16:701, 2004; 2:477, 1998. Mol. Cell. Biol. 28:50, 2008; 27:5921, 2007. Nature 428:88, 2004; 388:495, 1997; 388:492, 1997. Nat. Immunol. 4:442, 2003. Cell 135:1130, 2008; 109:807, 2002; 108:781, 2002. Curr. Biol. 12:397, 2002.
• Ching-Ling (Ellen) Lien, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, 2001. Heart development and regeneration in zebrafish and mammals; fin regeneration and angiogenesis. PLoS Biol. 4:1386, 2006. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 102:14599, 2005. Science 310:1957, 2005.
• Robert D. MacPhee Jr., Associate Professor of Clinical; Ph.D., USC, 1994. Development of novel methodologies in clinical laboratory medicine. In Technical Digest of the Seventh International Meeting on Chemical Sensors, pp. 461, 1998. Clin. Exp. Immunol. 107:21, 1997.
• Carol A. Miller, Professor; M.D., Jefferson Medical, 1965. Molecular and cellular basis for degenerative and developmental neurologic diseases. J. Mol. Neurosci. 25(1):79, 2005. Mol. Brain Res. 134:282, 2005. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 101(12):4210, 2004; 95:2586, 1998.
• Kevin A. Nash, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., Aberdeen (England), 1987. Impact of antibiotics on microbial physiology; molecular basis of drug resistance and drug susceptibility in bacteria, especially Mycobacterium tuberculosis.J. Antimicrob. Chemother. 55:170, 2005. Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. 47:3053, 2003; 45:1982, 2001; 45:1607, 2001.
• Paul K. Pattengale, Professor; M.D., NYU, 1970. Structure and function of human M-CSF; minimal residual disease in ALL; molecular pathogenesis of lymphoid cell neoplasms (mouse and human). Am. J. Pathol. 151:647, 1997. Blood 90:2901, 1997. J. Biol. Chem. 271:16388, 1996.
• Michael F. Press, Professor; Ph.D., 1975, M.D., 1977, Chicago. Pathobiology of breast and gynecologic cancer. Br. J. Canc. 100(1):89, 2009. J. Clin. Oncol., 26(34):5544, 2008; 25:118, 2007. Clin. Cancer Res. 14(23):7861, 2008. Drugs 67:2045, 2007.
• Suraiya Rasheed, Professor and Director, Viral Oncology and Proteomics Research; Ph.D., Osmania (India), 1958; Ph.D., London, 1964. Application of proteomics technology to identify biomarkers in melanoma and neuronal stem cells; protein-protein interaction pathways in cancer and viral (HIV) diseases (lypodystophy). Cancer Stem Cells,Identification and Targets, John Wiley & Sons Publisher, 2008. PLoS One 2008. doi: 10.1371/journal pone.0003003. Int. J. Bioinformatics Res. Appl. 3(4):480, 2007Virol. J. 3:101, 2006. In Thirteenth International Molecular Medicine Tri-Conference, p. 90, 2006 (abstract book). J. Transl. Med. 5:14, 2005 (doi: 10.1186/1479-5876-3-14). In International Conference on Stem Cells Research and Therapeutics vol. 4, p. 42, 2005.
• Pradip Roy-Burman, Professor; Ph.D., Calcutta, 1963. Modeling human prostate cancer in mice; mechanisms of prostate tumorigenesis and role of tissue microenvironment in disease progression. Cancer Res. 68:198, 2008; 67:7525, 2007; 66:883, 2006; 65:5769, 2005.
• Michael E. Selsted, Professor and Chairman of the Department of Pathology; Ph.D., UCLA, 1980. Molecular aspects of leukocyte antimicrobial peptides; molecular ontogeny of oral mucosal resistance to SIV; physiologic peptide cyclization in myeloid cells. Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. 52:944, 2008. Infect. Immun. 76:5883, 2008. J. Biol. Chem. 283:35869, 2008; 284:5602, 2009.
• Russell P. Sherwin, Professor; M.D., Boston University, 1948. Environmental, occupational, and oncologic pathology; COPD; image analysis; immunopathology. Mol. Cancer Ther. 3:499, 2004. Virchows Arch. 437:422, 2000; 433:341, 1998. Inhal. Toxicol. 9:405, 1997; 7:1183, 1995; 7:1173, 1995.
• Darryl Shibata, Professor; M.D., USC, 1983. Molecular clocks; investigating stem cells in human colon by using methylation patterns. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 98:10839, 2001.
• Michael R. Stallcup, Professor; Ph.D., Berkeley, 1974. Regulation of gene transcription by steroid hormone receptors and transcriptional coactivator proteins. Nat. Struct. Mol. Biol. 15:245, 2008. J. Biol. Chem. 281:3389, 2006. Genes Dev. 19:1466, 2005. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 102:3611, 2005. Mol. Cell. Biol. 24:2103, 2004. Mol. Cell 31:510, 2008. Science 284:2174, 1999.
• Bangyan Stiles, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., Texas at Austin, 1998. Regeneration of pancreatic B cells; liver stem cells and liver cancer. Stem Cell 2008, in press Mol. Cell. Biol. 26:2772, 2006; 25:2498, 2005; 22:3842, 2002. J. Clin. Invest. 116:1843, 2006. Cancer Cell 8:185, 2005. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 101:2081, 2004; 98:10314, 2001.
• Clive R. Taylor, Professor; M.B.B.Chir., 1969; D.Phil., 1975, Oxford. Immunohistochemical methods applied to cell identification and tumor diagnosis; immunology of lymphomas and leukemias. Adv. Pathol. Lab. Med. 7:59, 1994.
• Timothy J. Triche, Professor; M.D./Ph.D., Tulane, 1971. Molecular characterization of chimeric tumor genes, control of gene expression, and relationship to tumor phenotype, biologic aggressiveness, and treatment responsiveness. Nat. Genet. 6:146, 1994. Diagn. Mol. Pathol. 2:147, 1993. EMBO J. 12:4481, 1993.
• Hide Tsukamoto, Professor; D.V.M., Tokyo, 1975; Ph.D., Kobe (Japan), 1988. Cellular and molecular mechanisms of liver cirrhosis; adipogenic transcriptional programs that are molecular targets for potential treatment of cirrhosis; iron-mediated intracellular signaling for activation of NF-kappaB in macrophages; roles of mesenchyme-epithelial interactions in liver development and regeneration. J. Biol. Chem. 282:5582, 2007; 280:4959, 2005; 279:11392, 2004; 278:17646, 2003.
• Randall Widelitz, Associate Professor; Ph.D., Arizona, 1986. Growth control in tumorigenesis and embryonic development; focus on roles of sex hormones, adhesion molecules, Wnts, and beta-catenin. Semin. Cell Dev. Biol. 18:255, 2007. Curr. Opin. Cell Biol. 18:730, 2006. Curr. Top. Dev. Biol. 72:237, 2005.

Correspondence and Information

University of Southern California
Chairman, Graduate Committee
Department of Pathology
School of Medicine
2011 Zonal Avenue
Los Angeles, California 90089-9092
Telephone: 323-442-1168
Fax: 323-442-3049
Email: ldoumak@keck.usc.edu