Download PDF - Keck School of Medicine of USC - University of ...

Keck School Research Program Energizes Young Physician-ScientistsFourth-year medical student Ashanti Franklin is not just absorbingmedical knowledge this year, she’s adding to it.As part of a program designed to immerse interested Keck Schoolmedical students in basic and clinical research, Franklin and six ofher peers are adding an entire year to their studies, in which theyFrom left: Keck School of Medicine Dean’s Research Scholars JackieWeinstein, Daniel Liebertz, Ashanti Franklin, Akash Gupta, LloydCuzzo, Shabnam Khashabi and Lily Tung, with program directorRobert Decker. photo/jon nalickare paired with faculty mentors to focus exclusively on biomedicalresearch. For example, Franklin is spending her year working withHenri Ford, vice dean of medical education for the Keck School andsurgeon-in-chief, Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, to study possibleways to mitigate the effects of necrotizing enterocolitis death of intestinaltissue in infants with the disease.Franklin said the Dean’s Research Fifth Year Scholars Program,created by Keck School Dean Carmen A. Puliafito in 2008, providesa great opportunity for medical students to participate in translationalresearch and plays a role in building a foundation in the careers of futurephysician-scientists.Robert Decker, research professor of cell and neurobiology anddirector of the program, said its chief aim is to develop a medicalresearch mindset in those students who choose to join the program.The fifth year program is developed to provide Keck students anopportunity to take a complete year off to hone their research skills andit really takes a year for them to become proficient in whatever field ofbiomedical research they decide to explore, he said.Decker noted that summer research experiences and the second-yearrequired student project provide an important introduction for medicalstudents to gain some familiarity with the medical research process,but the fifth year-long immersion in research provides a much deeperperspective into how biomedical research leads to new clinical treatments.continued to page 5Gift of $10 Million from Annenberg FoundationEstablishes Scholarship Fundcontinued from page 1range of people, regardless of any one person or family’sfinancial circumstances.”The establishment of this fund comes at a pivotal time for theUSC Annenberg School and for the Keck School of Medicine ofUSC. As the media landscape continues to be transformed by nontraditionalmedia sources such as blogs and social networking Websites, the Annenberg School is positioned to help chart the course ofcommunication and journalism for the 21st century.The Keck School of Medicine is also facing transformativechallenges, according to Dean Carmen A. Puliafito. “We are on theforefront of medical education, with a recently designed curriculumthat is integrated and hands-on,” he said. “We have accomplishedfaculty, and we offer real-world experience in patient care from thevery start of each student’s medical school career. With the generosityof the Annenberg Foundation, we will ensure that generations ofKeck students receive the financial assistance they need to continuetheir academic pursuits. We are deeply grateful for that support.”Established in 1989 by Walter H. Annenberg, the AnnenbergFoundation provides funding and support to nonprofit organizationsin the United States and globally. Its major program areas areeducation and youth development; arts, culture and humanities;civic and community life; health and human services; and animalservices and the environment. In addition, the Foundation operates anumber of initiatives which expand and complement these programareas. The Annenberg Foundation exists to advance the public wellbeingthrough improved communication. As the principal means ofachieving this goal, the Foundation encourages the development ofmore effective ways to share ideas and knowledge.page 2 Dean Puliafito welcomes your comments at deanksom@usc.edu

Dean’s Photo Gallery1 Dec. 12—Revelers enjoy fine musicand refreshments under a tent at the dean’sholiday party.2Dec. 12—Jazz band at the dean’sholiday party.3 Jan. 27—USC Norris supporterMarshall Ezralow and Dean Puliafitoat the 13th Annual Unforgettable Eveningbenefitting the Entertainment IndustryFoundation’s Women’s Cancer ResearchFund and USC Norris ComprehensiveCancer Center.124 Feb. 14—Dean Puliafito with (fromleft) Larry King and Anderson Cooper,who was honored at the Sheila Kar HealthFoundation’s 6th Annual Valentine’s DayHeart Protection Seminar in Beverly Hills.5 Apr. 5—U.S. Representative XavierBecerra (D-Calif ) with Dean Puliafito.Rep. Becerra spoke on the USC HealthSciences campus about the passage of thePatient Protection and Affordable CareAct and Health Care and EducationAffordability Reconciliation Act of 2010.The event was presented by the Dean’sCouncil on Health Reform.346 Mar. 6—Dean Puliafito with (left)Stephanie Patterson of Medical FacultyWives and Friends and Althea Alexander,director of the Keck School Office ofDiversity, at the Salerni CollegiumAnnual Scholarship Benefit Dinnerheld at the Jonathan Club in Los Angeles.56page 6