Jian Xu hopes to better understand the mechanisms behind environmental toxins increasing the occurrence of birth defects in order to develop new treatments or even prevent craniofacial birth defects. NEARLY 120,000 BABIES WILL BE BORN with birth defects this year. While there are a number of causes — genetics and chromosomal issues, infections during pregnancy, […]
Ostrow adds 3-D intraoral scanning training to orthodontics module for DDS and ASPID students. THROUGHOUT JUNE, THE ADVANCED ORTHODONTICS CLINIC on the Norris Dental Science Center’s third floor was abuzz with activity. Over the course of five half-day sessions, more than 180 students from the DDS Class of 2024 and the ASPID Class of 2023 […]
Ostrow researchers awarded five-year grant to investigate how a popular antidepressant interacts with pregnant women’s genes to cause craniofacial birth defects NEARLY 25 PERCENT OF PREGNANT WOMEN TAKE CITALOPRAM — a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) that works by boosting levels of the “feel good” hormone serotonin. While the antidepressant might have positive effects on […]
The prestigious five-year training grants are meant to support tomorrow’s leading thinkers in craniofacial research as they launch their academic careers. OSTROW HAS BEEN AWARDED TWO RESEARCH GRANTS from the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research to support nine PhD students and postdoctoral fellows, giving USC the distinction of being just one of […]
A new study, led by Amy Merrill-Brugger, could lead to new treatments for the common disorder. OUR JAWS ALLOW US TO TALK, chew, swallow, sing and even yawn. All these activities require the temporomandibular joints, which connect the lower jaw to the base of the skull and drive its movement up and down and side […]
The discovery, made by an Ostrow-led research team, could soon improve the lives of human beings with critical size cranial defects. EVERY YEAR, SURGEONS PERFORM MORE THAN 5,000 CRANIOPLASTIES (surgeries that restore cranial defects) on patients who have experienced critical size cranial defects resulting from congenital defects, head trauma or tumor removals. Traditional materials used […]
Breaking the Mold As an adolescent, Levi Powell didn’t often see people like him in healthcare. Now, he hopes to be set the example for other underrepresented minorities to know they can do anything they want. LEVI POWELL FIRST FELL IN LOVE with dentistry as a sixth grader under the treatment of a Black orthodontist […]
Ostrow jumps to fourth top-funded U.S. dental institution by the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research. IF A GLOBAL PANDEMIC WAS MEANT TO SLOW RESEARCHERS DOWN in their quest for knowledge, no one told the research teams working in Ostrow’s lab spaces across both campuses. This year, the Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry of […]
Editor’s Note: The following is Ostrow’s winning essay for the National Dental Association President’s Scholarship Equity Statement Competition. The competition awards a $10,000 scholarship to one student — who must be a member of their school’s chapter of the Student National Dental Association — at each of California’s dental schools. BEING RAISED BY A HARD-WORKING […]
Ed. Note: The following essay, written by Oluwaferanmi Balogun DDS ’24, was one of the awardees of the inaugural Clifton O. Dummett Sr. Essay Competition in which pre-doctoral students at select universities were invited to write about race relations in the dental profession. AS A RECENT GRADUATE OF INDIANA UNIVERSITY, having earned my Bachelor of […]
