The Department of Cell and Neurobiology provides interdisciplinary training in molecular, cellular and systems biology. Ongoing programs explore basic mechanisms in molecular and cellular neurobiology, neurogenetics, endocrinology, pharmacology, embryo genesis, cell biology, vertebrate evolution, and nutrition/drug interactions. Disease-oriented research, bridging basic and clinical disciplines, investigates inherited or acquired disorders in vision, liver metabolism and endocrinology. The challenge is to meld interdisciplinary activities into a conduit for transferring basic science discoveries into advances in technology which support clinical innovation.

The department faculty members teach almost 40 percent of the first two years of the medical school curriculum--more than any other basic science department. Several faculty have been recognized for their exceptional teaching contributions.

Pat Levitt to lead Zilkha Neurogenetic Institute »
An esteemed neuroscientist from Vanderbilt University, Levitt will also serve as Chair and Professor of Cell and Neurobiology at the Keck School and Provost’s Professor of Neuroscience, Psychiatry, and Pharmacy at the USC School of Pharmacy effective full-time July 1, 2009.

Breaking New Ground in Gray Matter »
Scientist Le Ma explores the connections that establish complex networks in the brain. Failed circuitry can lead to serious implications. From his lab in the Zilkha Neurogenetic Institute, Ma, assistant professor of cell and neurobiology in the Keck School of Medicine of USC, is breaking new ground in the quest to understand just how the brain works.

Zach Hall named to head California’s stem cell research institute »
has been appointed interim president of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), the funding agency created as a result of the passage of California’s Proposition 71—the stem cell initiative—last November. He also announced his resignation from the Keck School of Medicine.