The Department of Preventive Medicine at the Keck School of Medicine of USC has been a leader in its field since its founding in 1977 and has made many noteworthy contributions to the understanding of public health and disease etiology, treatment, and prevention. These include pioneering research on the relationship between hormones and cancer, the ability of exercise to reduce breast cancer risk, demonstration of the impact of air pollution on childhood lung function development, advances in the etiology, treatment and prevention of pediatric obesity, as well as novel methodological research focusing on the interaction between genes and the environment. The foundation for many of these advances stems from a highly collaborative faculty implementing a transdisciplinary approach to research – an approach hallmarked by the integration of biologically and behaviorally motivated hypotheses, advanced technology, and extensive study populations. Such examples include one of the first research groups to exploit the Cancer Surveillance Program to enhance population-based studies of disease, the use of multiple ethnic groups within the Multiethnic Cohort Study to localize genetic findings, and the integration of Geographic Information Systems in the Children's Health Study to create a detailed history of the pollution within the Los Angeles basin to investigate its potential influence on patterns of childhood diseases.
The Department of Preventive Medicine has a blend of expertise, research, and teaching that makes it unique among departments in the University. Between its five diverse divisions, Preventive Medicine is home to worldwide authorities on prevention research in biostatistics, environmental health, health behavior, epidemiology, and bioinformatics. The department's faculty members are widely sought for peer review and advisory activities and participate in diverse committees of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Institute of Medicine and the National Research Council, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Our research is at the very core of our goals to promote the public health of diverse populations in the California and Pacific Rim region. This is also reflected in our training programs with undergraduate degrees in Health Promotion and Global Health and advanced degrees in Public Health, Global Medicine, Biostatistics, Applied Biostatistics & Epidemiology, Epidemiology, Molecular Epidemiology, and Statistical Genetics & Genetic Epidemiology. Our strong history, coupled with our talented faculty and the ability to utilize new technologies, places USC in a position to be a leader in many future discoveries and in the training of the next generation of prevention/public health researchers.
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Jon Samet, the Flora L. Thornton Chair of the Department of Preventive Medicine at the Keck School, recently attended the American Epidemiologic Society annual meeting at Michigan State University and delivered a lecture as the society's 2013 Langmuir Awardee, an honor that recognized his work in epidemiology.
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The frequency of childhood infections is a determinant of adult height, according to a new study recently conducted by a team of researchers from the Keck School of Medicine of USC led by Wendy Cozen, professor of preventive medicine and pathology, and conducted by Amie Hwang, post-doctoral fellow.
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Some of the top female researchers in science, technology, engineering and math speak at symposium at the Saban Research Institute to encourage school-aged girls to pursue careers in the sciences
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A new report authored by USC researchers has estimated that millions of people may still be suffering from mental and physical health problems related to the 1986 accident.
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Researchers at the Keck School of Medicine believe they may have a solution to some of the challenges of the Affordable Care Act, which they recently put into practice through a merger of the Family Practice and Family Medicine Residency involving the Keck School of Medicine of USC, the California Hospital Medical Center and the Eisner Pediatric and Family Medical Center.
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USC researchers used mobile phones to survey kids in a published study that indicates children most often engage in sedentary behavior with family.
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Newly appointed associate vice president for USC Health Sciences Public Relations and Marketing and senior associate dean of the Keck School of Medicine will provide leadership to help grow and strengthen the visibility and reputation of the entire Keck Medicine enterprise.
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The USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center was the host for the recent annual board meeting of The V Foundation for Cancer Research, a leading nonprofit funder of cancer research founded by NCAA-winning coach Jim Valvano, who died in 1993 from cancer.
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