Steve Kay, PhD

University and Provost Professor of Neurology, Cancer Biology, Biomedical Engineering and Biological Sciences

David L. Lee and Simon Ramo Chair in Health Science and Technology

Director of Convergent Bioscience

Co-Director of the USC Norris Center for Cancer Drug Development

Acting Director of the Zilkha Neurogenetic Institute and Acting Chair of Physiology & Neuroscience

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Overview

Dr. Steve Kay currently serves as the Director of the MESH (Medicine, Engineering, Sciences, and Humanities) Academy, the Director of the USC Michelson Center for Convergent Bioscience, and is a Provost Professor of Neurology, Biomedical Engineering and Biological Sciences at the Keck School of Medicine of USC. He held the position as the 21st dean of the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences from 2012 to 2015. Dr. Kay is one of the world’s top experts on the genetics and genomics of circadian rhythms. Having published more than 200 papers, he was named by Thomson Reuters as one of “The World’s Most Influential Scientific Minds” from 2014 to 2017 and has been cited in Science magazine’s “Breakthroughs of the Year” three times since 1997. In 2008, Dr. Kay was elected as a member of the National Academy of Sciences. In 2009 he was elected as a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and in 2011 he was awarded the American Society of Plant Biologists’ 2011 Martin Gibbs Medal for his pioneering work in plant sciences. To learn more about the Kay Laboratory and current research visit https://kaylab.usc.edu/Dr. Kay received his PhD and DSc from the University of Bristol, United Kingdom. Prior to joining USC in 2012, Dr. Kay served as dean of biological sciences at the University of California, San Diego. He also has held faculty positions at The Rockefeller University, University of Virginia and The Scripps Research Institute, as well as served as the VP of discovery research at the Genomics Institute of the Novartis Research Foundation, where he focused on using high throughput technologies to push novel development candidates into the Novartis clinical pipeline. Dr. Kay served as president of The Scripps Research Institute from 2015 to 2016. In addition, he has founded several biotechnology companies.

Publications

  • Time matters: circadian genetics and the molecular logic of human health and disease. Nat Rev Genet. 2026 May 14.. View in PubMed
  • Glioblastoma stem cells resist cuproptosis with circadian variation of copper levels. J Clin Invest. 2026 01 02; 136(1).. View in PubMed
  • Advancing clinical response against glioblastoma: Evaluating SHP1705 CRY2 activator efficacy in preclinical models and safety in phase I trials. Neuro Oncol. 2025 Sep 08; 27(7):1772-1786.. View in PubMed
  • The clock-associated LUX ARRHYTHMO regulates high-affinity nitrate transport in Arabidopsis roots. Plant J. 2024 Dec; 120(5):1786-1797.. View in PubMed
  • Targeting circadian transcriptional programs through a cis-regulatory mechanism in triple negative breast cancer. bioRxiv. 2024 Oct 10.. View in PubMed
  • Advancing Clinical Response Against Glioblastoma: Evaluating SHP1705 CRY2 Activator Efficacy in Preclinical Models and Safety in Phase I Trials. bioRxiv. 2024 Sep 21.. View in PubMed
  • TRICHINELLA MURRELLI POZIO AND LA ROSA, 2000 IN A GRAY FOX (UROCYON CINEREOARGENTEUS) FROM PENNSYLVANIA: A NEW HOST RECORD FOR THIS ZOONOTIC NEMATODE. J Parasitol. 2024 09 01; 110(5):502-505.. View in PubMed
  • GIGANTEA adjusts the response to shade at dusk by directly impinging on PHYTOCHROME INTERACTING FACTOR 7 function. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2024 Jul 23; 121(30):e2315778121.. View in PubMed
  • The interplay between the circadian clock and abiotic stress responses mediated by ABF3 and CCA1/LHY. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2024 Feb 13; 121(7):e2316825121.. View in PubMed
  • The Negative Effects of Travel on Student Athletes Through Sleep and Circadian Disruption. J Biol Rhythms. 2024 02; 39(1):5-19.. View in PubMed