Hoffman Medical Research Center 204
2011 Zonal Avenue, Los Angeles 90033

Student Advisor:
Arnis Richters
(213) 342-1281
FAX: (213) 342-3049

Faculty

Clive R. Taylor, Professor and Chair

Professors: A.M. Abrams (Dentistry); V. Askanas (Neurology); R. Carmel (Medicine); S.B. Chandor; E. Crandall (Medicine); W.K. Engel (Neurology); A.L. Epstein; H.J. Forman (Molecular Pharmacology and Toxicology, Pediatrics); F.H. Gilles (Neurological Surgery, Neurology); E.D. Gomperts (Pediatrics); S. Govindarajan; R.W. Jelliffe (Medicine); M.N. Koss; T.M. Mack (Preventive Medicine); W.J. Martin; C.A. Miller (Neurology); B.N. Nathwani; J.W. Parker; P.K. Pattengale (Molecular Microbiology and Immunology); R. V. Pierre; M.F. Press; F.P. Quismorio, Jr. (Medicine); N.A. Rao (Ophthalmology); S. Rasheed; A. Richters; P. Roy-Burman (Biochemistry and Molecular Biology) *; A. Sevanian (Molecular Pharmacology and Toxicology); R.P. Sherwin; I. Shulman; M.R. Stallcup (Biochemistry and Molecular Biology); L. Sweetman (Pediatrics); T.J. Triche (Pediatrics); E.T. Wong

Associate Professors: P.T. Chandrasoma*; C.-M. Chuong; R.J. Cote; J.A.L. Dubeau; P.S. Gill (Medicine); J.P. Handlers (Dentistry); D. Hinton (Neurological Surgery, Neurology); F.M. Hofman (Ophthalmology); T.A. Khwaja; B.W. Kovacs (Obstetrics and Gynecology); J.R. Landolph (Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Molecular Pharmacology and Toxicology); H. Liebman (Medicine); C.C. Marboe (Surgery); J.M. McDonnell (Ophthalmology); S.E. Martin; P.R. Meyer; R. Nakamura (Obstetrics and Gynecology, Physiology and Biophysics); C.P. Reynolds; D.K. Shibata; H. Tsukamoto; S.B. Turkel (Psychiatry, Pediatrics)

Assistant Professors: E.T. Heuser; A. Kovacs (Pediatrics); J.M. Rowland; A. T'Ang; A.-L. Wittmann

Adjunct Associate Professors: W.M. Blackmore (Physiology and Biophysics); J.H. Doroshow

Clinical Professors: R. Aller; C.A. Bell; R.K. Brynes; J.N. Carberry; K.A. Frankel; B. Gottlieb (Medicine); D.N. Halikis; D.V. Hoang; R.E. Horowitz; O.T. Kuzma (Medicine); C.E. Marshall; D.H. Mills; J.M. Mirra; D.L. Moyer (Obstetrics and Gynecology); A.A. Roscher; L. Sathyavagiswaran (Medicine); K. Sheibani; R. Siegler; M. Sommer; P. Thornton

Clinical Associate Professors: M.I. Abbott; J.S. Allan; H.M. Bauer; P. Burke; J.R. Craig (Neurology); S. B. Gilbert; J.T. Gmelich; C.I. Goldsmith; C.J. Hanna; B.C. Hartman; R.M. Hathout; P.C. Hsieh; R.E. James III; D. Kon; L.G. McCarthy; O.S. Miller; H. Muensch; H.Y. Pak; W.N. Parnassus; G.C. Ponto; R.M. Protzel; C. Rogers; M.E. Rose; A.I. Rubinstein; K. Saeger; R.M. Silton; S.V. Sostrin; W.R. Starke; C.P. Treling; R.C. Ulirsch

Clinical Assistant Professors: A.R. Abrams; W.M. Allen; J.P. Almas; I.S. Arulanantham; C.J. Baird; S.W. Binder; B. Bodey; P. S. Chaurushiya; M. H. Cheng; M. Cooper-Smith; M.M. Cosgrove; K.S. Damji; E. Ellison; K.R. England; P.L. Fitzgibbons; H.V. Fletcher, Jr.; C.M. Fountain; D.M. Frisman; A.M. Hernandez; A.L. Koehler; D.L. Krasne; A.W. Migler; J. Nachazel; C.C. Osborne; J.A. Pachiarz; B.J. Poletti; S.K. Reddy; D.R. Rogers; S. Sadeghi; S. Sahgal; G.R. Scherr; R.K. Schmidt; W.M. Schultheis; S.F. Selser; R. Soni; H. Tai; A. Tandon; D.D. Tschirhart, Jr.; R.R. Turner; T.R. Wells; M.L.B. Yip

Research Assistant Professor: E. Ojo-Amaize

Clinical Instructors: G.N. Pontrelli; J.H. Toh; C. Tom

Professors of Clinical: K.-M. Chan; J. Cicciarelli (Urology); J.F.P. Dixon; Y. Iwaki (Urology); G.C. Kanel; V. Mahnovski; W.S. Matthews; J.M. Nelson; P.W. Nichols; T.T. Noguchi

Associate Professors of Clinical: D.W. Anderson; M.D. Appleman; H.N. Canawati; C. Cobb; D.B. Endres; J.C. Felix (Obstetrics and Gynecology); T.S. Greaves; A.L. Hiti; C.B. Inderlied (Molecular Microbiology and Immunology); A.J. Keyser; L.A. Khawli; A.I. Lipsey (Pediatrics); Z. Pavlova (Pediatrics); S. Saxena; A.E. Sherrod

Assistant Professors of Clinical: B. Adler; N.J. Barr; D.L. Commins; B.D. Florentine; F.W. George IV; L.K. Kelly; M.T. Kiyabu; R.D. MacPhee; H. Montforte-Munoz; W.Y. Naritoku; V. Richters; G.D. Zeger

Visiting Associate Professor, Clinical: G.A. Pangalis

Professors of Research: J. Groffen (Pediatrics); E. Heisterkamp (Pediatrics); D.M. Kramsch (Medicine); T.L. Lincoln

Associate Professors of Research: S.A. Imam; L.S. Perlmutter (Neurology)

Assistant Professors of Research: J. Peters; K. Rich (Ophthalmology); S.R. Shi; R.B. Widelitz

Research Associate Professor: S.M. Brennan

Research Clinical Instructors: C. Amezcua; J. Carrillo; A.C.-M. Chen; P.K.-L Chen; W. Chick; H. Dastghaib; D. Hawes; R. Khurana; J. Ko; P. Ko; G. Kobayashi; E. Laine; V. Levy; D. Lewin; Y. Ma; S.R. McLaren; G. Messler; W. Mojica; S. Niewiadomski; A. Panchal; G.L. Pearson; L. Pena; K. Rodarte; T. Sherwood; S.Y. Suzuki; M. Taira; J. Tang; M. Velankar; G. Wehrli; C. Williams; H. Yen

Visiting Assistant Professor: N. Berndt (Pediatrics)

Visiting Assistant Professor, Clinical: D.H. Lopez-Terrada

Emeritus Professors: F.S. Buck; H.C.H. Fang (Neurology); B.H. Landing (Pediatrics); R.J. Lukes; C.P. Schwinn (Orthopaedics); D. Tatter; R. Terry; N.E. Warner

Emeritus Associate Professors: A.D. Cramer; C.B. Walberg

Emeritus Clinical Professors: H.S. Aijian; W.K. Bullock; N.B. Freidman; M. Greenblatt; G.G. Hadley; W.H. Kern; J.A. Kernen; E.B. Reilly; H.J. Sacks; D.S. Shillam; R.J. Schroeder; S.C. Sommers; P.R. Thompson

Emeritus Clinical Associate Professors: T. Kiddie; W.C. Smith

Emeritus Clinical Assistant Professors: R.L. McClure; J.K. Waken; L. Weiss

Emeritus Professor of Clinical: M. Biddle (Molecular Microbiology and Immunology)

Emeritus Associate Professor of Clinical: W.P. Lewis

Emeritus Assistant Professor of Clinical: R.B. Hopper

*Recipient of university-wide or school teaching award.

Pathology is the study of disease: its etiology, pathogenesis, pathophysiology, and its morphologic expression at organ, tissue, cellular and ultrastructural levels. The Department of Pathology provides USC's medical students with training in general, systemic and clinical pathology. This training enables students to understand and visualize the basic processes underlying a patient's signs, symptoms and clinical course, and to understand and evaluate the alterations in laboratory findings produced by disease.

The Department of Pathology contributes to instruction in all segments of the organ system review course of Year II and to the Junior/Senior Continuum of the medical student curriculum. The department also offers training to graduate students in pathobiology and to interns and residents at the LAC + USC Medical Center.

With more than 60 full-time faculty and more than 30 residents-in-training, the USC Department of Pathology is one of the largest pathology departments in the United States. The department is particularly strong in areas of hematopathology, immunocytochemistry, immunopathology, neuropathology, and AIDS-related research. The department maintains ongoing research interests in hematopathology and neuropathology and has begun to expand its base in radioimmunoimaging and immunotherapy, utilizing monoclonal antibodies. It also has ongoing research projects in the new areas of molecular and genetic pathology.

The majority of pathology research space is located in the Hoffman Medical Research Center Building and the Edmondson Building. Faculty of the department are also located in the Norris Cancer Research Hospital and in McKibben Hall, both located on the Health Sciences Campus.

The department provides diagnostic laboratory services for the LAC + USC Medical Center, the Norris Cancer Hospital, the Doheny Eye Hospital, USC University Hospital and the USC Clinical Reference Laboratories. Approximately 40 of the department's full-time faculty members work in service laboratories throughout the LAC + USC Medical Center, where they are supported by 34 residents and fellows and a technical and clerical staff numbering in excess of 500. The Norris Cancer Hospital and Research Institute houses three full-time pathologists, two fellows and approximately 25 clerical and support staff.

Graduate Programs

Admissions

Applicants to the graduate program in pathology must have a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university with an undergraduate major in one of the natural sciences; a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 for undergraduate work is required. Applicants must submit undergraduate transcripts and letters of recommendation from two undergraduate teachers with their application. All applicants must take the general portion of the Graduate Record Examinations. Foreign applicants whose first language is not English must submit the result of their Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). Personal interviews by members of the department's Graduate Committee are required whenever practical.

Original application materials, except letters of recommendation, should be sent to the Office of Admission, University of Southern California. To expedite consideration of the application, applicants should also send photocopies of the application, transcripts, and GRE scores to the department's Graduate Committee. Letters of recommendation should be addressed directly to the secretary, Graduate Committee.

Applications are considered for admission to both the fall and spring semesters.

Internships and Residency Programs

The Department of Pathology offers four internships and 30 residency positions in its fully approved five-year training program in anatomic and clinical pathology at the LAC + USC Medical Center. Training is offered in autopsy and surgical pathology, neuropathology, cytology, microbiology, hematopathology, immunohematology, clinical chemistry, toxicology, immunopathology, radioisotopes, cytogenetics, instrumentation, management, computer techniques, electron microscopy, and other specialty areas.

Fellowship Program

A limited number of fellowships are offered in immunopathology, hematopathology, surgical pathology, oncology, neuropathology, and pediatric pathology. Postdoctoral positions in viral and chemical carcinogenesis, slow viral diseases, immunopathology, environmental toxicology and related fields are also available.

Master of Science in Experimental and Molecular Pathology

The Department of Pathology offers a program for the master of science degree with a major in experimental and molecular pathology. The primary objectives of this program are to provide the necessary theoretical and practical training in experimental pathology that culminates with the master of science degree. Goals of the program are to train students in preparation for senior research staff or senior technician positions in academic or industrial institutes, further M.D. or Ph.D. study, consultantships requiring multidisciplinary backgrounds or advanced teaching positions in community colleges.

Admissions Admission requirements are similar to that of the doctor of philosophy degree. The prerequisite for applicants to this program in pathology is a bachelor's degree with an undergraduate major in one of the natural sciences. A minimum GPA of 3.0 in the natural sciences (including mathematics) is usually required. Applicants must achieve a competitive score on the general portions of the Graduate Records Examinations (GRE). In addition, the department requires at least three letters of recommendation from faculty members who can evaluate the applicant's potential for graduate work. Demonstrated proficiency in the English language is required. Special circumstances may provide consideration for conditional admission.

Course Requirements At least 34 units of graduate study are required. Fourteen or more course units must be taken in the Department of Pathology, eight units may be pursued outside the department, and a maximum of eight units of directed research in pathology may be applied to the degree. No more than four units of course work taken outside of USC should be applied toward the M.S. degree requirements. Students considering such an action should submit a petition to the department and document a rigorous academic standard for the course (reading materials, texts and other performance criteria, lecture content, etc.). The pathology graduate committee reviews the petition and informs the student of its decision.

Doctor of Philosophy

The department's graduate program in pathobiology prepares individuals for careers in research and teaching and leads to conferment of the Ph.D. degree. The program seeks to develop scientists who have a sound understanding of disease and are capable of creating experimental approaches to investigate its mechanisms. The program can be varied to fit individual requirements and goals. Disciplines and methodology represented in the department include anatomic pathology, electron microscopy, histochemistry, biochemistry, cell biology, genetics, oncology, immunology, environmental pathology, virology and developmental biology.

Course Requirements A minimum of 60 units of graduate study is required for the Ph.D. degree. Each student's program will include required courses plus a number of elective courses offered within and outside the department; the student must make up any prerequisite deficiencies before taking a required or elective course for which that background is necessary. Required courses include PATH 570abcd (4 units), PATH 550abL (12 units), INTD 561 (4 units), INTD 571 (4 units) or prior equivalent, BISC 467L (4 units) or prior equivalent, PATH 552ab (4 units), PATH 794ab (4 units). The remaining 24 units will consist of elective courses, research credits, and up to four additional units of dissertation research. During years I and II, students are advised to rotate through at least two research laboratories. The student must maintain at least a 3.0 GPA for all course work, exclusive of research credits.

Screening Procedure An advisory committee of three faculty members assesses each newly admitted student's educational objectives and research interests, acquaints the student with the research activities of the department, and recommends a program of graduate courses and research. This committee must approve the student's program before the student may register for any course. The advisory committee evaluates the performance of each first-year student, and must approve the student's progress before the student may register for the second year. The committee's evaluation may include a written or oral screening examination.

Guidance Committee Not later than one month after being approved to register for the second year, each student must file for formation of a five-member guidance committee, one member of which must be from a department other than pathology. This committee guides the student in selecting a thesis advisor and advises the student during preparation for the qualifying examination and writing of a research proposal. This committee may also serve as a dissertation committee, for which the student may request changes in membership. The dissertation committee advises the student during dissertation research and evaluates the dissertation.

Qualifying Examination To be admitted to candidacy for the Ph.D. degree, each student is required to pass both the written and oral portions of a qualifying examination, usually taken no later than the fifth semester of graduate standing. The examination is designed to test the student's core knowledge in pathobiology and to determine fitness and competence to undertake independent research on a disease-related interest. The written portion of the examination is prepared by the department's Graduate Committee and is offered once or twice each year. The oral examination is administered by the individual student's guidance committee and is based in part on a written proposal which the student must submit two weeks prior to the oral examination. The written proposal must consist of a proposal for an original research project.

Dissertation and Oral Defense The written dissertation is prepared in a format commonly used by major peer-reviewed scientific journals that publish similar experimental results. When the student has substantially completed the research and writing of the dissertation, the department requires that the student orally defend the dissertation's research conclusions. Although attendance at the oral defense is open to all members of the department and other interested faculty, the examination is conducted and evaluated solely by the candidate's dissertation committee. The student may defend the dissertation at any time in the year mutually agreeable to the dissertation committee.

Postgraduate Program

Faculty of the Department of Pathology participate in postgraduate programs for continuing education which are sponsored by the Schools of Medicine and Pharmacy. Additional subspecialty courses in anatomic and clinical pathology are under development.

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