FOSTERING YOUNG SCIENTIFIC TALENT
Daniela Miranda and postdoctoral research associate Danielle Krasner
Professor Daryl Davies of the USC School of Pharmacy and Assistant Professor Joseph Cocozza of the Keck School of Medicine of USC are partnering to expand the Science, Technology and Research (STAR) program and the Engineering for Health Academy — longstanding efforts designed to foster interest in the health professions among high school students, particularly underrepresented minorities, by offering meaningful opportunities for hands-on learning in USC laboratories. Both programs are funded by USC’s Good Neighbors Campaign. STAR, overseen by the School of Pharmacy, is now in its third decade of building a pipeline of new talent for science and technology careers. Francisco Bravo Medical Magnet 12th grader Daniela Miranda has been working in the laboratory of Keck Professor Paula Cannon on ways to improve the efficiency of how we edit genes. The experience, Miranda says, “made me realize I’m more capable than I thought I was.” Cannon admits she was initially skeptical about the prospect of having a high school student join her lab, concerned that the science would be too intense. Today, she says it’s been a win-win experience. “This isn’t a one-way thing,” she adds. “We get so much back from it. Having the enthusiasm of a high school student brought out the best in my lab.” Through the eyes of young aspiring scientists like Miranda, Cannon says, “you rediscover the excitement and incredible opportunity we have to do research every day.”
Building upon the success of the school’s undergraduate minor, a new Bachelor of Science in Pharmacology and Drug Development will be offered beginning in fall 2017. In approving the new major, the University Committee on Curriculum, Health Professions Subcommittee, wrote: “This undergraduate major is very well-designed, the courses are current and relevant to the field, and the curriculum is rigorous.”
Walter Cathey, PharmD ’62, has retired after serving as special assistant to the dean on diversity since 2008. Over his 46-year career, he owned and operated pharmacies and held leadership positions with a range of companies, including pharmaceutical distributors and a health maintenance organization.
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RESULTS FALL 2017
