HST@USC is a collaborative venture between the Keck School of Medicine and the Viterbi School of Engineering. The goal is to develop a cross-university program in Health Sciences & Technology (HST) integrating science, medicine, and engineering to solve problems in human health.

HST@USC aims to create an “innovation environment” that promotes collaboration, connections, and context, eliminating the artificial barriers that separate disciplines and professions.  

Leadership

The HST@USC initiative is being implemented by the HST Executive Committee comprised of the deans and research deans of the Keck School of Medicine and the Viterbi School of Engineering.

Martha L. Gray, PhD has been hired as a consultant to work with the executive committee and the faculty to develop HST@USC. She has been named Visiting Associate Dean for Health Sciences & Technology.  Dr. Gray served as the MIT director of the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences & Technology for more than a decade. The Harvard-MIT HST program brings together the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard Medical School, Harvard University, Boston area teaching hospitals, and an assortment of research centers, in a unique collaboration.

Strategic Plan

The strategic development plan to establish HST@USC has been laid out as three phases:

1. High level assessment and strategy
2. Detailed development of strategy and roadmap for execution
3. Execution and assessment

Planning Phase 1 – Assessment – academic year 2008-09 (first semester)

The executive committee worked closely with Dr. Gray to initiate the planning process. The following goals were advanced:

• Assessment of the existing resources at USC related to this area of convergence
• Preliminary analysis of the opportunity at USC relative to other institutions
• Assessment of strategic options for an HST academic enterprise
• Evaluation of organizational structures and principles
• Attraction of faculty participation
• Establishment of operational objectives (e.g. degree programs, research foci, etc.)

Pursuit of these goals was initiated by a series of three day meetings between Dr. Gray and administration/ faculty culminating in a weekend retreat in October 2008 at Huntington Beach (see news story). The initial results were as follows:

• It was determined that USC has the culture, the environment, the faculty, and the resources to create an HST program that will compete favorably in the national arena and that will be distinguished by unique characteristics.
• An HST Faculty was defined to lead and implement program development
• HST Working Groups were established, meeting for the first time at the weekend retreat
• Existing research collaborations were strengthened and many new collaborations were initiated
• New research and educational program opportunities were identified

Planning Phase 1 – Assessment –academic year 2008-09 (second semester)

During the second part of phase 1, the 3-day meetings with Martha Gray continued, a reception was held on the University Park Campus in March to promote collaborations around economic stimulus opportunities, and a day-long follow-up retreat was held on the University Park Campus in May. The results were as follows:

• An HST Steering Committee was established, adding additional members of the Keck and Viterbi School administrations to the existing executive committee. The steering committee met multiple times to develop program direction and organizational structure
• Key faculty and research team recruitments at the Keck and Viterbi Schools were incorporated into the HST initiative
• Program scope was extended to include key faculty members from the Schools of Pharmacy and Dentistry
• HST Working Groups continued to meet
• A set of grant proposals was submitted seeking support for faculty recruitment, research programs, and educational initiatives; this included many economic stimulus opportunities
• Pursuit of fund-raising opportunities was initiated

Planning Phase 2 – Roadmap – academic year 2009-10

This phase was launched over the summer of academic year 2008-2009. During this time the HST Executive Committee developed a draft roadmap document.

A Steering Committee meeting was held at the beginning of academic year 2009-2010.

A series of additional planning meetings were held between HST leadership and educational program directors.

Current HST@USC Roadmap Document - soon to be available.  

Planning Phase 3 – Implementation – academic year 2010-11 and beyond
[Goals to be developed]