The newly established USC Center for Excellence in Research (CER) recently named its first six faculty fellows. Among them were two Keck School of Medicine physicians, Richard Cote and Hossein Jadvar.

Created in early 2007 by the Office of the Vice Provost for Research Advancement and the Academic Senate, the CER was designed to encourage mentorship among USC researchers and increase the impact of scholarly research throughout the University. The appointed fellows will serve as research leaders and mentors to other faculty and students.

“The idea is to create a set of activities to stimulate research through the university,” said Randolph Hall, vice provost for research advancement. “It could involve a whole variety of ideas, but it’s only limited by the imagination of our faculty.”

The fellows were presented to the Health Sciences Campus community at a faculty assembly on June 6.

Richard Cote, professor of pathology and urology in the Keck School of Medicine, plans to focus on biomedical nanoscience research by promoting interdisciplinary workshops and seminars. Hossein Jadvar, associate professor or radiology at the Keck School with a joint appointment at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering in biomedical engineering, will also host workshops and presentations to advocate the use of biomedical imaging across many disciplines.

“I am honored to have been selected as one of the inaugural faculty fellows in the USC CER,” said Jadvar. “I look forward to this unique opportunity to encourage and foster effective and fruitful interdisciplinary collaborations among colleagues across the campus through taking advantage of the current revolutionary advances in translational and clinical molecular imaging.”

Spearheaded by Maja Mataric, professor of computer science and neuroscience and senior associate dean for research in the USC Viterbi School of Engineering, CER is modeled after the Center for Excellence in Teaching, a similar and successful program established in 1996.

Other USC faculty honored as inaugural fellows of the CER include Rand Wilcox, professor of psychology in USC College, Peter Mancall, professor of history in USC College, Mataric and Carol Prescott, professor of psychology in USC College.