In Memoriam: Zuo-Zhong Wang
Dr. Wang died in an accident while hiking in the San Dimas Mountains this past weekend. He was 46.
Wang was an associate professor in the Department of Cell and Neurobiology at the Keck School of Medicine of USC. He was a noted neuroscientist whose discoveries had a profound impact on his field. His research focused on how synapses form, using the neuromuscular junction as a model system. His recent work with colleague Lin Chen on the crystal structure of a nicotine receptor was noted as a landmark accomplishment in the fields of structural biology and neuronal cell signaling.
Wang joined the Keck School of Medicine in 2005 and served on the faculty of the USC Programs in Biomedical and Biological Sciences (PIBBS).
He received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the Second Medical University in Shanghai, China, and received his Ph.D. in physiology from the University of Utah School of Medicine and did his postdoctoral training with Dr. Zach Hall at the University of California, San Francisco and the National Institutes of Health.
He became an assistant professor and was promoted to associate professor with tenure in the Department of Neurobiology at the University of Pittsburgh prior to joining the Keck School of Medicine.
Dr. Wang is survived by his wife Yun Yao, a son and step-son, his mother and three brothers.
“We at the Keck School of Medicine extend our deepest sympathy to Dr. Wang’s family,” said Keck School Dean Carmen Puliafito. “We are saddened by the loss of an esteemed colleague.”
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USC in the News
for 2/8/2012 »-
The Chronicle of Higher Education mentioned USC’s $6 billion fundraising campaign. The story noted that USC had already raised $1 billion in a “quiet phase,” including the $200 million naming gift from USC Trustee and alumnus David Dornsife and wife Dana Dornsife to the USC Dornsife College.
The Guardian (U.K.) highlighted two major gifts to USC in a list of the 10 biggest philanthropic benefactors in America. The list included the $200 million naming gift from USC Trustee and alumnus David Dornsife and wife Dana Dornsife to the USC Dornsife College, and the $110 million gift from USC Trustee and USC Viterbi School alumnus John Mork and wife Julie to create the USC Mork Family Scholars Program.
The New York Times featured the USC U.S.-China Institute documentary “Assignment: China — The Week that Changed the World.” The documentary, part of a series, examines media coverage of the 1972 Nixon trip that reshaped U.S.-China relations after a quarter century of isolation and hostility. “People look back now and take it for granted that the outcome was preordained,” said the institute’s Mike Chinoy, who produced the documentary. Voice of America also featured the story.
Los Angeles Times featured the Oscar Senti-meter, a tool developed by the USC Annenberg School, Los Angeles Times and IBM that analyzes thousands of tweets about the Academy Awards nominees. The story noted that Mexican actor Demian Bechir received an enormous boost on Twitter the day of the nominations, with a total of 6,893 tweets mentioning him, a 47-fold increase from the day before. The story noted the tool uses language-recognition technology developed in collaboration with USC Viterbi School’s Signal Analysis and Interpretation Lab.
The Times of India (India) featured a three-day medical emergency training workshop organized in association with USC. At the workshop, held at GCS Medical College in India, 50 doctors and more than 100 paramedics learned how to improve emergency support systems. William Mallon of the Keck School of USC said that discussion topics included the use of portable ultrasonic devices to scan patients. “The ultrasound applications help physicians make accurate and timely decisions,” he noted. Daily News & Analysis (India) also featured the workshop.
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