$5 Million Gift Funds New Cancer Research Initiative
Agus will serve as principal investigator for the project entitled “Molecular Technologies in Cancer.” The initiative will focus on molecularly targeted therapy, which holds promise as a new paradigm for cancer treatment.
“The generous gift from the Ellison Medical Foundation will allow the initiation of this exciting program and advance the clinical translational work at USC,” says Keck School of Medicine Dean Carmen A. Puliafito. “Dr. Agus is an outstanding choice to lead this project, which we believe will make a significant impact on cancer treatment in potentially revolutionary ways.”
The Ellison Medical Foundation is a non-profit organization founded by Lawrence J. Ellison, an entrepreneur and CEO of Oracle Corporation. The foundation is dedicated to supporting new, creative research that might not be funded by traditional sources.
“It is my pleasure to work with Dr. Agus and his research associates in developing new technologies to help patients with cancer,” Ellison says. “I believe his unique approach to medical oncology will help better control many of the diseases impacting mankind today.”
Agus’ research in proteomic technology seeks to integrate clinical trials, pre-clinical studies and molecularly targeted therapy—which focuses on molecular and cellular changes that are specific to cancer—to predict which patients will likely respond to a specific anti-cancer therapy. He will lead a team of researchers at the USC Center for Applied Molecular Medicine at the Keck School of Medicine.
“My team and I are so honored and excited to team with the Ellison Medical Foundation to begin these new programs at USC to help bring new technologies and high quality care to patients with cancer,” he says.
In addition, Dr. Agus will direct the new USC Westside Prostate Cancer Center, a multi-disciplinary center that is focused on cutting edge care for patients with prostate cancer. The center is located at 8900 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills.
Prior to joining the Keck School of Medicine, Agus served as the Director of the Spielberg Family Center for Applied Proteomics and Research Director of the Louis Warschaw Prostate Cancer Center at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. He and his research team have focused on factors influencing the development and progression of cancer.
In the laboratory, Agus conducts research focused on understanding the biology of cancer and the development of new drugs and treatments for cancer. He also uses new technologies, in the field of proteomics and nanotechnology—that reveal valuable information regarding “on” and “off” switches of the cancer and ultimately a more complete understanding of the various factors that influence cancer development, progression and response to treatment.
Agus has published numerous articles and received several awards in the fields of cancer research and drug development. Dr. Agus graduated cum laude with honors in molecular biology from Princeton University, and received his medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. He completed his medical internship and residency training at Johns Hopkins Hospital, and fellowship at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.
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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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