Our Impact
There is no more powerful mission than truly effecting change. The USC community — faculty, students and staff — work side by side with partners in Los Angeles to solve immediate problems, creating a constellation of people and networks collaborating toward the public good. Worldwide, our efforts address global health inequities, develop leadership and research in key cultural areas, train diplomats from myriad countries and more.
Discovery, Creativity, Impact
USC is a premier research institution that provides a steady stream of new knowledge, art and technology. It has more than $1 billion in annual research expenditures, with the largest graduate program in science, engineering and health of all private research universities.
Research Highlights
From unexpected climate solutions to unearthing truths about today’s information ecosystem and more, USC researchers roll up their sleeves for the problems of today.
$2.9 million grant from Bezos Earth Fund boosts USC urban greenery work
USC Dornsife researchers aim to help increase urban tree canopies, lower city temperatures and address longstanding environmental inequities.
The bite stuff
USC anthropologist Luísa Reis-Castro finds that researchers of one of Brazil’s deadliest mosquitoes have a lot to teach the world about how to fight disease.
AI could help create effective, scalable teacher PD
With $2M NSF grant, USC Rossier professor seeks to improve math instruction with AI-driven teacher professional development
Innovation with impact: 2 USC sustainability research projects seek to make real-world difference
New approaches to addressing and reducing air and water pollution in L.A. seek to educate and incentivize key stakeholders.
USC study reveals the key reason why fake news spreads on social media
The USC-led study of more than 2,400 Facebook users suggests that platforms — more than individual users — have a larger role to play in stopping the spread of misinformation online.
To support boom in climate action, Public Exchange launches climate and sustainability practice
The new practice based at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences provides expert research and project management services to government, industry and nonprofit partners in the fast-growing clean technology and sustainability market.
Medicine from garbage? New process shows promise turning plastic trash into pharmaceuticals
The novel method developed by USC pharmacy and chemistry researchers has exciting implications for plastic waste collecting on Catalina Island and L.A.-area beaches.
Going platinum: A non-toxic catalyst for clean, re-usable water
How USC researchers identified a new treatment for harmful aldehydes in wastewater.
When COVID-19 vaccinations began, the USC community sprang into action
From day one of distribution to today, Trojans have been delivering vaccines to hard-hit communities, volunteering at mega-sites and ensuring that hundreds of thousands of shots get into arms.
Inventing Solutions
Exploring Medical Frontiers
Creating New Knowledge
Creative Expression
Los Angeles is considered the “Creative Capital of the World.” With six major arts schools, USC is one of the city’s driving forces for new ideas and emerging talent, playing a prominent role in the film, television, music, architecture and arts industries.
Faculty Spotlight
Impact can also be measured by others through awards that recognize groundbreaking contributions. USC’s award-winning scholars and researchers look beyond the ordinary to bring new, much-needed insights and developments to a rapidly changing world with complex needs.
As University Professor, center director and associate dean of research in dentistry, stem cell biology/regenerative medicine and craniofacial molecular biology, Yang Chai received a $30 million NIH grant for his leadership in California’s Center for Dental, Oral and Craniofacial Tissue and Organ Regeneration.
An established leading investigator in air pollution research, respiratory health and cancer epidemiology, and gene-environment interactions, Frank D. Gilliland combines his medical degree with doctoral degrees in public health and environmental epidemiology to examine the effects of pollution on disease, from respiratory illnesses to cancer.
Art & Science Interdisciplinary Collaborations
Bridge Institute & the USC School of Cinematic Arts
In pursuit of a cure for diabetes, faculty and students collaborate to explore the molecular structure of the pancreatic beta cell — the molecule responsible for creating insulin.
Brain & Creativity Institute
The Brain & Creativity Institute studies the effects of music processing on the developing brain, how the brain organizes narratives, and the role of feeling and consciousness in humans and machines. Applications include the diagnosis and treatment of neurological and psychiatric disorders, child development and education.
Wrigley Institute Storymakers Program
Scientists become storytellers through this weeklong intensive workshop that teaches hands-on tools such as podcasting, creative content production and more to empower the people behind the science to move hearts and minds with their work in order to accelerate change.
Arts and Climate Collective (ACC)
Inspired and fueled by students, the ACC is a collective commitment to sustainability and environmental justice using the building blocks of arts, culture and storytelling. Participation develops essential skills and attitudes that prepare students for long-term success and create a shared sense of USC community.