USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology

Undergraduate Research Opportunities

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The USC Leonard Davis School offers numerous opportunities for undergraduates to participate in research.

Conducting research at USC Leonard Davis is a great way to get to know faculty, graduate students, and other undergraduates who share similar academic and career interests. Students participating in research at our school have published papers, presented at conferences and won numerous awards.

Explore this section to learn more about opportunities to contribute to the exciting research taking place at the USC Leonard Davis School. Some positions may include funding from our school, university or outside sources and be open to applicants from across USC and/or from outside institutions.

USC Leonard Davis School Laboratories and Research Groups

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Below is a list of laboratories and research groups that are currently accepting applications for undergraduate research:

USC GEMSTEM

Portrait of GEMSTEM Student

The Gerontology Enriching Medicine, Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (GEMSTEM) to Enhance Diversity in Aging program integrates research, education, and professionalization for aging curious undergraduate scholars at the University of Southern California from underrepresented minority backgrounds.

USC Discovery Scholars

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The USC Leonard Davis School offers gerontology research opportunities through USC’s signature program that honors students who engage in undergraduate research or artistic endeavor with faculty guidance.

USC Student Programs

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Diversity in Research

USC offers programs for students and postdocs at USC that support diversity and scholarship in research, as a foundation toward future efforts.

National Institute on Aging’s Advancing Diversity in Aging Research (ADAR) Initiative

usc undergraduate research

Information about the USC Leonard Davis School’s commitment to the ADAR Initiative will be shared soon.

Cancer Research Education and Engagement (CaRE 2 ) program

Jahzhseed Hancock in lab

CaRE² funds training opportunities for Black and Latino investigators, from students to early-career scientists, in order to increase the workforce focused on translational cancer and enhancing our scientific community.

usc undergraduate research

Some approved work-study lab research positions may be available to students who are eligible to receive work-study funds. Visit the   USC Career Center webpage for information about the Work-Study Job Fair and for all student job openings. For more information about federal work-study, refer to USC’s webpage.

If you are interested in an undergraduate research position in one of our labs, please reach out to Sara Robinson: [email protected]

Visit the USC Office of Undergraduate Education to learn more about undergraduate research opportunities at USC.

Student News

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Undergraduate Degree in Gerontology Provides Access, Credibility

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A gerontology graduate learns prevention is the best medicine. Alexandra Firestone plans to become a doctor and to promote healthy habits for all ages

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Q&A with Bachelor’s in Lifespan Health grad Astoria Ho

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usc undergraduate research

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University of Southern California

Proposals are solicited from USC faculty in all disciplines to support undergraduate students as members of faculty research teams. Proposals may be submitted by individual faculty members or by groups. Limited funding may also be available as matching funds for departmental undergraduate research initiatives.

Projects may be proposed for individual students or for student teams. Within specific proposals, members of a faculty group may choose to work individually with students and share responsibility for the group components of the project (see below). Special consideration will be given to proposals that supplement existing external grants in order to support undergraduate researchers.

Funding is not provided for students registered in directed research courses, Progressive Degree students, for graduate research assistants, or for projects in which undergraduate researchers will be supervised exclusively by graduate students.

  • Students will be paid in the form of research stipends, which are regarded as merit-based financial aid. The standard stipend for an academic semester is $1,500, assuming an average of eight to ten hours of student research per week. The standard summer stipend is $3,000, assuming an average of at least twenty hours of student research per week for at least eight weeks. Awards per proposal are limited to a maximum of $6,000 (limited to $3000 per student per academic year) . Please note that students hired as undergraduate researchers in this program cannot simultaneously receive additional funding from the USC Provost’s Research Fellowship, Student Opportunities for Academic Research program (SOAR) or Summer Undergraduate Research Fund (SURF).
  • The period covered by the current Call for Proposals is July 2024 through June 2025. Student stipends will be disbursed by the Office of Academic Programs, and all stipends must be paid by the end of the Spring 2025 semester. Faculty members who hire students for summer research (May and June 2025) must submit student information by the end of April 2025.
  • In addition to students’ individual involvement in research activities, projects should generally include some regular integrative or group activity. Examples of such activities are research seminars, colloquia, and participation in regional or national conferences. As part of their research experience, students are expected to receive training in ethical issues (e.g., human subjects training where appropriate) and in relevant forms of information retrieval and scholarly communication.
  • Each undergraduate research project should culminate with an appropriate report of the completed work (for example, a formal research paper, poster presentation, or similar demonstration of scholarly or creative accomplishments). All examples of student work should be submitted to the Office of Academic Programs before the end of the Spring 2024 semester. Failure to submit a research report will result in ineligibility for future funding.
  • Progressive Degree students are ineligible to receive URAP funds.

Funding Criteria

A faculty panel will review proposals and funding decisions will be made on the basis of the following criteria:

  • The quality of the proposed research project.
  • The level of educational benefit to the undergraduate research assistants.
  • Proposing faculty’s previous experience working with undergraduates, particularly in a research and/or collaborative environment.
  • The extent to which the project involves collaboration among faculty, particularly across academic units and/or disciplines.

Proposals that are project-based extensions of existing courses are not likely to be funded.

At least 90% of the project budget must be devoted to student research stipends.

At most 10% of the budget may be for materials and supplies.

USC Undergraduate Research Associates Program

Jan 2 2024 12:00 am (pst), feb 23 2024 04:00 pm (pst).

What are you looking for?

Justin Gaither analyzes biomechanics data recorded from runner Ian Russell. (USC Photo/Gus Ruelas)

USC program creates research pathways for undergrads in science, tech and engineering

The Geobiology and Genomics Undergraduate Research Experiences program boosts diversity, helping students learn they can have stimulating experiences in research labs

Kids dream of jobs in monochromelike simplicity: “When I grow up, I want to be a doctor or firefighter or pop star!”

Maturity reveals career pathways in full color — a process that USC promotes for underrepresented students under a program to advance science careers. Beyond becoming an astronaut or lawyer or basketball player, USC steers students to work in, say, nanorobotics or microfluidics or geobiology.

“We’re trying to grow scientists,” said Steven Finkel , professor of biological sciences at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences .

Finkel leads the Geobiology and Genomics Undergraduate Research Experiences program. About 30 students are enrolled this year. In the past 14 years, more than 160 students have participated.

This is more than a what-color-is-your-parachute job quest for students. The program aspires to change the complexion of higher education while transforming cultural perceptions of college studies.

The program accepts undergraduate students, with emphasis on underrepresented and first-generation students, a strategic calculation so tomorrow’s scientists become more diverse than today’s. Broadening access to research in higher education helps change the student body, create access to high-quality research opportunities and build a pipeline of professionals who can one day step into faculty leadership roles.

This is a pathway to a career that they might not have expected. Michael Quick

“This program helps undergraduate students learn that they can have challenging, stimulating experiences in research labs,” said USC Provost Michael Quick. “This is a pathway to a career that they might not have expected.”

What’s needed are pathways students can follow toward careers in science, engineering and technology. Said Finkel: “To increase diversity in the ranks of science, we’ve got to get students when they’re young. We want them to discover there are other potential career pathways in research in addition to more traditionally understood health professions.”

Undergraduate research: access and opportunity

Increasing access and opportunities are top priorities for USC. Recently released student and faculty diversity numbers provide a gauge for measuring the university’s results. USC earns high marks for enrolling more minority students than any other private institution in the Association of American Universities. USC also leads the nation’s universities in enrolling the most underrepresented minority graduate students.

The program offers inducements of curiosity and cash. First, students have liberty to seek out many labs to work in. It takes initiative and imagination for a 20-year-old with little or no formal laboratory experience to prove how they will contribute to a research team.

Second, the program pays students for the hours they spend doing research in labs. On average, Finkel said they make about $17 per hour and work about 13 hours per week or more during summertime — among the highest paid undergrads working at USC.

Research program opens a whole new world

Justin Gaither joined the program. He attended Grover Cleveland Charter High School in Reseda and Glendale Community College before transferring to USC. He’s passionate about sports, especially basketball. He had heard of biomechanics before USC, but didn’t know much about it.

“I wanted to get into sports, sports engineering or exercise science, maybe working with athletes or sportswear companies,” Gaither said. “I thought jobs like this were niche, just one or two, but this program opened a whole new world of opportunity for me.”

After a stint in community college, Gaither transferred to USC, connected with a mentor in the Black Alumni Association, who linked him to the program. Soon, he began working in the Biomechanics Research Laboratory run by Jill McNitt-Gray, professor of biological sciences and biomedical engineering at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences and the USC Viterbi School of Engineering.

A lab for athletes and artists

Tucked within the physical education building, the lab is a fusion of sweat, high-tech gear and rehabilitation. It is mix of nutrition, physiology, strength and conditioning, data analytics, sports medicine and psychology. People who come here include wounded military veterans. Dancers explore ways to channel energy to motion for peak performance. Basketball players work on perfecting their free throws. This is where Gaither works.

Gaither spends three days a week in the lab, working up to six hours per session. Among those who frequent the lab are Olympic athletes, NCAA athletes and performing artists. He works hands-on with patients and does research under the supervision of McNitt-Gray. He affixes sensors on their bodies to record motion, linking to a computer model and replicating motions over and over to observe how the body responds. He’s helped USC athletes gain peak performance and people in wheelchairs build locomotion.

“This is how they get started,” McNitt-Gray said. “We get them involved, progress it and get skills they need to get out and get jobs.”

Gaither said the program has helped him think about his future in new ways.

“I’ve seen this on ESPN and now I get to do it and it’s so cool,” Gaither said. “It opened my eyes with what I can do in engineering, and I can see how it is applied to different kinds of careers.”

The program is important to show families the value of higher education, too. Many of the minority undergraduates at USC are first-generation students, which comprised about 17 percent of the class of 2021, according to the USC Office of Admission. About two-thirds of last year’s incoming freshman class are students of color. Sometimes, families question the value of time spent in a research lab versus volunteering or working in a medical clinic, Finkel said. So, by paying students to work in labs, it demonstrates research has value as a career option.

Mom finds proper motivation for her son

Xavier Garcia will receive his degree in health and human sciences this month. It has been a long journey. USC’s research program helped him on the way.

He is the first person in his family to go to college. That achievement exceeds his mother’s expectations. She was satisfied he graduated high school. That’s where his journey began.

Garcia grew up in Sacramento and wanted to be a doctor, but he was a poor high school student, not for lack of smarts, but lack of initiative. He often skipped school and homework and mixed with the wrong crowd. He assured his mother, a single mother of four, that everything was OK, and she believed him. It wasn’t. He barely graduated with a D-average.

Next, he went to community college, where he had all but given up on his dream of being a doctor.

“My goal was impossible. How could I compete and go to Harvard or a big medical school when I’m in community college and undervalued?” he said.

His mom told him about a friend, a successful doctor who also once attended community college. That story motivated him.

“I thought, ‘if he can do it, then I can do it, too!’” Except the story was a fiction his mom created to motivate her son. It worked. Xavier worked three jobs to pay the bills and support his mother while sending himself to college.

My goal was impossible. How could I compete and go to Harvard or a big medical school when I’m in community college and undervalued? Xavier Garcia

He pulled grades good enough to transfer to USC. When he got here, he realized he lagged in research experience. He needed to spend more time in laboratories while working to pay for school and support the family. He needed a solution. Enter the Geobiology and Genomics Undergraduate Research Experiences program.

Garcia heard about the program from other USC students, he applied and was accepted. He joined the Anat Erdreich-Epstein lab at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, an affiliate of the Keck School of Medicine of USC. Soon, he was using confocal microscopy to visualize the results of tagging a gene that suppresses brain tumors. And he got paid to do it, since the program paid students for time spent in research lab. So he gained valuable experience, maintained focus on studies and helped pay the bills.

“If it wasn’t for this program, I wouldn’t have been able to do research. I’m still amazed that I get to do things I love. I get paid and I get to help my family at the same time,” he said.

USC undergraduate research has prompt payoff

Jada Hislop came to USC from Georgia, the first person in her family to attend college. She began in a work-study program in molecular and computational biology at USC and joined the undergraduate program soon after. She works in a lab that studies brain responses to sweeteners, including neuroimaging at the Brain and Creativity Institute. She said the program is important because it shows that research experience benefits students immediately, not just after graduation.

“Having those paid research hours each week is very meaningful. If I’m being funded, it means I can be that much more focused on my projects than if I had to work an outside job,” Hislop said.

Still, her family doesn’t fully grasp the university experience. For example, she said her father, who didn’t go to college, struggles to understand what she does at USC.

“My dad has no idea what I do, and I’ve explained it a hundred times,” Hislop said. “He supports me, but it’s hard for him to understand, like it isn’t real. One time, I went to the National Institutes of Health for research, and when they sent him the form in the mail, he said, ‘I thought you were volunteering at the hospital.’ I explained I was working in a lab at the NIH, that I wasn’t at some hospital working in the gift shop.”

Today, USC’s undergraduate program is undergoing change. It was originally funded by an NIH-funded Center for Excellence in Genomic Science program aimed at students from underrepresented backgrounds, Finkel explained. Today it is funded jointly by the Center for Dark Energy Biosphere Investigations (C-DEBI), a National Science Foundation-funded program with focus on the deep ocean, along with the USC Office of the Provost.

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Discovery Scholars

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Research Programs By School

USC schools encourage the Discovery Scholar ideal of undergraduate research with programs of their own. See what’s available in your area of study.

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This program is for pre-medical students interested in learning more about pediatric medicine. Students will shadow physicians at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles after commencement.

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A program that encourages low-income and first-generation college students as well as students from historically underrepresented ethnic groups to pursue graduate studies and consider an academic career.

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The Undergraduate Symposium provides students with the unique opportunity to exhibit and share examples of their significant research and creativity with the university community.

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Fellowships and Funding

Several fellowship opportunities provide financial support for students interested in conducting and presenting research as undergraduates. Check out these possibilities:

  • USC Provost’s Undergraduate Research Fellowships
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To engage in research, students should connect with current experts in the field – members of the USC faculty. Explore faculty directories and profiles to discover research activities campus-wide.

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USC Dornsife students have multiple opportunities to participate in field research just as these students are doing at the USC Wrigley Institute for Environmental Studies located on Santa Catalina Island.

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Key searches, meet mika ishii: 2024 undergraduate student speaker and global health graduate.

Mika Ishii earns her Bachelor of Science in Global Health and minor in Natural Sciences from USC.

(Photo courtesy Mika Ishii)

“Every “first” that year felt really special!”’~Mika Ishii

In 2020, Mika Ishii started her freshman year online, signing-in from her hometown in Hawaii. “All my classes were on Zoom, and it was really difficult—especially with the time difference,” she says.  Ishii, a recipient of the Presidential Scholarship , initially started at USC as an economics major and outside of class, she joined the USC Trojan Marching Band as a member of the alto saxophone section. “I was able to meet really great friends through this experience and it gave me a sense of community during the pandemic,” she explains.

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The following year, Ishii relocated to Los Angeles and began her sophomore year at University Park Campus—which she says felt more like her freshman year. She moved into the residential college suites and finally put a face to the names of students she had met virtually the prior year. “It was nice to meet everybody for the first time and talk to them in-person,” she recalls. “Whether it was watching football games with my friends and witnessing school spirit or playing with the Trojan Marching Band at a basketball game and hearing that sound live—every “first” that year felt really special.”

On campus, she switched her major. “The moment I took Dr. Wipfli’s class ‘Introduction to Global Health’, I knew that global health was the right major for me, and I decided to pursue a career in medicine,” she reveals. “I have really enjoyed combining the social and natural sciences and taking courses ranging from international relations and economics to health promotion. They have provided me with a way to see different aspects of the world—whether that’s connecting economic trends or learning about globalization and policy, I learned how systemic issues can affect health,” she remarks.

During her time at USC, Ishii participated in the USC GRIT Lab led by Director of Undergraduate Programs Heather Wipfli, PhD , where she conducted drowning prevention research in Uganda. “What drew me to this work is the fact that I’m from Hawaii and we’re surrounded by the ocean, so I’ve grown up understanding how important it is to learn about swimming and water safety,” she affirms. “I have taken so many classes with Dr. Wipfli and have learned so much from conducting research with her. She has really inspired me as a mentor. The same is also true for Dr. Panayiota Courelli who has helped me with career development and given me great advice.”

Outside the program, Ishii was involved in the USC Undergraduate Student Government for four years. In her role as associate director for the performing, visual arts, and cultural funds, she helped students finance a variety of projects from theatre productions to cultural events. “This experience is something I really enjoyed because students may otherwise not have been able to produce events for their communities. It’s been my way to help the larger Trojan family,” she says.

Ishii has also been involved with several organizations volunteering her time and efforts to the Luskin Orthopaedic Institute for Children, Medicinal Music Makers, and tutoring other students in the global health program. “What I am most proud of during my time here is being able to impact people, whether that has been on campus or across the greater Los Angeles area.”

Away from USC, Ishii interned at the University of Hawaii Cancer Center looking at cancer disparities through clinical trials. “I became interested in this research because of its global health focus. It provided me an opportunity to apply what I had learned at USC, through my research and statistics classes, to a real-life study,” she indicates.

After graduation, Ishii intends to conduct research before applying to medical school. Thereafter, she hopes to address health disparities in her community in Hawaii. “I want to make a positive impact on the world and hope to use the knowledge that I gained in this program to help those across the islands where there are not enough healthcare workers or doctors,” she maintains.

Looking back on the last four years she reflects, “this program is really great, and it has wonderful faculty, staff, and students who all share a similar goal of making a positive impact on the world.” She advises other students to find the joy in life and appreciate the little moments, because it goes by so fast. She concludes by saying, “take what you receive from this program and give back to your own community—because I think that is really important!”

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Office of Research and Innovation Continues to Promote Interdisciplinary Startups via USC and Techstars Startup Weekend

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The inaugural event of the USC and Techstars Digital Economy Program took place the first weekend in April, serving as the kick-off for the newly announced partnership. The USC and Techstars Digital Economy Program is focused on startups working on digital advancement across bioscience, biomedicine, physical science, engineering, information, and computer sciences. The first event, Startup Weekend, invited participants to meet and network with mentors, investors, co-founders, and sponsors to help launch their entrepreneurial journey over the course of the 3-day event, starting on April 5 th with idea pitches and team formations. The participating teams in Startup Weekend featured participants from multiple USC schools, including: USC Iovine and Young Academy (IYA), USC Dana and David Dornsife College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences, USC Marshall School of Business, USC Viterbi School of Engineering, USC Alfred E. Mann School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Keck School of Medicine of USC, USC Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, USC Sol Price School of Public Policy, and the USC School of Cinematic Arts. The event wrapped up on Sunday, April 7 th  with teams giving final pitches, and first, second, and third-place honors awarded. Overall, Startup Weekend included 48 active participants, 26 of whom were undergraduate, graduate, or doctoral students at USC. 

The first-place team,  Momentum ,  included doctoral, graduate, and undergraduate students; team members were Evans Pope III, from the USC Alfred E. Mann School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Henry Groome, from USC Iovine and Young Academy, Isaiah Eruaga from the Keck School of Medicine of USC, and Julian Tedja, Rex Ordonez, and Jessie Tran, all of whom are from USC Marshall School of Business. 

The second-place team,  ProperlyAI , similarly boasted doctoral, graduate, and undergraduate students; team members were Adrianna Wilson, from USC Iovine and Young Academy, Stuti Chakrabordhy, from the USC Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, and two UC San Diego students, Aarav Khanduja, and Vedant Rao. 

The third-place team,  Clean Dorm , included graduate and undergraduate students, as well as USC Alumni; team members were Valeria Gamez and Diya Shah, both from the USC Viterbi School of Engineering, Monique Simpson, from the USC Dana and David Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, Cheikh Gueye, a USC alum, Ace Yeck, a current student at Loyola Marymount University, and Axel Amor. 

The event provided an opportunity for participants to not only expand their networks but also to see the immense value of multidisciplinary collaborative efforts. “This was a fantastic way of bringing together our students, faculty, and alumni, and providing the opportunity and space for them to network and put their creativity to work,” said Dr. Steven Moldin, Associate Vice President of Research Strategy and Innovation, “we could not be happier with the outcome of the weekend event and look forward to seeing how the partnership with Techstars continues to grow and expand.” 

The USC and Techstars Digital Economy Program has recently opened applications to the University Catalyst Program, which provides early-stage founders with startup education, mentorship, and access to the Techstars network. Theprimarily virtual program will take place from September through November, with some in-person components. Participants will have access to virtual masterclasses with a focus on pitch coaching and pitch deck development, 1:1 mentoring through the Techstars network, and peer opportunities. All entrepreneurs are encouraged to apply and there will be a concerted effort to support startups affiliated with the USC community, including students, alumni, and faculty/staff. For more information,  click here.

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Suggested search, 2024 los angeles immigration summit.

The 5th Annual Los Angeles Immigration Summit is a two-day, in-person convening that bolsters the power of L.A.’s immigrant communities. The 2024 Summit theme is: “Leading a Bold, Just, and Inclusive Democracy.”

When : July 11 & 12, 2024 Location : Los Angeles Trade-Technical College (LATTC) 400 W Washington Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90015

The Summit will spotlight the remarkable strides made across California and Los Angeles County to advance immigrant integration and inclusion by convening cross-sector partners, immigrant inclusion advocates, community leaders, philanthropy, elected officials, academia, and media partners for dynamic conversations, immersive learning sessions and scenario planning. Through collaborative dialogue and knowledge-sharing, attendees will learn about the radiating impacts across the region and state, explore innovative approaches and best practices aimed at advancing immigrant inclusion and opportunities to forge a path forward locally and nationally.

The agenda and additional details will be updated soon.

Manuel Pastor, director of USC's Equity Research Institute, speaks at the 2023 Los Angeles Immigration Summit.

What to Expect

The Summit will include two full-days of informative and engaging plenary sessions and panel discussions that center immigrant voices and showcase intersectionality across issues. Topics will include economic, health and educational equity, racial solidarity, nonprofit sustainability, and more. There will also be intentional opportunities for networking and connecting, including meals.

The Summit also serves as the annual release of the State of Immigrants in Los Angeles County (SOILA) report by the USC Equity Research Institute (ERI). The report will unveil data on how immigrants in LA County are faring to refocus the attention on how key players in Los Angeles can continue advancing a pro­ immigrant agenda. Both the Summit and the SOILA report are a collaborative effort between the California Community Foundation, the USC ERI, the Council on Immigrant Inclusion, and the Immigrants Are LA coalition, that includes stakeholders from business, labor, community-based organizations, local government, funders, and other sectors.

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Parting Thoughts as Eight ISI Graduate Research Assistants Earn their Doctoral Degrees 

Isi celebrated the 2024 gra grads with cake, swag, and well wishes..

ISI 2024 graduates

Photo Credit: Angel Itua/USC-ISI

“It’s been an amazing journey,” said Basel Shbita , a newly minted Ph.D. who worked as a Graduate Research Assistant at USC’s Information Sciences Institute (ISI). On Thursday, May 9th, ISIers in the Marina del Rey office gathered to celebrate the Spring 2024 GRA graduates, including eight who graduated with doctoral degrees, and two masters students.

researchers

Basel Shbita, Craig Knoblock, Binh Vu / Photo Credit: Angel Itua/USC-ISI

Craig Knoblock , the Keston Executive Director of USC’s Information Sciences Institute kicked off the event with opening remarks, and led the faculty advisors in giving touching tributes about the new grads. And the graduates themselves had plenty to say about their time at ISI.

Shbita described how obtaining his Ph.D. has impacted him: “The Ph.D. itself is an amazing journey that really matures you and makes you think differently. And I think that’s part of becoming a researcher. Now I get it!” He continued, “ISI is a unique place that brings a lot of different experiences together. To me, it’s truly the best incubator in the world.”

researchers

Jay Pujara, Avijit Thawani / Photo Credit: Angel Itua/USC-ISI

Pei Zhou recalled his first time at ISI, and being struck by the view, a sentiment shared by many. Beyond the boats and sunset, Zhou said he appreciated the freedom he had at ISI to choose his research problems. 

researcher

Yilei Zeng / Photo Credit: Angel Itua/USC-ISI

Avijit Thawani said, “ISI offers so much more than what other Ph.D. programs have to offer. There is campus, where you can attend classes and have classmates and work with people. But you also have this space at ISI full of amazing people working on stuff as big as quantum computing and launching space shuttles!”

Some of the grads took surprising paths on their journeys. Yilea Zeng said, “When I started at ISI – focusing on computational social science – I never dreamed I would end up in the gaming industry. But it has been such a fun Ph.D. because I have legit reasons to play games while I’m doing it!”

researchers

Luca Luceri, Julie Jiang / Photo Credit: Angel Itua/USC-ISI

Julie Jiang, recently included in the Forbes 30 Under 30 in Science list and off to a job at Meta summed up her five year Ph.D. journey at ISI: “We did cool research and we went to cool happy hours.” 

As the ceremony drew to a close, one could feel both nostalgia and anticipation for the next chapter in each graduate’s journey. These students, who’ve spent years in the halls of ISI, where curiosity knows no bounds, are now poised to embark on new adventures and shape the future of science and innovation.

cake

Congratulations to all of ISI’s Spring 2024 Graduates!

Ph.D. Graduates Yilei Zeng Kexuan Sun Meryem M’hamdi Julie Jiang Basel Shbita Binh Vu Avijit Thawani Pei Zhou

M.S. Graduates Namrata Sharma Twinkle Dhanak

Published on May 13th, 2024

Last updated on May 13th, 2024

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  9. USC program creates research pathways for undergraduates

    USC undergraduate research has prompt payoff. Jada Hislop is a first-generation college student who already has research experience as an undergraduate. (USC Photo/Gary Polakovic) Jada Hislop came to USC from Georgia, the first person in her family to attend college. She began in a work-study program in molecular and computational biology at ...

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  12. Undergraduate Study

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  14. Meet Mika Ishii: 2024 Undergraduate Student Speaker and Global Health

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  15. Office of Research and Innovation Continues to Promote

    The inaugural event of the USC and Techstars Digital Economy Program took place the first weekend in April, serving as the kick-off for the newly announced partnership. The USC and Techstars Digital Economy Program is focused on startups working on digital advancement across bioscience, biomedicine, physical science, engineering, information, and computer sciences. The first event, Startup ...

  16. 2024 Los Angeles Immigration Summit

    The 5th Annual Los Angeles Immigration Summit is a two-day, in-person convening that bolsters the power of L.A.'s immigrant communities. The 2024 Summit theme is: "Leading a Bold, Just, and Inclusive Democracy.". When: July 11 & 12, 2024 Location: Los Angeles Trade-Technical College (LATTC) 400 W Washington Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90015.

  17. Parting Thoughts as Eight ISI Graduate Research Assistants Earn their

    "It's been an amazing journey," said Basel Shbita, a newly minted Ph.D. who worked as a Graduate Research Assistant at USC's Information Sciences Institute (ISI). On Thursday, May 9th, ISIers in the Marina del Rey office gathered to celebrate the Spring 2024 GRA graduates, including eight who graduated with doctoral degrees, and two masters students.