Dr. Zhipeng Lu's lab at the University of Southern California focuses on understanding how alternative splicing works and its implications for health and disease. They develop innovative methods to analyze RNA structures and their interactions with proteins, aiming to decode how these processes contribute to diseases like cancer and neurological disorders. The lab's work is particularly relevant for advancing precision medicine by targeting splicing mechanisms for therapeutic purposes.

The lab led by Paul Matthew Seidler at USC focuses on understanding how proteins aggregate and how certain molecules, known as disaggregases, can control this process. By studying how proteins can be both catalyzed to aggregate and disaggregated back to their functional forms, the lab aims to uncover new ways to address diseases related to protein misfolding. Their research could lead to better diagnostics and therapies for these serious conditions.

Dr. Gauri G. Rao's lab at USC focuses on developing new antibiotics to combat serious lung infections caused by drug-resistant bacteria, also known as superbugs. They are specifically working on a promising new drug that combines teixobactin with lipopeptides, which may prove effective against bacteria that resist all existing antibiotics. This research aims to address a critical health crisis by finding innovative treatments for infections that are currently very difficult to treat.

Dr. Yong Zhang's lab at USC focuses on innovating therapies for triple negative breast cancer (TNBC), a challenging and aggressive form of cancer. They are developing engineered exosomes—small vesicles that can boost immune responses to target TNBC tumors. The research aims to create safer and more effective treatments, potentially transforming how TNBC is managed in clinical settings.