CONVERGE
Exploring the interplay of molecules, cells and tissues through inclusive Team-Science and Art-Science frameworks to create new mechanistic insights that impact biomedical research, support science training and improve the human condition.
IMAGINE A WORLD
Serving as a launchpad for projects drawing on disparate disciplines of science, engineering, medicine and the arts – the Bridge Institute is leveraging the strengths of individual departments and schools by providing an umbrella that trains fearless researchers, supports convergence and empowers collaboration.
WORLD IN A CELL
What can we learn about how the human body’s cells work by studying cities, and how might we rethink the future of cities by studying cells?
Using storytelling and world building to create a fully experiential virtual world inside a Pancreatic Beta Cell , we allow people to explore a rich biochemical world while engaging these concepts, pathways, and implications through narrative, all backed by scientific rigor.
OUR HOME
The faculty, staff and students at the USC Michelson Center for Convergent Bioscience will discover new frontiers in medicine and health. Interdisciplinary teams will work together to better understand health and to develop new life-saving devices and therapeutics.
Bridge Institute
1002 West Childs Way, MCB309
Los Angeles, CA, 90089
VIRTUAL CELL WORLD
Over the past several years teams from the USC Bridge Institute at the Michelson Center for Convergent Biosciences, and the World Building Media Lab at USC Media Arts + Practice Division of Cinematic Arts have created a world inside a single cell, combining the rigor of science with the precision of architecture. In addition to making complex scientific concepts approachable, this post-disciplinary project is facilitating collaborations that advance our understanding of the Pancreatic Beta Cell. The World in a Cell is a crucial step towards developing a cure for Diabetes.
Development of the dynamic model of the human body will accelerate the creation and implementation of novel therapies and cures for a host of intractable diseases and conditions.
Raymond Stevens
2024 BUGS Program Schedule for applications:
- Portal Opens: 2/14/2024 (Wednesday)
2024 BUGS Program application through Qualtrics >> - Apps Due: 4/14/2024(Sunday)
- Mentor Agreements Due: 4/24/2024 (Wednesday)
- Students/Mentors Notified: 4/26/2024 (Friday)
- Program start: 5/20/2024 (Monday)
- Program ends: 8/3/2024 (Saturday)
Please email bugsprogram@usc.edu with any questions.
– The Bridge Institute team
Bridge Updates:
The 14th international meeting on ‘Visualizing Biological Data’ (VIZBI 2024)
March 13–15, 2024
at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, USA.
While primarily an in-person event, there is also an option for limited online participation.
2nd Drug Discovery Innovation Workshop
FEBRUARY 23rd, 2024, 10AM – 5PM
LOCATION:
Michelson Center for Convergent Bioscience — MCB 101
1002 Childs Way, Los Angeles, CA 90089-3502
Organized by CNT3D, MESH Academy and Bridge Institute
Please RSVP to attend:
https://usc.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_bmaKDPH7CPZ9Ydo
Congratulations to Bridge faculty member Professor Vadim Cherezov!
October 23, 2023
Vadim Cherezov has been appointed
the Ester Dornsife Chair in Biological Sciences and Professor of Chemistry.
By USC Dornsife News
October 17, 2023
Cryo-electron microscopy reveals intricate workings of key receptors, offering fresh insights into combating disease
The article “Molecular basis of anaphylatoxin binding, activation, and signaling bias at complement receptors” was published on October 17, 2023, in the scientific journal Cell
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2023.09.020
This research led by Dr. Cornelius Gati at the Bridge Institute, USC in collaboration with researchers from India, Australia and Switzerland
USC Trojan Family
Summer 2023
Scientific polymath Scott Fraser has a special talent for live imaging of microscopic organisms — among a multitude of skills.
Register now to attend the 2023 BUGS/JR Summer Research Finale Symposium via Webinar
When: Aug 4, 2023 08:00 AM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
Topic: 2023 BUGS/Jr Summer Finale Symposium
Register in advance for this webinar:
https://usc.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_2n2qTdpEQ8aZuRZeNLtOPQ
SWARM 2: Join Us in Welcoming the Undergrad Participants in the 2023 BUGS Summer Research Program
DATE: Monday, June 19th @ 4:00 pm
LOCATION: MICHELSON CENTER FOR CONVERGENT BIOSCIENCE — MCB 101
1002 CHILDS WAY, LOS ANGELES, CA 90089-3502
Food, drinks, games and community. Open to Mentors, Faculty, Staff, Students and Colleagues.
For more information, please contact:bugsprogram@usc.edu
USC Dornsife Department of Chemistry
By Em Tielman – May 22, 2023
A team of researchers in the USC Department of Chemistry have made a significant discovery which will be detailed in their article published in the June 2023 issue of Nature Chemistry. This discovery not only bears significance for the field of organic chemistry but also provides indisputable evidence that the work of graduate student researchers is crucial for delving deep into a subject so that more foundational knowledge can be uncovered.
A link to the online version can be found here: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41557-023-01188-z.
SWARM 1: Join Us in Welcoming the Undergrad Participants in the 2023 BUGS Summer Research Program
DATE: Thursday, May 25th @ 4:00 pm
LOCATION: MICHELSON CENTER FOR CONVERGENT BIOSCIENCE — MCB 101
1002 CHILDS WAY, LOS ANGELES, CA 90089-3502
Food, drinks, games and community. Open to Mentors, Faculty, Staff, Students and Colleagues.
For more information, please contact:bugsprogram@usc.edu
Date: May 22 – 23, 2023
Location:
Arnold & Mabel Beckman Center of the
National Academies of Science & Engineering,
100 Academy, Irvine, CA 92617
The last day of registration is May 10 (Wednesday)
For Registration: https://segilsymposium.net
Symposium Agenda ( .docx)>>
Menu (.pdf) >>
Announcement: Bridge Institute and QCB Member Helen Berman Elected to NAS | April 2023
May 2, 2023
Congratulations to Helen Berman, Professor (Research) of Quantitative and Computational Biology and the Bridge Institute at the University of Southern California, on her election to the National Academy of Sciences (NAS)!
APRIL 29TH, 2023, 8AM – 7:30PM
LOCATION: MICHELSON CENTER FOR CONVERGENT BIOSCIENCE
1002 CHILDS WAY, LOS ANGELES, CA 90089-3502
Registration required
USC scientists see a key role for AI and 3D modeling in drug discovery
USC News
April 26, 2023, by Leigh Hopper
USC’s Vsevolod “Seva” Katritch discusses how structure-based virtual screening and AI could disrupt the time-consuming, expensive process of drug discovery.
TUESDAY, MARCH 21ST, 2023, 12:30PM – 1:30PM
LOCATION: MICHELSON CENTER FOR CONVERGENT BIOSCIENCE — MCB 102
1002 CHILDS WAY, LOS ANGELES, CA 90089-3502
Zoom ID: 959 6110 5939
Password: cstem
What I Talk About When I Talk About: Fluorescence Microscopy
With Dr Jason Junge, Director of Imaging Services, Translational Imaging Core, USC.
Come learn about the basics and scope of fluorescence microscopy along with its applications in investigating biological systems.
TESSERACT INAUGURAL EVENT
MARCH 6, 2023, 6:00 PM
LOCATION: MICHELSON CENTER FOR CONVERGENT BIOSCIENCE — MCB 101
1002 CHILDS WAY, LOS ANGELES, CA 90089-3502
The Perception and Implication of Color in Science, Art and Design
Color has radically different meanings in varying cultures. What would it mean to understand color through a shared lens?
Bound Together: The Perfect Marriage of Mass Spectrometry and Cryo-EM
FEBRUARY 27TH, 2023, AT 10 AM PST
LOCATION: MICHELSON CENTER FOR CONVERGENT BIOSCIENCE — MCB 101
1002 CHILDS WAY, LOS ANGELES, CA 90089-3502
Structural biologists face several challenges when trying to solve the structure of large and dynamic complexes. However, the combination of different techniques as Mass Spectrometry and Cryo-EM, an approach known as integrative structural biology, is revolutionizing the understanding of protein structure, function and dynamics.
1st Drug Discovery Innovation Workshop
FEBRUARY 24TH, 2023, 10AM – 5PM
LOCATION: MICHELSON CENTER FOR CONVERGENT BIOSCIENCE — MCB 101
1002 CHILDS WAY, LOS ANGELES, CA 90089-3502
Organized by CNT3D, MESH Academy and Bridge Institute
BY EMILY GERSEMA, FEBRUARY 22, 2023
Scientists at USC Dornsife and the USC Michelson Center for Convergent Bioscience are hoping to spark drug research across the university by hosting a series of workshops starting Friday.
