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USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts & Sciences
@dornsife.usc.edu
The original, largest and most diverse of USC’s academic schools ✌️
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Trojan scientists are one step closer to designing safer painkillers. At @dornsife.usc.edu, biologists visualized how opioids engage brain receptors.
A path to safer painkillers – revealed by freezing opioids in motion
In a first, USC Dornsife scientists visualize how opioids and Narcan engage a key brain receptor, opening new avenues to safer drugs
dornsife.usc.edu
November 9, 2025 at 5:09 PM
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Happy Halloween! 🎃

Here’s an interesting short read on the historical popularity of ghosts and by folklore expert Tok Thompson of anthropology at @dornsife.usc.edu

Boo! 👻

dornsife.usc.edu/news/stories...
Why believing in ghosts can make you a better person Why believing in ghosts can make you a better person
Ghosts could be offering us important lessons on how to lead moral lives. [4 min read]
dornsife.usc.edu
October 31, 2025 at 2:59 PM
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Research led by @dornsife.usc.edu Professor Emilio Valadez shows how combining two types of brain scans significantly improved predictions of future anxiety in teens.

=> One day we may use brain imaging to help teens most at risk for anxiety disorders

dornsife.usc.edu/news/stories...
2 brain scans are better than 1 in predicting teen anxiety
Combined brain imaging methods helps forecast which adolescents are most at risk for anxiety disorders well before symptoms appear
dornsife.usc.edu
October 24, 2025 at 9:51 PM
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Global dementia costs are expected to hit $2 trillion by 2030. Duke Han of @dornsife.usc.edu is co-leading a $39M national push to detect Alzheimer’s earlier.
USC Dornsife psychologist co-leads $39M push to detect Alzheimer’s earlier - USC Dornsife News Briefs
Spotting the earliest warning signs of Alzheimer’s disease could help delay or even prevent the disease. Duke Han of psychology at USC Dornsife is co-leading a new, nationwide effort to make that possibility a reality.
dornsife.usc.edu
October 27, 2025 at 4:04 PM
Register today, to join us for this live virtual event tomorrow!
Join ICW co-directors Bill Deverell and Elizabeth Logan for tomorrow's @dornsife.usc.edu Dialogues!

From Gold Rush to Gigabytes: California’s 175 Years of Change and Reinvention

Oct. 23, 2025 at 12:00 pm PT

RSVP: dornsife.usc.edu/dornsife-alu...
October 22, 2025 at 8:24 PM
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Did you know scientists use dog DNA to study foxes? @dornsife.usc.edu researchers found that this common practice can mislead conservation efforts for endangered species.
Genomic reference DNA affects genetic research results
USC Dornsife research shows studies relying on stand-in reference DNA can distort findings and put vulnerable species at greater risk
dornsife.usc.edu
October 17, 2025 at 11:45 PM
“In this place of sadness, injustice, and pain, we will do something joyous, righteous, and healing. We will play baseball.”

At a former Japanese American incarceration camp in California, descendants returned to play on a restored ball field — reclaiming memory through the game.
bit.ly/47sEFIq
Baseball returns to a Japanese American detention camp after a historic ball field was restored
The restored baseball field at Manzanar Relocation Center celebrates the resiliency of so many prisoners and memorializes this dark period in U.S. history.
dornsife.usc.edu
October 17, 2025 at 8:56 PM
Students: Have you entered the competition? Today is the deadline to register!
October 15, 2025 at 8:36 PM
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No one knows what the world will look like 15 years from now. New dean of @dornsife.usc.edu, James Bullock, says that’s exactly why liberal arts matter — they give students skills that never expire.
New USC Dornsife dean touts the value of the liberal arts
Astrophysicist and former UC Irvine dean James Bullock discusses public scholarship’s power and why asking big questions matters
dornsife.usc.edu
October 13, 2025 at 4:17 PM
Congrats to all our new -- and newly promoted -- faculty! 👏
Great time celebrating new and promoted faculty @dornsife.usc.edu yesterday.

From folks in the writing program helping students communicate, listen, speak, and write… to physicists working on superconducting qubits, it was an amazing celebration of excellence in the liberal arts @usc.edu
October 8, 2025 at 4:22 PM
This is what collaboration for climate resilience looks like. We're proud to partner with you to help cool LA's hottest neighborhoods.
October 7, 2025 at 9:26 PM
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The world knew her as a trailblazing primatologist who redefined evolution. We knew her as an integral part of @dornsife.usc.edu. Jane Goodall’s legacy will keep inspiring the Trojan Family.
Honoring Jane Goodall’s legacy at USC Dornsife
Trailblazing primatologist Jane Goodall advanced the study of great apes at USC Dornsife, and left a lasting mark on its students and faculty
dornsife.usc.edu
October 3, 2025 at 11:45 PM
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Blink and you’ll miss it! @dornsife.usc.edu's Stephen Bradforth won a US-UK grant to study ultrafast quantum chemistry with potential in solar energy & drug design.
US-UK quantum chemistry grant goes to USC Dornsife scholar
Chemistry professor Stephen Bradforth will explore how quantum entanglement can influence the outcome of ultrafast molecular events
dornsife.usc.edu
October 4, 2025 at 11:45 PM
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They swam the English Channel before starting college. Now twins Amelia and Sarah Batt are diving into Trojan life at @dornsife.usc.edu. 🏊‍♀️
The twins making waves at USC Dornsife
Extreme swims and a father’s cancer diagnosis prove incoming freshmen Amelia and Sarah Batt know resilience and commitment
dornsife.usc.edu
October 2, 2025 at 4:31 PM
“Jane Goodall’s spirit lives on in the questions we ask, the way we study, and the deep respect we hold for the natural world.”

Prof. Goodall left an enduring mark on USC Dornsife and inspired generations of students and faculty.
dornsife.usc.edu/news/stories...
Honoring Jane Goodall’s legacy at USC Dornsife
Trailblazing primatologist Jane Goodall advanced the study of great apes at USC Dornsife, and left a lasting mark on its students and faculty
dornsife.usc.edu
October 2, 2025 at 12:28 AM
Fascinating research findings - thank you for sharing them!
September 30, 2025 at 6:22 PM
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📌 Join us online 10/21 to reflect on the legacy of Black Altadena and the devastating aftermath of the Eaton Fire: bit.ly/AltadenaVoicesWebinar
Hosted by USC’s Black Studies Center & Equity Research Institute.
September 29, 2025 at 11:50 PM
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California lives with the risk of earthquakes, but some are far more dangerous. @dornsife.usc.edu is raising concerns over 'supershear' quakes.
'Supershear' earthquakes a major threat to California, say scientists
USC Dornsife researchers say powerful, fast-moving quakes will strike the Golden State, urge stronger building codes and better monitoring
dornsife.usc.edu
September 26, 2025 at 11:21 PM
Microbes that filter methane from the ocean floor may hold new clues to addressing climate change, according to new research by USC Dornsife and collaborators.
Scientists show how microbes team up to consume ocean methane
Microbes filtering the potent greenhouse gas from the sea floor may point to new climate change solutions, USC Dornsife scientists find
dornsife.usc.edu
September 29, 2025 at 3:26 PM
This grant (the largest in Equity Research Institute’s history) will help us

✅️ Shape public understanding
✅️ Support frontline advocates
✅️ Train scholars to advance climate and economic justice.

Read about the priorities that will receive unprecedented support, thanks to @waverleystreet.bsky.social
USC Dornsife Equity Research Institute’s landmark $5M grant
Waverly Street Foundation grant — largest in ERI’s history — will help ERI train scholars to advance climate and economic justice
dornsife.usc.edu
September 17, 2025 at 6:33 PM
A multi-university study of twins, led in part by USC Dornsife researchers, finds that accelerated biological aging, amplified by early-life disadvantage, is linked to cognitive decline later in life.
What your DNA – and childhood – reveal about midlife brain health
Study of twins finds accelerated biological aging, amplified by early-life disadvantage, is linked to steeper IQ declines by midlife
dornsife.usc.edu
September 17, 2025 at 4:39 PM
Astrophysicists, computer scientists, artists and philosophers from USC, UC Riverside and Carnegie Observatories embark on an ambitious project to better understand our universe.

All thanks to a $4 million grant from the John Templeton Foundation.
$4M John Templeton Foundation grant funds a new frontier in cosmology
The grant funds an ambitious team project aimed at better understanding our universe, led by USC Dornsife's Vera Gluscevic.
dornsife.usc.edu
September 16, 2025 at 11:37 PM
We're always ready for Democracy Day here at @uscpolfuture.bsky.social. Check out these events featuring BIPARTISAN panels on courts, elections, national service and America’s political future:
Political discussions of democracy’s big questions at USC Dornsife
Upcoming events feature bipartisan panels on courts, elections, national service, America’s political future and more
dornsife.usc.edu
September 10, 2025 at 3:48 PM
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Fascinating @dornsife.usc.edu study 🦊🧠
- Most Channel Islands foxes evolved proportionally larger brains than their mainland cousins. Work by @usc.edu Professor of Biological Sciences Suzanne Edmands and PhD student Kimberly Schoenberger. dornsife.usc.edu/news/stories...
Evolutionary shock: Small island foxes have unexpectedly big brains
Challenging classic ideas about “island syndrome,” a USC Dornsife study of Channel Island foxes reveals a few surprises
dornsife.usc.edu
September 5, 2025 at 10:01 PM
Microbes that filter methane from the ocean floor may hold new clues to addressing climate change, according to new research by USC Dornsife and collaborators.
Scientists show how microbes team up to consume ocean methane
Microbes filtering the potent greenhouse gas from the sea floor may point to new climate change solutions, USC Dornsife scientists find
dornsife.usc.edu
September 10, 2025 at 2:26 AM