The USC Trojans will face their latest football test of the 2026-27 season Saturday when they face the Indiana University Hoosiers, the reigning national champions. As fans and foes alike debate the latest roster decisions and player statistics, they may be interested to know that the two universities collaborate frequently on scientific and medical research - including projects with the potential to inform how we approach brain health in the future.
"USC is a worldwide leader in Alzheimer's disease and other dementia-related research, in addition to other key areas of study," said Ishwar K. Puri, senior vice president of research and innovation and professor of aerospace and mechanical engineering and biomedical engineering at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering. "Scholars at both universities are committed to moving the needle on diagnosing, treating and preventing dementia-related diseases for the benefit of society."
Leading cross-university research on brain health
Keck School of Medicine of USC Professor of Neurology Paul Aisen - who also directs the USC Epstein Family Alzheimer's Therapeutic Research Institute - is no stranger to cross-university research collaboration. Aisen is working with multiple colleagues from the Indiana University School of Medicine on an range of projects related to Alzheimer's disease. Aisen is teaming up with Indiana Professor Emeritus of Neurology Martin Farlow and Associate Professor of Clinical Neurology Jared Brosch on the Alzheimer's Plasma Extension Study, a multicenter, observational effort that is tracking how Alzheimer's disease-related blood biomarkers, brain amyloid and cognitive function change over time and evaluating how those changes vary by race, ethnicity, sex and apolipoprotein E (APOE) status.
Aisen has also worked with Brosch on the Alzheimer's Clinical Trials Consortium, a collaborative network to drive innovation in research for the disease; the Alzheimer's Tau Platform clinical trial, which evaluates new approaches to treatment by aiming to reduce the buildup in the brain of key proteins related to the disease; and the Longitudinal Follow-up of Clinical Trial Participants for Brain Donation, which aims to help families and clinicians better understand the causative disease process of Alzheimer's disease and secure brain tissue for future studies.
USC and IU professors also collaborated on studies related to Alzheimer's disease in specific patient populations. Arthur Toga, a Provost Professor at Keck School of Medicine and director of the USC Mark and Mary Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute and its Laboratory of Neuro Imaging, served as a co-principal investigator on the second phase of the Korean Brain Aging Study with Andrew Saykin, director of the Center for Neuroimaging and Indiana Alzheimer's Disease Research Center at the Indiana University School of Medicine. Within the collaboration, which involves study participants from the first Korean Brain Aging Study, USC's Laboratory of Neuro Imaging will store and share multimodal neuroimaging scan data collected by the study. The overall goal of the project is early diagnosis and prediction of Alzheimer's disease.
USC Professor of Clinical Neurology Michael S. Rafii partnered with former Assistant Professor Cassie Karlsson of Indiana University School of Medicine on a clinical trial, funded by the National Institute on Aging, to prevent Alzheimer's disease in individuals with Down syndrome. Rafii also collaborated with another colleague from the Indiana University School of Medicine, Professor of Clinical Psychiatry Jill Fodstad, to evaluate the safety, tolerability and efficacy of the medication Donanemab in adults with Down syndrome.
Other collaborative ventures
Research collaborations between Trojans and Hoosiers are happening across other disciplines as well. Ewa Deelman, a research professor of computer science at USC Viterbi and principal scientist at the USC Information Sciences Institute, served as a co-principal investigator with Indiana University Associate Professor Angela Murillo on a project related to data preservation and archival practices. According to Deelman, her overarching contribution to the project was to assist with understanding current data preservation and archival practices occurring at National Science Foundation major multi-user researchfacilities and to create recommendations for those facilities and the cyberinfrastructure community regarding data preservation and archives.
Associate Professor of Orthopedic Surgery Joseph Thomas Patterson also partnered with Assistant Professor Yohan Jang of the Indiana University School of Medicine on a trial to determine if early surgical treatment is more effective than nonoperative care and early rehabilitation at lowering the risk of complications in patients with pelvis fractures.
