Most students go to the University Park Campus, the main USC campus for classes or activities and stay nearby in housing. However, USC’s Health Science Campus in downtown/east LA has ample research, coursework, and general educational opportunities for Biomedical Engineering students (I would guess also for CS, ISE, and EE). I highly recommend visiting it, just to sightsee and see all that it offers.
HSC contains the entire clinical and medical community of USC. The well-known USC Keck Hospital and the renowned LA County+USC general (public) hospital are on that campus as well as clinical and biomedical research labs. USC’s highly reputed Regulatory Science graduate program offers classes held on the HSC campus and all the professors, lecture rooms, and buildings are on HSC. In addition, for those interested in neuroimaging or any diagnostic or therapeutic imaging modality (besides ultrasound which is on the main campus), the USC Neuroimaging Institute and MRI research lab facilities are all on the HSC campus. Some of this may also be of interest to EE students. Clinical and biomedical engineering research on retinal implants and various retinal and opthamology diseases are also particularly strong on this campus. The picture above is of the Doheny Eye Institute which is next to/houses the USC Roski Eye Institute. Last, but certainly not least, are CIRM – the center for stem cell research and Norris Cancer Center – which treats and conducts research on various cancers.
For CS (Computer Science) and ISE (Industrial and Systems Engineering) students, there are ample volunteer (and probably some lesser-known paid) positions at both Keck and LA County+USC managing clinical IT systems and improving workflow processes in surgical theatres, waiting rooms, and outpatient clinics. These areas of healthcare management are also becoming increasingly popular among BME students.
As of this semester, the delicious Einsten Bagel Bros. cafe no longer exists on HSC which saddens me but visiting is still worth a try! If nothing else you can try food from the various food trucks on San Pablo St during lunch hours. A free USC intercampus shuttle takes you from UPC to HSC. Navigating the never-ending construction improvement projects is all you though!
Published on January 26th, 2017
Last updated on August 29th, 2017