USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology
Academic
About
The USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology in Los Angeles was established in 1975 with a gift from Leonard Davis, co-founder of AARP. It is housed in the Ethel Percy Andrus Gerontology Center, dedicated in 1973. The school describes itself as the first professional school of gerontology and created the first PhD, master's and bachelor's degree programmes in the field. Its research spans the biology of aging, biodemography, psychology and policy. Groups within the school work on nutrition and fasting-mimicking diets through the USC Longevity Institute, on mitochondrial-derived peptides such as MOTS-c, and on population-based biomarkers of aging, including epigenetic and transcriptomic clocks built from Health and Retirement Study data. The school co-hosts the NIA-funded USC/UCLA Center on Biodemography and Population Health. A 2018 gift created the Ney Center for Healthspan Science. Pinchas Cohen is dean.
Rating breakdown
Aggregate 70/100 · rank #2 in the academic & non-profit table full ratings →
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Publications80
- Pinchas Cohen — h-index 113 source ↗
- Eileen Crimmins — h-index 112 source ↗
- Valter Longo — h-index 94 source ↗
- A periodic diet that mimics fasting promotes multi-system regeneration, enhanced cognitive performance, and healthspan (Brandhorst et al., Cell Metabolism) ↗
- Prolonged fasting reduces IGF-1/PKA to promote hematopoietic-stem-cell-based regeneration and reverse immunosuppression (Cheng et al., Longo group, Cell Stem Cell) ↗
- Fasting-mimicking diet promotes Ngn3-driven β-cell regeneration to reverse diabetes (Cheng et al., Longo group, Cell) ↗
- Widespread sex dimorphism in aging and age-related diseases (Sampathkumar et al., Benayoun group, Human Genetics) ↗
- Particulate air pollutants, APOE alleles and their contributions to cognitive impairment in older women and to amyloidogenesis in experimental models (Cacciottolo et al., Finch group, Translational Psychiatry) ↗
Discovery78
Trials from ClinicalTrials.gov (this org as lead sponsor), matched to aging by their condition or intervention.
- Multi-cycle Prolon Diet trial (fasting-mimicking diet RCT; Wei et al., Sci Transl Med 2017, doi:10.1126/scitranslmed.aai8700), NCT02158897 ↗
- The mitochondrial-derived peptide MOTS-c promotes metabolic homeostasis and reduces obesity and insulin resistance (Lee et al., Cell Metabolism) ↗
- Transcriptomic aging gene scores (TAGS) complementing epigenetic clocks, Health and Retirement Study data (Arpawong, Crimmins et al., npj Aging) ↗
- Botensilimab plus balstilimab and fasting-mimicking diet plus vitamin C for KRAS-mutant metastatic colorectal cancer (lead sponsor University of Southern California), NCT06336902 ↗
Fundraising95
Grants of the organisation's listed people, name-matched via NIH RePORTER ↗.
- Eileen Crimmins: Geroscience of sex differences SCORE (GERO SCORE) · USD 1M · National Institute on Aging 1U54AG099000-01
- Pinchas Cohen: Los Angeles Claude D. Pepper Older Americans Independence Center · USD 1M · National Institute on Aging 1P30AG094848-01
- Pinchas Cohen: Los Angeles Claude D. Pepper Older Americans Independence Center · USD 1M · National Institute on Aging 5P30AG094848-02
- Valter Longo: Fasting mimicking diet and cancer stem cells in Wilms tumor · USD 740K · National Cancer Institute 1R01CA317076-01
- Valter Longo: Dietary Restriction, GH/IGF-1 & Mechanisms of Cellular Protection and Regeneration · USD 670K · National Institute on Aging 3P01AG055369-05S1
- Eileen Crimmins: Research Support Core (RSC) · USD 364K · National Institute on Aging 1U54AG099000-01
Education21
- Valter Longo public communicator
- Pinchas Cohen ARDD speaker source ↗
- Eileen Crimmins ARDD speaker source ↗
Key outputs
- publication A periodic diet that mimics fasting promotes multi-system regeneration, enhanced cognitive performance, and healthspan (Brandhorst et al., Cell Metabolism) ↗ 2015
- clinical trial Multi-cycle Prolon Diet trial (fasting-mimicking diet RCT; Wei et al., Sci Transl Med 2017, doi:10.1126/scitranslmed.aai8700), NCT02158897 ↗ 2017
- discovery The mitochondrial-derived peptide MOTS-c promotes metabolic homeostasis and reduces obesity and insulin resistance (Lee et al., Cell Metabolism) ↗ 2015
- dataset or tool Transcriptomic aging gene scores (TAGS) complementing epigenetic clocks, Health and Retirement Study data (Arpawong, Crimmins et al., npj Aging) ↗ 2026
- publication Prolonged fasting reduces IGF-1/PKA to promote hematopoietic-stem-cell-based regeneration and reverse immunosuppression (Cheng et al., Longo group, Cell Stem Cell) ↗ 2014
- publication Fasting-mimicking diet promotes Ngn3-driven β-cell regeneration to reverse diabetes (Cheng et al., Longo group, Cell) ↗ 2017
- publication Widespread sex dimorphism in aging and age-related diseases (Sampathkumar et al., Benayoun group, Human Genetics) ↗ 2020
- publication Particulate air pollutants, APOE alleles and their contributions to cognitive impairment in older women and to amyloidogenesis in experimental models (Cacciottolo et al., Finch group, Translational Psychiatry) ↗ 2017
- clinical trial Botensilimab plus balstilimab and fasting-mimicking diet plus vitamin C for KRAS-mutant metastatic colorectal cancer (lead sponsor University of Southern California), NCT06336902 ↗ 2024
Investment & funding
| Date | Type | Amount | Detail | Counterparties |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-05 | philanthropic gift | USD 20M | USC Leonard Davis School publicly disclosed a $20 million gift from Mei-Lee Ney creating the Ney Center for Healthspan Science (2018) | Mei-Lee Ney |
| 2026 | grant | USD 818K | NIH (NIA) publicly disclosed FY2026 award for P30 AG017265, USC/UCLA Center on Biodemography and Population Health (NIH RePORTER) | National Institute on Aging |
Key people
Pinchas CohenDean; William and Sylvia Kugel Dean's Chair in Gerontology; Executive Director, Ethel Percy Andrus Gerontology CenterEileen CrimminsUniversity Professor and AARP Chair in Gerontology; Co-Director, USC/UCLA Center on Biodemography and Population HealthValter LongoEdna M. Jones Chair in Gerontology; Director, USC Longevity InstituteCaleb E. FinchUniversity Professor Emeritus of Gerontology, Molecular and Computational Biology, and Anthropology; inflammation, air pollution and neurodegenerationBérénice A. BenayounAssociate Professor of Gerontology; genomics of aging and sex differencesChanghan David LeeAssociate Professor of Gerontology; mitochondrial-derived peptides (discoverer of MOTS-c)John TowerProfessor of Biological Sciences and Gerontology; Drosophila genetics of agingKelvin J. A. DaviesDistinguished Professor Emeritus of Gerontology, Molecular and Computational Biology, and Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine; oxidative stress and proteostasis in agingSean P. CurranProfessor of Gerontology; Vice Dean, Dean of Faculty and Research; C. elegans genetics of aging and dietary responseLeonard DavisFounding donor (1975)
Research fields
Links
Sources
- https://gero.usc.edu/
- https://gero.usc.edu/about/
- https://gero.usc.edu/about/history/
- https://gero.usc.edu/faculty/cohen/
- https://gero.usc.edu/faculty/crimmins/
- https://gero.usc.edu/faculty/longo/
- https://gero.usc.edu/2018/05/08/20-million-gift-creates-research-center-on-longevity-and-aging-at-usc/
- https://gero.usc.edu/2026/08/13/how-old-are-you-really-study-explains-what-makes-epigenetic-clocks-tick-debuts-new-prediction-tools/
- https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/11401957
- https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT02158897
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cmet.2015.05.012
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cmet.2015.02.009
- https://doi.org/10.1126/scitranslmed.aai8700
- https://gero.usc.edu/faculty/
- https://gero.usc.edu/labs/benayounlab/
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stem.2014.04.014
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2017.01.040
- https://doi.org/10.1007/s00439-019-02082-w
- https://doi.org/10.1038/tp.2016.280
- https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06336902