Rate My Professor Albert Almada

Albert E. Almada, PhD, is an Assistant Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery, Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, and Gerontology at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California. He earned his PhD in Biology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, training under 1993 Nobel Prize winner Dr. Phillip A. Sharp. Almada completed his postdoctoral training at Harvard University in the laboratory of stem cell biologist Dr. Amy J. Wagers. His career trajectory has focused on the interface of gene regulation, stem cell biology, and translational medicine, leading to his current faculty position where he directs the Almada Lab at USC Stem Cell.

Dr. Almada's research investigates one of the greatest mysteries in regenerative biology: how stem cells rebuild functional skeletal muscle tissue after traumatic injury. His multidisciplinary team integrates experimental and bioinformatic approaches to study this process at molecular, cellular, and organ levels in animal models and humans. The laboratory has discovered a new “Super-Healing” gene regulatory program and is exploring the biology and therapeutic potential of these pro-regenerative molecules in preclinical mouse models. Key publications include “FOS licenses early events in stem cell activation driving skeletal muscle regeneration” (Cell Reports, 2021), “Dissecting dual roles of MyoD during lineage conversion to mature myocytes and myogenic stem cells” (Genes & Development, 2021), “Direct Reprogramming of Mouse Fibroblasts into Functional Skeletal Muscle Progenitors” (Stem Cell Reports, 2018), and “Molecular circuitry of stem cell fate in skeletal muscle regeneration, ageing and disease” (Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology, 2016). Almada has received the USC Dean’s Pilot Research Award (2021), a $100,000 Baxter Foundation award (2022), and a $125,000 grant from the American Federation for Aging Research and Glenn Foundation for Medical Research (2022). His long-term goal is to translate basic science discoveries into stem cell-based therapies that restore muscle function for injured athletes, wounded soldiers, the elderly, and patients with degenerative muscular pathologies. He contributes to education through programs such as the USC CIRM COMPASS Scholars Program.