International leader in blood cancer and stem cell research, Ulrich Steidl, M.D., Ph.D., has been named director of the Montefiore Einstein Comprehensive Cancer Center (MECCC) and vice president of cancer medicine at Montefiore Einstein. He has acted as interim director of MECCC, which is a National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated comprehensive cancer center, since late 2025.

Gladstone Institutes investigator Ryan Corces, PhD, has been named a 2026 winner of the Pershing Square Foundation’s MIND Prize, a prestigious award recognizing next-frontier thinkers who are uncovering a deeper understanding of the brain and cognition. The 2026 Prize winners each receive $750,000 over three years to support breakthroughs in research on neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease and other aging-related dementias, which affect millions of people worldwide. With funding from the MIND Prize, he will investigate why many families in which multiple members have Alzheimer’s disease do not have gene variants known to cause the condition.

The National Academy of Inventors (NAI), a nonprofit member organization that promotes academic technology and innovation, has named four Keck School of Medicine of USC faculty as new senior members: Paula Cannon, PhD; Alan Epstein, MD, PhD; Heinz-Josef Lenz, MD; and Bodour Salhia, PhD.

The new senior members will be welcomed at the 2026 NAI conference, hosted by USC at Loews Hollywood Hotel from June 1 to 4.

NAI senior members are recognized for their work producing innovative technologies that have the potential for real impact on the welfare of society, as well as success in patents, licensing and commercialization. This year’s members from the Keck School of Medicine are being recognized for their innovations in cancer and HIV.