Iovine and Young Academy (IYA) has partnered with the following schools and institutes at USC to support intersectional learning experiences in Health Innovation: Keck School of Medicine, Alfred E. Mann School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kaufman School of Dance, Dworak-Peck School of Social Work, Davis School of Gerontology, Division of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy, Alfred E. Mann Department of Biomedical Engineering; The Lawrence J. Ellison Institute for Transformative Medicine, and the Institute for Creative Technologies.

These academic units work together to support 

A Health Innovation minor open to all students at USC

Custom pathways in Health Innovation for Academy majors 

A common repository of research projects – the projects provide Academy students and to students in the minor hand- on opportunities in cross-cutting research in health innovation

Academy majors can leverage the Academy's health innovation partnership to structure custom learning pathways in health and wellness that engage the complex intersections of health science expertise, societal need, technology, patient active participation, new business/finance models and inclusive policy for health. The components of health and wellness that we focus on within the minor include physical, mental, social, emotional, occupational, financial and environmental.  When considering health innovations we also provide a diverse array of health based challenges for participants in the minor to explore.  Academy majors involved in health innovation pathways have the opportunity to collaborate with students in the health innovation minor as well as students and faculty from all participating schools. 

Health Innovation minor coordination: The health Innovation partnership is directed by Dr. Malcolm Jones who can be reached at malcoljj@usc.edu.

Academy majors can work closely with their advisors to shape custom learning pathways in health innovation by combining Academy health innovation courses (below) with up to 12 units of from the approved health innovation electives from other schools (see below)

Health Innovation pathways for Academy majors

Academy majors who wish to pursue a postgraduate career in health care, biomedical science, or health care related fields may wish to work with their advisor to combine their Academy degree with a Health Care Studies minor. The Health Care Studies minor aims to give students exposure to the clinical side of medicine, building on basics in fundamental science to understand the biological basis of medicine with coursework that explores the delivery of medicine and health care, in a combination of lecture, discussions and simulated clinical activities. The minor requires a minimum of 24 units, at least 12 of which must be at the upper division level.  Up to 8 units of the 24 units of the minor can be completed through the Academy's health innovation courses.  For more information on the minor see:

Keck School of Medicine Undergraduate Programs 

The Academy degree and Health Care Studies minor

Academy majors can fulfill their intersectional core requirements by taking 8 units from the following courses:

ACAD 260 Introduction to Healthcare Innovation		

ACAD 422 Cybersecurity, Privacy and Trust for Continuous Life Data 			4

ACAD 230 Introduction to Interactive Physical Computing 					 4

ACAD 220 Introduction to Data Innovation and Analysis					 4

ACAD 222 Introduction to Machine Intelligence						 4

ACAD 432 Collaborative Prototyping in Health Innovation 

Academy Health Innovation courses (part of the Academy's core)

BME 415 Regulation of Medical Products 							 2 

HP 200 Introduction to Health Promotion and Disease Prevention 				 4

HP 300 Theoretical Principles of Health Behavior    					 4

HP 446 Poisons, People, and Politics 							 4 

MEDS 220 Healthcare Foundations: Core Concepts and Terminology 			 2

MEDS 225 Introduction to Professionalism and the Practice of Medicine 			 2

RXRS 406 Clinical Pharmacology and Medication Management 				 4

RXRS 416 Medical Products: From Idea to Market 						 4

RXRS 417 Food Safety: The Good, The Bad and The Deadly 				 4

RXRS 418 More than Prescriptions: An Integrative Approach to Modern Healthcare     	 4

RXRS 422 Regulation, Guidance and Control of Medical Products 			 	 2

SOWK 417 Introduction to Substance Use Disorders and Recovery 	               		 4

SOWK 506 Human Behavior and the Social Environment 				         	 3

SOWK 605 Human Development and Mental Health 				 	3

SOWK 631 Advanced Theories and Clinical Interventions in Health Care 			3

SOWK 637 Assessing Wellness to Improve Recovery in Integrated Care			3

SOWK 638 Policy in Integrated Care 							3 

SOWK 644 Explanatory Theories of Health and Mental Health 				3

SOWK 645 Clinical Interventions: Evidence Based Practice in Health and Mental

SOWK 660 Health Care Delivery Systems: Planning for Health and Social Services 		3

BKN 610 Technology in Sport: Field Assessment Of Athlete Performance 			2 

BKN 611 Technology in Sport:Physiological Assessments					2		DANC 140 Dance and Health 			 					1-2 

DANC 195 Kaufman in the Community 							1-4 

DANC 302g Hip-Hop Don’t Stop: Black Social Dance Culture and Media (GE-A)		2

BPSI 411 BioPharmaceutical Marketing Analysis and Strategy 				4

SOWK 643 Social Work Practice in Integrated Care Settings 3

Health Innovation Approved Electives from other USC Schools

The collaborating units have created a cross cutting advisory team for advising and continuously updating the partnership.  The members are:

Jean-Michel Maarek, Professor of Practice

Ellison Institute for Transformative Medicine 

Jerry Lee, Chief Science and Innovation Officer

Maria Henke, Sr. Associate Dean for Academic Programs

Roberta McKean, Vice Chair for Education, Department of Population and Public Health Sciences

Emily Rose, MD, Director for Pre-Health Undergraduate Studies

Armine Lulejian, Professor of Population and Health Sciences

Leslie Saxon, MD, Professor of Cardiology (also Institute for Creative Technologies)

Daryl Davies, PhD, Associate Dean of Curriculum

Terry David Church, DRSc, Assistant Dean of Undergraduate Studies  

Devon Brooks, PhD , Associate Dean for Curriculum

ACAD-220 Introduction to Data Innovation and Analytics

ACAD-222 Introduction to Machine Intelligence

ACAD-230 Introduction to Physical Computing

ACAD-260 Introduction to Healthcare Innovation

ACAD-422 Cybersecurity, Privacy, and Trust in Connected Healthcare

ACAD-431 Devices and Systems for Body Computing

ACAD-432 Collaborative Prototyping in Health Innovation

ACAD-463 Evidence-Based Medicine for Health Innovators

BPSI-411 Biopharmaceutical Marketing Analysis and Strategy Units

SOWK-643 Social Work Practice in Integrated Care Settings Units: 3: 4

The minor serves as a resource for undergraduate students at USC interested in collaborative health innovations that leverage the complex intersections of health science expertise, societal need, technology, patient active participation, new business/finance models and inclusive policy for health.

Health Innovation

Subscribe to our Newsletter