Rapidly evolving advancements in health are reshaping the way people live, work, and heal. Now is the time to stand at the forefront of health and wellness, not only to anticipate, but actively engage with the problems, policies, needs, and technological developments that will define the space’s future. The Health Innovation Minor offered by the USC Iovine and Young Academy is an example of intersectional learning and collaboration committed to addressing this progressing and cutting-edge landscape of health and wellness. The future is in the hands of USC students – and the impact of this moment’s opportunity is palpable. 

Through the Health Innovation Minor, students harness the tools to navigate 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. 

In addition to IYA, collaborating schools include 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. It’s a group effort transcending branches of knowledge – paving the way for forward-thinking creativity and hands-on problem-solving. 

Overseeing the minor is Dr. Malcolm Jones, a PhD from the Clinical Exercise Research Center within the Division of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy at USC and a health justice advocate and industry physiologist. He sees the wide-reaching value in the program’s integrative influence.

“I think that by giving to this pathway of health innovation, we are just opening a door for future innovators to walk through that may have not been so easy to find in the past. On one hand it will expand the skill-sets that those interested in health are equipped with, and on the other hand it will welcome new creators and innovators into the world of health,” Jones shares. 

Dr. Leslie Saxon, Professor of Medicine, Clinical Scholar at the Keck School of Medicine, noted her enthusiasm for the minor, highlighting its capacity to empower students with health-related tech perspectives that can propel lasting innovation that’s both effective and ethical. 

“As a physician who's worked with digital technologies, both in implantable and wearable for many years, and runs a digital health research program at USC, I think it's really critically important to educate students at an early collegiate level in the best methods, and the most secure and ethical means of providing what I consider to be the new healthcare,” she says. 

She adds, “I want to build robust educational programs, so that the people building these health engagement platforms of the future that follow a person their whole life … it will reflect the good.”

Dr. Jerry Lee, Chief Science and Innovation Officer, Ellison Institute for Transformative Medicine, identifies a critical “need for innovative solutions to bridge the gap between interdisciplinary research and patient care.” 

“Students and innovators bring a fresh set of eyes, new ideas, and new ways of thinking that can help address these gaps. This minor will help students focus their creativity and thinking specifically on problems in health, bringing new ideas to medical providers, researchers, and innovators at large to help benefit patients,” he notes. 

Dr. Julia Ritter, Dean at the Kaufman School of Dance, emphasizes the interconnected nature of health, wellness, and the art of dance. She looks forward to the initiatives and projects that will emerge from this minor. 

“Kaufman is a school dedicated to creative embodied research that produces knowledge for thriving across the human life-span. Health and wellness can be understood as concomitants of dance — they are impactful outcomes of this dynamic artistic practice. I am excited for students to learn the ways that dance is multi-dimensional, as it enables creativity, research, and innovation that can promote physical, social, and emotional wellness, as well as serving as a means of cultural expression,” she says. 

Dr. Malcolm Jones is also eager to see prototypes and ideas transform into potentially game-changing health and wellness devices, concepts, or systems. In addition to boosting local communities, he envisions budding innovators making a sweeping imprint. 

He concludes, “I'm most excited for our students to start popping up in the most unassuming places, like music festivals and in video games, with medical marvels that will improve health outcomes for all people, globally.” 

Health Innovation Minor Makes an Intersectional Impact

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