Basic Science Research

Special basic research activities include:

Robert Rude, MD

Magnesium Depletion as a Pathogenic Factor in the Causation of Osteoporosis. Dr. Rude has been awarded an NIH grant to pursue the role of magnesium depletion in producing osteoporosis employing a new rat model recently developed in his laboratory. As magnesium depletion commonly occurs in the American population and is a critically important micro-nutrient required for bone formation, magnesium depletion is very likely to play an important role in the pathogenesis of this very common disorder. In further pursuit of this hypothesis, Dr. Rude received a Wright Foundation grant to assess the influence of dietary magnesium intake on bone mass in women.

Carole A. Spencer, PhD, MT

The clinical utility of serum thyroglobulin (Tg) and Tg autoantibody (TgAb) measurements in patients with differentiated thyroid carcinomas (DTC) remains one of Dr. Spencer’s primary research interests. The pioneering work of Dr. Spencer and her clinical colleagues maintains USC on the cutting edge of clinical research on thyroid cancer prognosis and management. Dr. Spencer’s current research suggests that the use of a serum Tg assay with 100-fold more sensitivity than current clinical assays would greatly reduce or obviate the need for expensive recombinant human TSH (rhTSH)-stimulated Tg testing of DTC patients.