Gage Crump

Dr. Gage Crump is a Professor and Vice Chair of the Department of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine at the Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California (USC). He is a founding member of the Broad Stem Cell Research Center and leads the Crump Lab, which focuses on understanding craniofacial development, skeletal regeneration, and congenital disorders using zebrafish, mouse, and human models. His research explores how neural crest cells generate diverse cell types critical for head skeleton formation and repair, with applications to diseases like craniosynostosis and arthritis.

Dr. Crump established the Development, Stem Cells, and Regenerative Medicine (DSR) PhD program in 2013 and a Stem Cell Biology undergraduate minor in 2022. He has mentored 20 PhD students and 16 postdocs, many of whom hold tenure-track faculty positions. His mentoring excellence has earned awards, including the 2025 USC Provost Mentoring Award.

Key research interests include: regeneration of jaw joints and cartilage, evolution of the outer ear from gill structures, and epigenetic mechanisms regulating cell fate decisions. The lab uses advanced techniques like genome editing and single-cell sequencing to study cellular heterogeneity and developmental pathways.

Scientific achievements include discovering regenerative capacities in adult fish joints, modeling human congenital anomalies, and identifying gene regulatory programs underlying vertebrate evolution. His work bridges basic science with clinical applications, aiming to develop therapies for skeletal disorders and arthritis.

Awards: 2025 USC Provost Mentoring Award, 2024 Dean’s Award for Mentoring, 2017 Provost Mentoring Award. His lab collaborates with institutions globally and leverages interdisciplinary approaches to advance regenerative medicine.