The Atherosclerosis Research Unit (ARU) at the University of Southern California (USC) under the direction of Dr. Howard N. Hodis, M.D. has been recognized as a leading center for atherosclerosis research and its prevention for over 40 years. The broad research efforts of the ARU delve into the dynamics of atherosclerosis, the thickening and narrowing of the arteries that significantly increases an individual’s risk of heart attack and stroke.
Dr. Hodis was born and raised in Southern California earning his Bachelor of Science degree in Psychobiology at the University of Southern California (USC)
and Doctor of Medicine (MD) degree at the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California. Dr. Hodis trained as an intern and resident in Internal Medicine at the Los Angeles County-University of Southern California Medical Center where he also served as Chief Resident in Internal Medicine. Following completion of his medical training, Dr. Hodis studied under Dr. David Blankenhorn, an international authority on atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease. Upon Dr. Balnkenhorn’s death, Dr. Hodis assumed the responsibilities of directing the cardiovascular research program at USC that would later become the nationally and internationally recognized Atherosclerosis Research Unit (ARU).
As Dr. Hodis fondly remembers “I was fortunate to work in the laboratories of some of the best physician-scientists and clinicians at USC beginning at age 16, majorly contributing to my early interests in biology and medicine. I was continuously trained in scientific methodology across a variety of disciplines including neuropathology, neurology, neurosurgery and ophthalmology through my high school and college years. It was an unbelievable experience to be trained by and to interact with giants in their respective fields. I owe a debt of gratitude to all of these great individuals who obviously shaped my passion and interests for the remainder of my life. I am convinced that my success as a physician-scientist has been my broad interests, exposure and training.” [Read more about Dr. Hodis…]
The Atherosclerosis Research Unit (ARU) at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California (USC)
Dr. Howard Hodis and Dr. David Blankenhorn
was founded more than 30 years ago by
the late David H. Blankenhorn, M.D. who was also the Program Director of Atherosclerosis Research at USC for 20 years prior to establishment of the ARU. Dr. Blankenhorn was a pioneer who forever changed our perspective concerning the reversibility of human atherosclerosis, once believed to be irreversible, and how we could successfully alter it. After his death in 1993, Howard N. Hodis, M.D., a student of Dr. Blankenhorn’s, was appointed Director of the ARU. Utilizing an integrative biology approach, the direction and extent of research within the ARU was broadened. With more than 50 years of continuous NIH funding, the ARU has generated a rich history of research with many accomplishments. [Read more about ARU history…]
ARU address
2250 Alcazar Street, Suit 132
Los Angeles, CA 90033
Freeway directions
From 10 Eastbound
Exit at Soto and turn left. Left on Alcazar.
From 10 Westbound
Exit at Soto and turn right. Left on Alcazar.
From 5 Southbound
Exit at Mission and turn left. Right on Zonal. Left on Biggy. Right on Alcazar
From 5 Northbound
Transition to 10 Eastbound. Exit at Soto and turn left. Left on Alcazar.
From 101 Southbound
Transition to 10 Eastbound. Exit at State/Soto. Proceed across State onto onramp, and bear right to exit at Soto. Turn left. Left on Alcazar.
From 710 North or Southbound
Transition to 10 Westbound. Exit at Soto and turn right. Left on Alcazar.
From Huntington Drive
(Pasadena, West San Gabriel Valley)
Follow Huntington westbound until it divides into Mission Rd. and Soto St. Bear left onto Soto and proceed to Alcazar.