Kelvin J. A. Davies

Kelvin J. A. DaviesJames E. Birren Chair of Gerontology, Associate Dean for Research, and Director of the Andrus Gerontology Research Institute at USC.

Professor Davies was born and raised in London, England and is a dual citizen of Great Britain and the U.S.A. Educated at London University, the University of Wisconsin, and the University of California at Berkeley, he was previously a faculty member at Harvard University and Harvard Medical School. Before moving to the University of Southern California in 1996, Professor Davies was Chairman of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the Albany Medical College, where he was also professor of Molecular Medicine.

Deeply involved in research studies into oxidative stress and free radicals, Professor Davies is the (founding) Editor-in-Chief of the premier scientific journal in the field, Free Radical Biology & Medicine; former President of the Oxygen Society; and a council member of both the International Society for Free Radical Research and the International Union of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology. Professor Davis is a Fellow of the Oxygen Society; a Fellow of the Gerontological Society of America; a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science; winner of the Harwood S. Belding award of the American Physiological Society; and holder of various medals, honorary degrees, and fellowships from several universities and foreign scientific societies. In 1996 he was named the National Parkinson Foundation Scholar.

Professor Davies’ research centers on the role of free radicals and oxidative stress in biology. In particular he is interested in genes that repair oxidatively damaged proteins, lipids, RNA, and DNA, and his laboratory has made major contributions to our understanding of this subject over the past twenty years. At the Andrus Gerontology Center, Professor Davies is focusing his research on the regulation of oxidative stress repair genes during aging. His laboratory is involved in biochemical, molecular biology, and genetic studies of both normal aging processes, and aging pathologies such as Parkinson and Alzheimer’s diseases.

As the Founder of the Los Angeles County School District/USC S.T.A.R. program (a science/medical magnet program), a former Board of Trustees member of the Albany Academy for Boys, and a former high school teacher and youth club director, Professor Davies is vitally interested in the education of our children. Kelvin Davies lives in San Marino, California with his wife, Joanna M.S. Davies, M.D., a fellow faculty member at USC’s Andrus Gerontology Center and medical specialist in Rheumatology and Osteoporosis, an their two children, Sebastian and Alexander. Outside of the University, Professor Davies is a fan of cricket and soccer, and has coached both of his sons’ soccer teams. He is a devotee of opera and classical music and is Past President of the California Philharmonic Orchestra Foundation.