5/18
Infectious Diseases
A quick pivot turns an infectious disease class into timely education
Students in David Roos’ upper-level biology course had been studying pandemics. Now they get to learn in real time how public health scientists attempt to understand COVID-19.
A new way to study HIV’s impact on the brain
Using a newly developed laboratory model of three types of brain cells, Penn and CHOP scientists reveal how HIV infection—as well as the drugs that treat it—can take a toll on the central nervous system.
Lifelong no longer: New research on TB infection rarely leads to active disease
A Penn-led study suggested majority will not develop disease even if a test shows positive results, citing that the infecting organism, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, is likely dead, wiped out naturally by people’s immune systems.
A new herpes vaccine leaves no trace of infection or disease
A novel vaccine developed at Penn Medicine protected almost all animal subjects exposed to the virus.
New imaging study reveals previously unseen vulnerabilities of HIV
The breakthrough, Published in the journal Cell Host and Microbe, opens new paths to fight against the deadly virus.
With a second patient free from HIV, what’s next?
Scientists have succeeded in sending an HIV patient into long-term remission, only the second time such a feat has been documented. Pablo Tebas and Bridgette Brawner discuss what this means for HIV research and for people living with the virus.
To prevent HIV, start online
A team led by José Bauermeister at Penn Nursing designed the My Desires & Expectations tool to address cognitive and emotional factors that influence sexual decision-making when seeking partners online.
World AIDS Day: What’s happening with the epidemic today
Professor of Medicine and Associate Chief of the Infectious Diseases Division Ian Frank explains progress made and challenges still faced in the world of HIV/AIDS research, prevention, and treatment.
Simple solutions help children in Mexican orphanage fight infectious disease
With the President’s Engagement Prize, senior Alaina Hall, is building a project she calls “Healthy Pequeños,” or “Healthy Little Ones,” which aims to help children in a Mexican orphanage fight infectious disease.
In the News
The mRNA miracle workers
Nobel laureates Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman of the Perelman School of Medicine appear on “Sunday Morning” to discuss their careers, their mRNA research, and the COVID-19 vaccines.
FULL STORY →
Review of COVID death stats finds likely undercount in official numbers
A paper co-authored by Penn researchers found that COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. were likely undercounted in official statistics during the first 30 months of the pandemic.
FULL STORY →
Paul Offit looks back on COVID-19, misinformation, and how public health lost the public’s trust in new book
“Tell Me When It’s Over,” a new book by Paul Offit of the Perelman School of Medicine, chronicles the initial years of the COVID-19 pandemic and the mishaps of public health agencies. Recent surveys by the Annenberg Public Policy Center find that mistrust of vaccines has continued to grow through last fall.
FULL STORY →
How long does the flu last? What to know
According to the University of Pennsylvania Health System, flu symptoms usually appear two to three days after contact with the virus.
FULL STORY →
‘Holding our breath’: Philadelphia officials respond to measles outbreak from day care
Paul Offit of the Perelman School of Medicine explains why measles is so much more infectious than flu.
FULL STORY →
Godfather of mRNA vaccines reveals plans to immunize people against cancer years before tumors strike to ‘the disease from ever appearing’
Drew Weissman of the Perelman School of Medicine, who won the Nobel Prize for mRNA vaccines along with Katalin Karikó, is researching an mRNA vaccine against cancer.
FULL STORY →