As part of the Side Gigs for Good series, Penn Today highlights staff who spend time outside their work hours giving back to Philadelphia organizations.
Native North America Gallery opens at the Penn Museum
In partnership with eight Indigenous consulting curators, the newly renovated 2,000 sq. ft. gallery features more than 250 archaeological, historic, and contemporary items from the Museum’s North American collections.
Four honorees were awarded with Penn GSE’s McGraw Prizes in Higher Education, Lifelong Learning, and Pre-K–12 Education in a ceremony in New York City this month.
How 60 years of change realigned US health law’s role
LDI senior fellow and Penn Carey law professor Allison Hoffman explains that as private entities have become embedded in public programs like Medicare Advantage and the Affordable Care Act marketplaces, they now shape health care delivery while resisting oversight, driving up costs, and complicating efforts to improve care quality.
Melissa Charenko’s new book shares the history of how 20th-century scientists used climate proxies’—such as tree rings and fossil pollen—to understand past climates, which has implications for future climate action.
GLP-1 medications may only temporarily suppress brain activity involved in ‘food noise’
A brain-computer interface reveals the medication has a short-term or incomplete effect on related brain activity in a patient with obesity, calling for further study.
Rabies resurgence in Peru highlights global threats of health inequity
A Penn Medicine analysis shows that surveillance of dog rabies in Arequipa, Peru, is lacking in areas with lower socioeconomic status and could spell problems for infectious disease worldwide.
A serendipitous find leads to lifesaving discoveries
A Penn-led team has revealed a how hydralazine, one of the world’s oldest blood pressure drugs and a mainstay treatment for preeclampsia, works at the molecular level. In doing so, they made a surprising discovery—it can also halt the growth of aggressive brain tumors.
New members of American Academy of Sciences and Letters
Alan Charles Kors and Philip E. Tetlock have been invested as members of the American Academy of Sciences and Letters, a nonprofit that promotes scholarship and honors achievement in the arts and sciences.
Created in collaboration with Indigenous consulting curators, the Native North America Gallery spans 13,000 years of Native history across four U.S. regions, highlighting centuries of resilience, artistry, and tradition. Expert tour guides will share scholarly insights and rich interpretation beyond the object labels. Weekends only. Space is limited.
Ruth Jean-Marie, founder and CEO of the August Project and Consulting Group, will speak on the current and potential roles of storytelling, virtual reality/tech, and empathy to create substantive, lasting social impact. Participants will couple the value of storytelling with contemporary approaches to connection spanning virtual reality and technology. Register to attend.
Penn’s guiding principles are the University’s enduring values and distinctive strengths: anchored, inventive, interwoven, and engaged. The practices support and strengthen Penn’s core educational mission.
At Penn Today, we focus on some of the ways the University is putting this framework into action. From student, faculty, and staff profiles to research updates and event coverage, Penn Today highlights the latest examples of the University’s principled approach to excellence.
A conversation with Penn Forward’s Global Opportunity and New Markets co-chairs
In a Q&A with Ezekiel Emanuel and Megan Ryerson, co-chairs of the Global Opportunity and New Markets working group for Penn Forward, the duo discuss the charge of their group, where they are in the process, and leaning into global engagement.
Through Penn First Plus, students unlock potential and purpose
Providing first-generation and limited-income students with a comprehensive array of support, Penn First Plus equips undergraduates for success during and after their time at Penn.
The eighth annual Penn Local Business Exchange brought together entrepreneurs, city officials, and University buyers to swap insights and build relationships.
Students test one way to combat extreme heat in Philadelphia
Third-year students Nafisa Bangura and Angelica Dadda expanded upon a multidisciplinary research endeavor to evaluate a reflective pavement coating as a tool to mitigate extreme heat. Their work may inform policy efforts to improve urban heat resilience.
These hospitals figured out how to slash C-section rates
Rebecca Clark of the School of Nursing says that an obstetrician’s pay and the doctor’s personal beliefs about the surgery are factors that affect C-section rates.
The Trump administration’s portable mortgage push could let you keep your 3% rate, but experts warn it may backfire. What can homeowners do now?
Susan Wachter of the Wharton School says that a portable mortgage could nudge homeowners who have been staying put to sell, opening the door for new buyers.
