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Can tiny ocean organisms offer the key to better climate modeling?
Researcher Xin Sun injects substance into glass vials.

Can tiny ocean organisms offer the key to better climate modeling?

In the shadowy layers of the Pacific, microbes decide how much nitrous oxide—a potent greenhouse gas—rises skyward. New research from Penn’s Xin Sun offers an improved understanding of microbial ecology and geochemistry—key to forecasting global emissions in response to natural and man-made climate change.

3 min. read

Helpline support eases stress for dementia caregivers
An elderly person on the phone.

Helpline support eases stress for dementia caregivers

Penn Nursing researchers and collaborators found that caregivers for family members with dementia who receive one or two consultations saw improvements in their ability to manage stress, and that people requesting more than one call reported lower baseline confidence in their ability to manage their emotions than those requesting only one call.

3 min. read

Street lighting and public safety
People dining on a well-lit Philly sidewalk at night.

Street lighting and public safety

Criminology researchers Aaron Chalfin and John MacDonald, and data scientist Brian Wade of Penn’s Crime and Justice Policy Lab, evaluate the effect of improved street lighting on crime rates.

2 min. read

Russell Composto talks leading Penn Forward’s Undergraduate Education and Innovation working group
Russell Composto at a conference table gesticulating with undergraduates.

Russell Composto talks leading Penn Forward’s Undergraduate Education and Innovation working group

In a Q&A, Russell Composto, vice provost for undergraduate education and chair of Penn Forward’s Undergraduate Education and Innovation working group, talks about the guiding principles of the team and what it means to think boldly about the future of the undergraduate experience at Penn.

8 min. read

https://in-principle-and-practice.upenn.edu/
Students walk beneath The Covenant on Locust Walk at dusk

In Principle and Practice

Penn’s strategic framework

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.

Students test one way to combat extreme heat in Philadelphia
Nafisa Bangura (left) and Angelica Dadda (right) doing hands-on experimental work in the Composto Lab.

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.

4 min. read

Penn in the News

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  • Early peanut exposure found to cut food allergy risks
    Financial Times

    Early peanut exposure found to cut food allergy risks

    Researchers in the Perelman School of Medicine and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia have found that early exposure to peanuts can cut allergy risks.

    By loosening standards, the FDA isn’t doing rare-disease patients any favors
    Los Angeles Times

    By loosening standards, the FDA isn’t doing rare-disease patients any favors

    Holly Fernandez-Lynch of the Perelman School of Medicine and Leonard Davis Institute co-authored an opinion essay arguing against loosening regulations for the development of rare-disease drug development.