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Public Health
A ‘smart-connected cup’ to fight Zika
By combining a a Thermos, a microfluidics chip and a smartphone, researchers have found a way to bring Zika testing to sites where clinical laboratories aren’t present but diagnostics are needed.
Correcting a blind spot
A groundbreaking genetic study seeks to transform the prevention and treatment of glaucoma while reversing historical racial disparities in who suffers from the disease, and who benefits from such research.
New therapeutic target for slowing the spread of flu virus
Understanding influenza virus-host interactions point to potential new targets for flu treatments.
How police killings of black Americans affect communities
Black Americans are nearly three times more likely to be killed by police than their white counterparts, with even larger disparities among those who are unarmed. The trend is also harming the mental health of the black community.
How researchers and clinicians navigate social media
The silence after an inaugural tweet can be ego-crushing. For medical professionals, garnering a following is a quantifiable exercise not just in personal popularity, but in the medical field itself.
Dental School’s Joan Gluch promotes academics and community engagement
A recipient of the third annual Netter Center Faculty-Community Partnership Award, Gluch and Philadelphia FIGHT will share award funding to develop projects to promote community oral health.
How to motivate heart disease patients to exercise? Pay them.
Financial incentives and wearable devices lead to increased exercise for high-risk patients with heart disease.
Floridians took Zika virus more seriously than rest of U.S., but most did nothing
A new study shows the differences between Florida and the rest of the United States in response to Zika prevention and awareness can inform future public health communication campaigns.
Can bias be reversed?
Mandatory education and training can improve awareness of implicit biases and how it may affect patient care, according to studies and fieldwork done in communities.
Promoting cross-campus collaborations in health research
The One Health Communications Group is a collaboration that brings together several schools and centers to develop groundbreaking health research in a cross-disciplinary and innovative environment.
In the News
UPenn hosts free online panel for LGBTQ+ workplace inclusion
The Eidos LGBTQ+ Health Initiative, led by José Bauermeister and Jessica Halem of the School of Nursing, will host a free online panel in April on the integration of LGBTQ+ people in the workforce.
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Mayor Parker’s plan to ‘remove the presence of drug users’ from Kensington raises new questions
Shoshana Aronowitz of the School of Nursing and Ashish Thakrar of the Perelman School of Medicine comment on the lack of specificity in Philadelphia’s plan to remove drug users from Kensington and on the current state of drug treatment in the city.
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Posts mislead about COVID-19 vaccine safety with out-of-context clip of FDA official
Jeffrey S. Morris of the Perelman School of Medicine says that many adverse medical events, even those clearly unrelated to vaccines, have been reported an order of magnitude more for COVID vaccines during the pandemic than any time before.
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Philadelphians hope a cleaner city will reduce gun violence. Will Oh or Parker make it a reality?
A $3 million blight reduction project in Philadelphia is informed by Penn research showing that cleaning up trash and revitalizing vacant lots can reduce gun violence rates by as much as 29%.
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Universal basic income is working—even in red states
Researchers at Penn concluded that a basic income program in Stockton, California, could have profound positive impacts on local public health.
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NJ’s Camden County deploying virtual reality to teach students about naloxone
Penn partnered with New Jersey’s Camden County to create a virtual reality training video for administering the opioid-reversing drug Narcan.
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