David Meaney on Penn’s research enterprise

How would you describe the research identity of Penn right now, and how is it evolving?

Penn’s research identity is defined by an unusual trifecta: it has a breadth of research that allows it to answer several questions about our future and our past; it has the depth of scholarship to create solutions that are meaningful and improve the public well-being; and it has an unusual campus proximity that makes answering these questions a truly collaborative and human experience. We have world-class programs across medicine, engineering, arts and sciences, social policy, law, business, veterinary medicine, nursing, and design—and they’re all within a 10-minute walk of each other. That’s rare. We’re evolving and learning how to take full advantage of that proximity. The problems that matter most now—whether in health, climate, AI, or inequality—don’t respect disciplinary boundaries. Our identity is shifting from a collection of excellent schools to something more deliberately integrated.

How does the research mission align with the University’s broader academic and societal goals?

Research isn’t separate from teaching or from service—it’s the engine that drives both. Our students learn by participating in discovery, not by just absorbing what’s already known. Our faculty share their stories about their discoveries, as well as the discoveries and insights of others, in the classroom to provide examples of how the principles of knowledge can ‘come to life’ in exploring the world around us. And our obligation to society isn’t just to produce knowledge, but to ensure that knowledge reaches the people who need it. Penn has always had a practical bent—we are very much, as people say, in the image of Benjamin Franklin himself. That means our research mission succeeds when it shapes better clinicians, better engineers, better policy, and better art—and when the communities around us feel the benefit.

What are Penn’s top research priorities over the next five to 10 years, and how were they chosen?

In our University planning process, Penn Forward, we’re looking for areas where Penn has distinctive strengths, where societal need is urgent, and where investment can be catalytic. Some themes are clearly emerging—artificial intelligence and its applications across every domain; health equity and the translation of discovery into community benefit; sustainability and climate; and the future of democracy and information.

But another theme is also appearing in our conversation—that there are future research priorities that no one knows yet. We want to be known as the campus that was first to find and support these new research priorities.

What kinds of research or scholarly work happening on campus right now are you especially excited about, and why?

I’m genuinely fascinated by what’s happening in the intersection of AI and the life sciences. We have people using machine learning to understand protein dynamics, to analyze medical images, and to predict disease trajectories. But I’m equally excited by work that doesn’t involve computation at all—historians and literary scholars doing archival work that changes how we understand the past, social scientists doing careful empirical work on education and inequality. And I’m particularly energized by what I see from newer faculty—people who came up in an era of interdisciplinary training and are asking questions their advisers couldn’t have imagined.

What has federal support allowed the University to accomplish?

Federal research funding has been the foundation of American research universities since World War II, and Penn is no exception. It supports everything from fundamental discoveries in physics and chemistry to clinical trials that determine which treatments work. About 60% of our federal funding is in human health—improving outcomes, developing new therapies, and understanding how diseases emerge. Equally important are climate and energy science, the ways in which we communicate with each other, and understanding how our policies can help advance society as a whole and not just individual groups.

Federal investment in university research isn’t charity—it’s infrastructure. It’s how the country builds its future, generates the discoveries that drive the economy, and improves lives. We are entering a time of great change across many scientific frontiers; this is the time for strengthening the partnership with the federal government and maintaining the momentum we have in solving the problems of today and tomorrow.

When you think about the impact of research at Penn, what does success look like?

Success looks like a policy insight that reshapes how a city approaches poverty. It looks like a treatment that changes how we manage a disease. It also looks like a student who came to Penn uncertain about their path and left having discovered something genuinely new about the world. More than ever, success is a company started by our faculty or students that creates jobs and solves problems. And increasingly, it looks like trust—communities believing that when Penn engages with them, it’s a genuine partnership.