A forthcoming report from the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy will offer a range of strategies to directly impact the economic and mental health crisis in coal country.
Researchers have long observed the decline in health and rise in unemployment and addiction in Appalachia. One decade ago, a report from the University of Chicago highlighted a higher than average rate of mental health disorders in coal-dependent communities. The follow-up report 10 years later added additional “diseases of despair” to the continued decline in health—substance abuse, suicide, and alcoholic liver disease.
The report was funded by a federal grant and commissioned by the Pennsylvania Small Business Development Center. Researchers at the Kleinman Center outlined five categories for revitalization and redevelopment in the affected Appalachian regions, and how to begin implementing changes.
When the Schuylkill swallowed the city: Lessons from Hurricane Ida’s historic flood
New Penn research shows that Hurricane Ida wasn’t a once-in-a-century anomaly but a preview of how climate change, urbanization, and aging infrastructure are rewriting flood risk.
The Fed explained: What it does and why it matters
Former Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker and financial historian Peter Conti-Brown, both Wharton professors, unpack the central bank’s origins, its unusual structure, and the quiet ways it shapes the economy
How population changes are impacting primary education worldwide
Research from Penn sociologist Emily Hannum and colleagues reveals regional trends in whether school-age populations are increasing, plateauing, or decreasing—and shows how different countries are responding.
A bioengineered bean gum from the lab of Penn Dental’s Henry Daniell is found to reduce the levels of three microbes associated with head and neck squamous cell cancer to almost zero, without affecting the beneficial bacteria normally found in the mouth.
Fighting oral cancer with bioengineered chewing gum
Research led by Penn Dental’s Henry Daniell shows that antiviral and antibacterial chewing gums reduce the levels of three microbes linked to worse outcomes in oral cancers, paving the way for more effective and affordable therapies.
