Antonia M. Villarruel, the Margaret Bond Simon Dean of Penn Nursing, has co-authored a new book, “Systems That Impact Population Health: Past and Present,” which serves as a critical examination of how foundational U.S. systems, including law, education, housing, and health care, have historically shaped and continue to dictate health outcomes across diverse communities.
The book moves beyond focusing on individual behavior, arguing that addressing embedded institutional barriers is key to ensuring health for all. It is organized around seven distinct population groups, drawing on rigorous research and lived experience to reveal how these systems often influence opportunity, leading to persistent health disparities.
By connecting the nation’s individual and collective history to its present-day health landscape, “Systems That Impact Population Health: Past and Present” provides a unifying framework and set of policy recommendations to ensure good health for all.
“To achieve health for everyone everywhere, we must look upstream to the conditions in which people live, learn, work, and age,” says Villarruel. “This book is a roadmap that outlines the changes and policies necessary to allow every person the opportunity to live a healthy life.”
Novel plant-based approach to a better, cheaper GLP-1 delivery system
Research led by Penn Dental’s Henry Daniell investigates the use of a lettuce-based, plant-encapsulated delivery platform as a new oral delivery of two GLP-1 drugs previously approved by the FDA in injectable form.
No brain, no gain: Neuronal activity enhances benefits of exercise
Research led by Penn neuroscientist J. Nicholas Betley and collaborators finds that hypothalamic neurons are essential for translating physical exertion into endurance, potentially opening the door to exercise-mimicking therapies.
In honor of Valentine's Day, and as a way of fostering community in her Shakespeare in Love course, Becky Friedman took her students to the University Club for lunch one class period. They talked about the movie "Shakespeare in Love," as part of a broader conversation on how Shakespeare's works are adapted.
In Becky Friedman’s English course Shakespeare in Love, undergraduate students analyze language, genre, and adaptation in the Bard’s plays through the lens of love.
Beating the heat: Designing cooling for bodies in motion
Dorit Aviv, director of Weitzman’s Thermal Architecture Lab, studies how humans, technology, and design intersect, paving the way for the development of novel approaches to cooling people efficiently.
