Karen Kreeger

PHILADELPHIA - The most common form of heritable cognitive impairment is Fragile X Syndrome, caused by mutation or malfunction of the FMR1 gene. Loss of FMR1 function is also the most common genetic cause of autism. Understanding how this gene works is vital to finding new treatments to help Fragile X patients and others.

PHILADELPHIA - The pigmented cells called melanocytes aren't just for making freckles and tans. Melanocytes absorb ultraviolet light, protecting the skin from the harmful effects of the sun. They also are the cells that go haywire in melanoma, as well as in more common conditions as vitiligo and albinism.

PHILADELPHIA - Obesity and insulin resistance are almost inevitably associated with increases in lipid accumulation in the liver, a serious disease that can deteriorate to hepatitis and liver failure.  A real paradox in understanding insulin resistance is figuring out why insulin-resistant livers make more fat.  Insulin resistance occurs when the body does a poor j

PHILADELPHIA - Recent studies have identified many genes that may put people with schizophrenia at risk for the disease. But, what links genetic differences to changes in altered brain activity in schizophrenia is not clear.

Nearly five million Americans live with heart failure, with as many as 700,000 new cases diagnosed each year. In addition to lifestyle factors, scientists have shown that heart failure has a strong heritable component, but identifying the responsible genes has been a major challenge.

There’s more than one way to mop up after a flu infection.

PHILADELPHIA —Three labs from the University of Pennsylvania have received $12.5 million from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as part of its $143.8 million national grant program to challenge the scientific status quo with innovative ideas that have the potential to speed the translation of medical research into improved health for the American public.

PHILADELPHIA —Despite what Hollywood would have you believe, not all epidemics involve people suffering from zombie-like symptoms--some can only be uncovered through door-to-door epidemiology and advanced mathematics.

PHILADELPHIA —Researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Monash University, and Virginia Tech have used a set of novel inhibitors to analyze how the malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum, uses enzymes to chew up human hemoglobin from host red blood cells as a food source.

PHILADELPHIA — "You are what you eat" is familiar enough, but how deep do the  implications go? An interdisciplinary group of investigators from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania have found an association between long-term dietary patterns and the bacteria of the human gut.