A team of researchers led by Penn neuroscientist Michael Platt had been studying a colony of rhesus macaques on Cayo Santiago, a small Puerto Rican island, for a decade when Hurricane Maria hit. The island had been devastated. A massive effort by the team on the ground allowed the work to get back up and running, putting the researchers in a unique position to study how the monkeys’ behavior may have changed in response to an acute natural disaster. (Image: Lauren Brent)
How do natural disasters shape the behavior and social networks of rhesus macaques?
A team of researchers from Penn, the University of Exeter, and elsewhere found that after Hurricane Maria monkeys on the devastated island of Cayo Santiago formed more friendships and became more tolerant of each other, despite fewer resources.
Understanding and addressing barriers to COVID vaccine acceptance
Different communities have different reasons for wanting to wait on this shot. Getting to the heart of those concerns can help meet people where they are.
Edward Brodkin is co-director of the Autism Spectrum Program of Excellence, director of the Adult Autism Spectrum Program, and an associate professor of psychiatry at the Perelman School of Medicine. Penn alumna Ashley Pallathra is a clinical researcher and therapist pursuing her Ph.D. at The Catholic University of America. They co-wrote “Missing Each Other.” (Images: Christopher Descano)
The path to deeper connections, even amidst a pandemic
A new book from Penn’s Edward Brodkin and psychology doctoral candidate Ashley Pallathra focuses on the science and practice of attunement, the process by which people can most effectively connect to themselves and others.
Eileen Lake is the Jessie M. Scott Endowed Term Chair in Nursing and Health Policy, a professor of nursing, and associate director of the Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research at the School of Nursing.
Infants experiencing opioid withdrawal more often treated in poorer quality hospitals
The research from the School of Nursing analyzed information from three datasets accounting for 25% of U.S. births annually.
Homepage image: During Women’s History Month, researchers across the University examine what we know today about how COVID-19 has affected women in the workforce, from education to STEMM fields.
COVID-19 and women in the workforce
Experts across Penn explain how the pandemic has exacerbated gender inequality and challenged female career advancement in the STEMM fields, education, and business.
Stephanie N. Acquaye, from Woodbury, Minnesota, is a Bachelor of Nursing Science candidate at the School of Nursing. She is also a Hillman Scholar and will continue in the Penn Nursing Ph.D. program upon completion of her bachelor’s degree. (Image: Courtesy Stephanie Acquaye)
Doulas help families meet breastfeeding goals
Research from the School of Nursing shows that these support professionals can be another tool to improve outcomes for newborns and parents.
A new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine reveals some new trends about working-age adults in the U.S., including what Penn’s Irma Elo considered the most disturbing: Increased mortality among 25- to 44-year-olds from cardiometabolic disease.
Young and middle-age adults in the U.S. dying at higher rates
According to a new National Academies report, cardiometabolic conditions now join drug overdoses, alcohol, and suicide as significant mortality causes. In a Q&A, demographer Irma Elo explains.
Eviction linked to depression risk in young adults
Research from sociologist Courtney Boen and anthropologist Morgan Hoke shows that this issue, compounded by the toll of the pandemic, disproportionately affects low-income households and communities of color.
Finding beauty in everything, through a camera lens
Karen Reivich of Penn’s Positive Psychology Center turned to photography to reconnect to herself during the pandemic. It helped her discover a new way of seeing the world.
Katy Milkman co-directs the Behavior Change for Good initiative with Penn’s Angela Duckworth. Milkman is also the James G. Dinan Endowed Professor and a professor of operations, information, and decisions at the Wharton School. She has a secondary appointment in the Perelman School of Medicine. (Image: Eric Sucar)
Behavior Change for Good unveils effective strategies to boost vaccination rates
Texts with “reserved for you” messaging boosted flu vaccine rates by up to 11%.
