Each day, in every School at Penn, from labs to libraries, field sites to clinics, researchers are making strides to cure diseases, improve lives, and better understand our world.
Research at Penn: By the Numbers
Promise
Longer, Healthier Lives
1,407 clinical trials (FY24)
>67,000 patients in clinical trials (FY24)
42 FDA approvals (through 2024)
(From Penn Medicine)
Progress
Creative Solutions
125 patents issued (FY24)
354 invention disclosures (FY24)
12 PCI-supported spinouts and Penn affiliated startups (FY24)
(From PCI)
Purpose
Stronger, Safer Communities
619 commercialization agreements (FY24)
$2.8B total annual output within the Commonwealth (FY24)
$47M in Pennsylvania state tax revenue (FY24)
(From PCI and the Office of the Vice Provost for Research)
Passion
Curiosity-Driven Pursuits
9 MacArthur Award faculty recipients
2 Nobel Prize faculty recipients
>150,000 undergraduate research hours
(From Institutional Research & Analysis and the Center for Undergraduate Research and Fellowships)
A retrospective on CAR T cell therapy: From long shot to lifesaver
More than 30,000 patients have undergone CAR T cell therapy—once considered fat-fetched—since it was developed by immunologist Carl June and his team at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.
Tumor-on-a-chip offers insight into cancer-fighting cells in immunotherapy
Penn engineers and collaborators have built a living tumor on a chip to expose how cancers block immune attacks, and how one existing drug could make immunotherapy like CAR T more effective against solid tumors.
Dogs with cancer are helping save lives—both canine and human
The Comparative Immunotherapy Program led by Penn Vet’s Nicola Mason is redefining how therapies are developed and tested—uniting human and veterinary medicine to move promising immunotherapies forward.
New CAR T strategy targets most common form of heart disease
Preclinical research from investigators at Penn Medicine shows that experimental CAR T cells block inflammation in arteries, preventing more than two-thirds of the plaque buildup seen in untreated controls.
César de la Fuente: Uncovering new antibiotics with AI
César de la Fuente leverages machine learning to accelerate the discovery of lifesaving drugs and help reduce antibiotic resistance, a rising global health problem.
Shreya Parchure: Leveraging AI to help stroke survivors recover speech abilities
Doctoral student Shreya Parchure and her team evaluated the usefulness of an AI tool for personalizing speech therapy for patients with post-stroke aphasia.
Penn Medicine, CHOP team awarded Breakthrough Prize for developing gene therapy for inherited blindness
Jean Bennett, Albert Maguire, and Katherine High have been honored for their trailblazing work on the first FDA-approved gene therapy for an inherited condition.
Penn’s ENIAC, the world’s first electronic computer, turns 80
Housed in the University of Pennsylvania’s Moore School Building, ENIAC—the first programmable, electronic, general-purpose computer—launched in 1946. ENIAC’s ability to be reprogrammed to solve a wide range of complex numerical problems was revolutionary and laid the foundation for modern digital systems.
Centering joy in AI development and implementation
PIK Professor Desmond Upton Patton—of Annenberg and SP2—and collaborators introduce a joy-informed framework designed to initiate conversations among engineers, designers, and researchers.
Lingjie Liu: Where computer graphics, computer vision, and AI meet
Lingjie Liu of the School of Engineering and Applied Science uses AI both as a subject of research and as a core methodology for building new 3D visual computing systems.
Truth Mjumbe: Using AI to preserve memory and dignity
Professional counseling student at Penn GSE Truth Mjumbe built Recall Aid, an AI-powered memory-support platform inspired by his own experience with epilepsy, his grandfather’s dementia, and his father’s work preserving civil rights histories.
Where economic modeling meets real-world legislation
The Penn Wharton Budget Model is the only non-governmental group analyzing how public policy simultaneously affects the federal budget, macroeconomic growth, and human welfare.
Computer scientist Konrad Kording and economist Ioana Marinescu have developed an interactive model that incorporates assumptions from both their fields to predict how AI will affect wages, jobs, and the overall economy.
Using climate modeling to guide global economic and political decisions
Irina Marinov, associate professor in Penn’s School of Arts & Sciences’ Department of Earth and Environmental Science, explains how climate modeling works and the information these models provide.
Antonia Villarruel and Kathleen Hall Jamieson: Recommendations for economic prosperity and national security
Dean Antonia M. Villarruel of Penn Nursing and Kathleen Hall Jamieson of the Annenberg Public Policy Center are on the Vision for American Science and Technology task force that devised the policy recommendations.
Eadweard Muybridge’s ‘Animal Locomotion,’ a part of the Muybridge collection at the University of Pennsylvania, is one of the earliest attempts to use photography as a scientific tool for the study of movement, laying the foundation for early cinema, sports science, animation, and biomechanics.
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.
Helping robots work together to explore the moon and Mars
Penn Engineers, NASA, and five other universities tested robotic systems designed to help unmanned explorers cooperate in the dunes of White Sands, New Mexico, paving the way for moon and Mars exploration.
Advanced robotic imaging helps Rusty the therapy horse avoid surgery
When Rusty, a 20-year-old therapy Quarter Horse, developed lameness in his right hind leg, his diagnosis required advanced imaging. Unlike traditional CT scanners, New Bolton Center’s robotic imaging was key to Rusty’s diagnosis and treatment when he developed lameness in his leg.
How plants ‘hedge their bets’ for better reproductive outcomes
Penn biologists reveal how plants respond to seasonal flowering cues while protecting the stem cells at their growing tip, enabling continuous reproduction in changing environments.
Exploring Black America: A historian’s unique path of inquiry
Pulitzer Prize-winning author Marcia Chatelain, a Penn Presidential Compact Professor of Africana Studies, takes a unique approach to history, from the impact of fast food to the leadership of the Civil Rights Movement.
Ani Liu: Motherhood, microplastics, and her multimedia works on display
Weitzman professor of fine arts Ani Liu explores the physiological and emotional transformations in motherhood through her multimedia artworks while teaching students how to conduct fine arts research.
Building on his working helping psychology professor Sara Jaffee evaluate PHLHousing+, Philadelphia’s monthly cash assistance pilot program, fourth-year Stefan Hatch has focused on housing instability in two senior research projects for his majors, urban studies and psychology.
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Research at Penn: In print
Research at Penn is also a print publication highlighting notable research from across the University. Featuring original and repurposed stories from Penn Today, Research at Penn is brought to you twice a year by the Office of University Communications and available as a PDF (Spring 2026 and Fall 2025).
