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)
J. Nicholas Betley has led collaborative research seeking the neural basis of long-term sustained pain and finds that a critical hub in the brainstem holds a mechanism for stopping pain signals from reaching the rest of the brain. Their findings could help clinicians better understand chronic pain and lead to new, more efficacious treatments.
Exposure to air pollution worsens Alzheimer’s disease
New research from Penn Medicine finds living in areas with high concentration of air pollution is associated with increased buildup of amyloid and tau proteins in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients, accelerating cognitive decline.
What ever-growing incisors can teach us about genetic disease
An interdisciplinary team of researchers approaches the question ‘How do teeth mineralize?’ by analyzing the physical, biological, and genetic properties of teeth for real-world clinical applications in the future.
Electronic medical records help save lives of HIV patients
Management and socioeconomic development expert Leandro ‘Leo’ Pongeluppe and colleagues found that switching from paper to electronic medical records at HIV clinics in Malawi led to an estimated 28% reduction in deaths after five years, with the greatest impact on children.
Future mRNA vaccines may prevent food and seasonal allergies
Early research from Penn Medicine finds a new mRNA vaccine stops allergens from causing immune reactions and life-threatening inflammation, with promise for future treatment for a variety of seasonal and food allergies.
Kiran Musunuru develops gene-based therapies to improve the health of patients with heart disease and correct genetic changes in people affected by ultra-rare conditions.
Eri Maeda: Investigating barriers to menopause care
Rising third-year Eri Maeda dedicated her summer to a Penn Undergraduate Research Mentoring Program project exploring how insurance status may shape access to menopause care in the U.S.
The world’s smallest programmable, autonomous robots
Engineers at Penn Engineering have created robots barely visible to the naked eye that operate without tethers, magnetic fields or joystick-like controls.
Penn engineers, materials scientists, and designers have developed a 3D-printed concrete solution based on diatomaceous earth that has enhanced carbon capture, is stronger, and uses fewer materials like cement.
A new study by Penn GSE’s Richard Ingersoll evaluates a team-based model of organizing teaching staff in elementary and secondary schools that integrates teams of teaching staff in contrast to this traditional one-teacher, one-classroom approach.
Nanoparticle blueprints reveal path to smarter medicines
New research involving Penn Engineering shows detailed variation in lipid nanoparticle size, shape, and internal structure, and finds that such factors correlate with how well they deliver therapeutic cargo to a particular destination.
Penn Engineering faculty Chris Callison-Burch, a leading researcher in the artificial intelligence field, reflects on decades of technological innovations that have informed the present and future of AI.
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.
Penn Vet’s Ryan Hospital and New Bolton Center’s Infection Prevention and Biosecurity Programs are focusing on infection prevention, control measures, and biosecurity strategies to protect the animals, people, and communities served by its hospitals and facilities.
Preventing falls in older adults with mild cognitive impairment
A team led by researchers in the School of Nursing has developed a multicomponent intervention that uses passive monitoring and behavioral support to help reduce falls in at-risk older adults.
A new study in Sciences Advances, co-authored by Penn Carey Law’s Michael Morse, introduces the concept of vote revelation, or the potential for a vote on an anonymous ballot to be linked to the voter’s name in the public voter file.
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.
Helheim Glacier: New information on sea-level rise
For nearly a decade, Leigh Stearns and collaborators aimed a laser scanner system at Greenland’s Helheim Glacier. Their long-running survey reveals that Helheim’s massive calving events don’t behave the way scientists once thought, reframing how ice loss contributes to sea-level rise.
In the shadowy layers of the Pacific, microbes decide how much nitrous oxide—a potent greenhouse gas—rises skyward. New research from Penn’s Xin Sun offers an improved understanding of microbial ecology and geochemistry—key to forecasting global emissions in response to natural and man-made climate change.
Penn urban planner Erick Guerra’s new book, ‘Overbuilt,’ argues that additional spending on building more highways might not be the solution to the country’s transportation issues. In a Q&A, Guerra shares his insights.
While big tech and market forces get much of the blame for the decline of news media, Barbie Zelizer makes the bold claim in her new book that problematic journalistic practices that became entrenched during the Cold War are responsible for the current issues facing journalism, such as inadequate funding and declining public trust.
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 (Fall 2025 and Spring 2025).
