Perelman School of Medicine

By Patrick Ammerman Oftentimes the most important scientific work is accomplished via serendipity; by following up on an unexpected finding and uncovering an entirely new area of research.

When treating cancer with chemotherapy and radiation, decisions about dose must walk a fine line between attacking cancerous cells and preserving healthy ones. Overly aggressive radiation therapy to the torso, for example, can damage the epithelial cells that line the intestines, leading to chronic gastrointestinal problems.

John T. Farrar of the Perelman School of Medicine, Elliot V.

Andrew R. Heyer, a member of the University of Pennsylvania’s Board of Trustees, has been named chair of Penn Medicine, effective July 1, 2016. He has served as a member of the Penn Medicine Board and its Executive Committee since 2009.

Two University of Pennsylvania faculty have been elected to the National Academy of Medicine, formerly the Institute of Medicine: Anita Allen, vice provost for faculty with appointments in the Law School and

By Patrick Ammerman A new University of Pennsylvania effort is bringing genomics into high school classrooms through a free online resource. The goal is to make it easier for science teachers to incorporate the latest advances in science into their curricula.

The innate immune system serves as a first-line defense, responding to infections almost immediately after a pathogen makes its way into the body.

Penn Medicine researchers, along with colleagues at Cincinnati Children's Hospital and Boston University, have received a $5.2 million, seven-year grant from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to study the cellular and molecular mechanisms that promote lung regeneration.

Over the summer, as University of Pennsylvania senior Adam Adnane was riding the train with his father on the way home from his research position at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, he quickly consulted his phone to find out when the Islamic holiday of Eid al-Adha was going to fall this year.

Robots are capable of all sorts of tasks to help better treat cancer: They connect oncologists to patients remotely, make incisions, staple them shut, deliver “nano” therapies—and they clean rooms.