Perelman School of Medicine

Person wearing a face mask holds up a smartphone, reading a text message.

Automated texting system saved lives weekly during first COVID surge

Patients enrolled in COVID Watch, an algorithmically driven text messaging system backed by a small team of nurses, were 68% less likely to die from COVID-19.

Penn Medicine launches new Colton Center for Autoimmunity

The Center, made possible through a $10 million gift from alumni Stewart and Judy Colton, unites game-changing research and patient care programs across the University, and connects Penn’s efforts to two other world-renowned institutions.

Novel gene therapy for hemophilia A

The multicenter study, led by researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, showed improved and sustained production of a needed clotting factor and reduced bleeding events.

Mug of coffee resting on a third-trimester pregnant belly.

Moderate amounts of caffeine not linked to maternal health risks

In a prospective Penn Medicine study of 2,529 pregnant women, drinking caffeinated beverages was associated with a reduced risk of developing gestational diabetes.

A pair of hands holding a cancer screening kit vial in one hand and paperwork in another extended to a person standing in a park.

A Black-owned radio station, a physician, and a quest to prevent colon cancer

A unique community-based campaign by Penn Medicine, WURD, Philadelphia’s Black-owned and -operated talk radio station, and other organizations provide free colon cancer testing kits and follow-up support to Philadelphia residents.

New study illuminates the biology of common heart disorder

Dilated cardiomyopathy, an often fatal heart disorder, due to titin gene mutations involves both a shortage of good titin and a buildup of mutant, potentially “bad” titin.

DNA helix with a piece being removed by a surgeon’s glove with scissors.

New gene-editing technique can ‘turn on’ enzymes that cause DNA base mutations

The novel Penn method of splitting specific mutator enzymes and then triggering them to reconstitute has been patented, and allows for new possibilities in biologic and therapeutic research, including cancer.

A ‘dented’ internal clock informs shift workers’ weight gain and diabetes

Weight gain and high blood sugar caused by a damaged internal clock was corrected by Penn researchers, who changed the length of the day in tests.

Entering a new phase in cell therapy for glioblastoma

Donald M. O’Rourke, director of the Glioblastoma Translational Center of Excellence at Penn Medicine, and others are exploring cellular immunotherapies as a potential better option for deadly brain cancer glioblastoma multiforme.

Four nurses in gowns and masks standing smiling in a row.

Ethnic and racial diversity in surgical faculty associated with medical student diversity

A new study confirms there is little progress made in the last decade to expand racial and ethnic diversity in surgical faculty, despite evidence that more diverse faculty leads to greater racial, ethnic, and gender diversity in the medical student population.

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