Perelman School of Medicine

How health systems can build a culture of anti-racism

A trio of Black academicians at Penn Medicine discuss how health systems can use their power, might, and resources to foster racial equality in health systems and communities.

Two medical professionals in full PPE intubate a patient on a hospital bed.

Researchers begin forming guidance on properly managing COVID-19 patient airways

As the pandemic continues and knowledge about it evolves, a team of researchers has worked to form a consensus on topics including intubation, high-flow nasal oxygen, and the use of personal protective equipment.

Heart rate being monitored on cardiogram in a hospital room.

COVID-19 patients survive in-hospital cardiac arrest at pre-pandemic rates

Resuscitation and survival rates are much higher than earlier reports of near-zero, and variation at the individual hospital level may have affected overall numbers.

A new vision for the Population Aging Research Center

For more than 25 years, PARC has been a hub for work on disparities in aging and mortality. Co-directors Hans-Peter Kohler and Norma Coe, who took over in July, want to expand its reach.

Illustration of a T cell releasing signaling molecules, IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, IL-10, and IL-13

Charting a path forward with unifying definition of cytokine storm

Penn Medicine researchers have developed a unifying definition of “cytokine storm” to provide a framework to assess and treat patients whose immune systems have gone rogue.

Microscopic view of antibodies destroying an infected cell by a virus.

Researchers unlock the door to tumor microenvironment for CAR T cells

A new study finds that combining CAR T thereapy with an enzyme-inhibitor drug allows the engineered cells to battle through jumbled blood vessels and attack tumors.

colorful rendering of the brain with dots indicating synapses

Scientists identify brain cells that drive wakefulness and resist general anesthetics

A new study that identifies the neurons that promote wakefulness supports a long-debated hypothesis that the brain’s sleep regulation mechanism also regulates its response to general anesthetics.

A person in a suit and button-down shirt sitting on a stairwell landing, smiling. The intricate white stairwell and a brick wall behind it are to the person's right.

A modified game of ‘chicken’ reveals what happens in the brain during decision-making

Research from the Platt Labs found that in rhesus macaques, two regions of the brain mirror those of similar regions in humans, broadening the understanding of what unfolds, neurologically, when people interact and cooperate.

closeup of below-freezing liquid poured into a vessel.

Penn joins ‘cryo revolution’ by adding Nobel-winning microscope

The Singh Center’s Krios G3i, an electron microscope for studying samples at extremely low temperatures, allows researchers to look at cells, proteins, and nanoparticles like never before.

Neon microscopic rendering of a bone joint.

Potential cellular target for eliminating bone breakdown in osteoporosis found

New research has discovered a cell type that governs the way bones form and maintain themselves, opening up a potential target for future therapies for bone disorders like osteoporosis.

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