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Professor Philip Rea wins Jesse H. Neal Award for Scientific Journalism

Professor Philip Rea wins Jesse H. Neal Award for Scientific Journalism

Rea, professor of biology in Penn’s School of Arts & Sciences and Belldegrun Distinguished Director of the Vagelos Program in Life Sciences & Management has won the Jesse H. Neal Award for Best Technical/Scientific Content for his article “Gliflozins for Diabetes: From Bark to Bench to Bedside,” published in American Scientist.

‘Elusive Cures: Why Neuroscience Hasn’t Solved Brain Disorders—and How We Can Change That’
Cover of Elusive Cures book next to headshot of Nicole Rust.

Tackling brain conditions, says psychology professor Nicole Rust, requires thinking about the brain not as a domino chain but as a complex dynamical system with feedback loops.

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  • Q&A

    • ‘Elusive Cures: Why Neuroscience Hasn’t Solved Brain Disorders—and How We Can Change That’

    The first book from psychology professor Nicole Rust of the School of Arts & Sciences dives into why research on conditions like Alzheimer’s and depression hasn’t translated more effectively into better treatments.

    5 min. read

    Who, What, Why: Xiao Schutte Ke on Tibetan pastoralists and citizen science
    Xiao Schutte Ke.

    Image: Courtesy of Xiao Schutte Ke

    Who, What, Why: Xiao Schutte Ke on Tibetan pastoralists and citizen science

    Schutte Ke, a sixth-year linguistic anthropology doctoral candidate in the School of Arts & Sciences, explains the importance of Indigenous citizen scientists in understanding a crucial ecosystem of nomadic livestock herders on the mountainous region of the Tibetan Plateau.

    3 min. read

    Ants and naked mole-rats and societal roles
    Leafcutter ants moving around a bright green leaf.

    In eusocial superorganisms like leafcutter ant colonies, labor is divvied up according to body shape and size, but PIK Professor Shelley Berger and her team discovered that molecular signals can override that blueprint. Their findings reveal how simple neuropeptides can reprogram ant behavior, reshuffling roles in nature’s most disciplined workforce.

    (Image: Courtesy of Tierney Scarpa)

    Ants and naked mole-rats and societal roles

    PIK Professor Shelley Berger and colleagues explored the genetic basis of labor distribution in communal-dwelling species and discovered that pathways dating back hundreds of millions of years are conserved across animal kingdoms. Their findings offer fundamental insights into complex social behaviors.

    5 min. read

    AI x Science Postdoctoral Fellows collaborate across disciplines
    Sibe-by-side portraits of Brynn Sherman, on left, and Kieran Murphy, right.

    Penn’s AI x Science Postdoctoral Fellows Program is breaking down traditional scientific boundaries by integrating artificial intelligence across diverse research fields. Less than a year in, the program is already paying dividends in the form of new collaborations and research publications for inaugural fellows like Brynn Sherman (left) of the School of Arts & Sciences and Kieran Murphy (right) of the School of Engineering and Applied Science.

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    AI x Science Postdoctoral Fellows collaborate across disciplines

    The new fellowship program, offered through the School of Arts & Sciences and the School of Engineering and Applied Science, offers mentorship and peer engagement opportunities.
    The 500-year legacy of a political thinker
    Selection of a portrait of Thomas Muntzer from 1609.

    A selection from a portrait of Thomas Muntzer from 1609.

    COURTESY CLEVELAND MUSEUM OF ART

    The 500-year legacy of a political thinker

    Five hundred years ago this spring, about 8,000 armed peasants gathered outside the village of Frankenhausen in what is now Germany.Their stand ended in disaster, with thousands dead from an artillery barrage, and their spiritual leader, radical theologian Thomas Müntzer, was beheaded two weeks later after a torture-filled interrogation.

    3 minutes

    Research and scholarship at the intersection of law and history
    (From left) Serena Mayeri; Sarah (Sally) Barringer Gordon; Karen Tani, Sophia Lee; and Shaun Ossei-Owusu.

    Legal History Consortium members (from left) Serena Mayeri; Sarah (Sally) Barringer Gordon; Karen Tani, Sophia Lee; and Shaun Ossei-Owusu.

    (Image: Courtesy of Penn Carey Law)

    Research and scholarship at the intersection of law and history

    Under the leadership of Penn Carey Law’s Karen Tani, the Legal History Consortium unites the Law School and Penn’s Graduate History Department in a collaborative program.

    From Penn Carey Law

    Bringing museum filmmaking into the classroom
    Sosena Solomon on stage during a Q&A at the Met with two other people.

    Sosena Solomon participated in a panel conversation at The Met on May 31 with international co-hosts for the Arts of Africa: Jonathan Nsubuga, chief architect of JE Nsubuga and Associates, and Fasil Giorghis, associate professor of architecture and the chair of conservation of urban and architectural heritage at the Ethiopian Institute of Architecture, Building Construction and City Development.

    (Image: Argenis Apolinario)

    Bringing museum filmmaking into the classroom

    Filmmaker Sosena Solomon taught Documentary Ethnography for Museums and Exhibitions amid filming in Africa for a Metropolitan Museum of Art redesign. The Arts of Africa galleries just reopened, including in-gallery and online films Solomon shot in 12 countries.
    Unlocking the mechanics of protein misfolding
    Artist's interpretation of prion mechanics.

    Mathieu Ouellet

    Unlocking the mechanics of protein misfolding

    An interdisciplinary team led by School of Engineering and Applied Science’s Lee C. Bassett and Dani Bassett, also of the School of Arts & Sciences, have studied the mechanical properties of prions, the mysterious shape-shifting proteins that are infamous for mad cow disease yet essential for yeast survival