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20 breakthroughs of 2025
Masoud Akbarzadeh holding up one of the fabricated materials.

The Polyhedral Structures Laboratory is housed at the Pennovation Center and brings together designers, engineers, and computer scientists to reimagine the built world. Using graphic statics, a method where forces are mapped as lines, they design forms that balance compression and tension. These result in structures that use far fewer materials while remaining strong and efficient.

(Image: Eric Sucar)

20 breakthroughs of 2025

From ancient tombs and tiny robots to personalized gene editing and AI weather models, Penn’s 2025 research portfolio showed how curiosity—paired with collaboration—moves knowledge into impact and stretches across disciplines and continents.
Vision scientists at Penn Vet launch DogAEye, a novel AI-based tool to improve early diagnosis of retinal degeneration in dogs

Vision scientists at Penn Vet launch DogAEye, a novel AI-based tool to improve early diagnosis of retinal degeneration in dogs

Veterinary ophthalmologists and vision scientists at Penn Vet have released DogAEye, an AI–based clinical decision support tool to assist veterinarians in the early detection of progressive retinal atrophy PRA, a leading cause of blindness in dogs.

Startup recognized for milestones in cancer care
Marco Ruella in the Ruella Lab, collaborating with two lab technicians. Ruella is wearing a white lab coat and holding up a chemical sample. Two of his colleagues are observing the sample.

Marco Ruella, associate professor of medicine at PSOM and hematologist-oncologist at Penn Medicine, collaborates with his colleagues in the Ruella Lab.

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Startup recognized for milestones in cancer care

During the Penn Center for Innovation’s 10th annual Celebration of Innovation, viTToria Biotherapeutics was presented with the Startup of the Year Award for its remarkable progress in the development of promising treatment of T-cell lymphoma.

4 min. read

Pushing the boundaries of equine neurology in the field and the lab
Amy Johnson with client horse Cartier.

Amy Johnson with client horse Cartier in New Bolton Center’s Equine Performance and Evaluation Facility arena.

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Pushing the boundaries of equine neurology in the field and the lab

Balancing clinical care with scientific inquiry, Penn Vet’s Amy Johnson leads efforts to decode the complexities of neurologic diseases in horses.

Martin Hackett

2 min. read

Identifying genes that keep cancer from spreading
Immunofluorescent view of a normal colon on the left and a colon tumor on the right.

Histopathology tissue sections of the normal colon (left) showing highly organized cell-cell junctions (red) and proliferative zones (green) in colonic crypts. In contrast, a colon adenocarcinoma (right) is highly disorganized, with inconsistent cell junctions that can ultimately contribute to metastatic dissemination.

(Image: Maggie Robertson)

Identifying genes that keep cancer from spreading

Using a novel approach, Penn Vet’s Chris Lengner and M. Andrés Blanco and colleagues have identified two genes that suppress colorectal cancer metastasis.

3 min. read

Unboxing a pioneer’s legacy

Unboxing a pioneer’s legacy

Jane Hinton, a 1949 graduate of Penn’s School of Veterinary Medicine, came of age when opportunities for women in science and medicine were scarce—and for Black women, nearly nonexistent. Nevertheless, by the time she was 30, Hinton had already made an indelible mark in microbiology when she achieved a second, history-making milestone: graduating from Penn Vet as one of the first two Black women veterinarians in the U.S.

Penn Vet’s Wildlife Futures seek to unravel the mystery of the disappearing barn owl
Jennifer Grell holding a barn owl.

Penn Vet student Jennifer Grell is gaining wildlife field work experience with Penn Vet’s Wildlife Futures Program.

(Image: Courtesy of Penn Vet News)

Penn Vet’s Wildlife Futures seek to unravel the mystery of the disappearing barn owl

A multiyear study looks at the causes of declining populations, which will help inform conservation efforts in the future.

2 min. read

What evolutionary and comparative immunology can teach about fish and human immune systems
Oriol Sunyer in his lab.

Penn Vet’s Oriol Sunyer points out rainbow trout, a fish species used in his research.

(Image: Courtesy of Penn Vet)

What evolutionary and comparative immunology can teach about fish and human immune systems

Penn Vet’s J. Oriol Sunyer explores how studying the evolution of the immune system reveals surprising connections between fish and human immunity, and what these discoveries could mean for the development of new therapies for both fish and humans.

Martin Hackett

2 min. read