10.20
Coronavirus Research
Four facts about the COVID-19 boosters
Four facts about the COVID-19 boosters
This week, the FDA and CDC authorized boosters of the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines, just a month after the agencies did the same for a Pfizer/BioNTech booster. Here’s what’s known today about these shots.
Mandates likely work to increase vaccine uptake
Mandates likely work to increase vaccine uptake
Rather than causing a backlash, vaccination requirements will succeed at getting more people inoculated, according to research from PIK Professor Dolores Albarracín and colleagues at Penn.
Drew Weissman and Katalin Karikó receive 2021 Lasker Award
Drew Weissman and Katalin Karikó receive 2021 Lasker Award
Weissman and Karikó’s mRNA technology is recognized for enabling rapid development of highly effective COVID-19 vaccines
At-home COVID-19 results with the click of a smartphone
At-home COVID-19 results with the click of a smartphone
Penn researchers have developed a highly-sensitive rapid antigen test that can detect small loads of SARS-CoV-2.
2022 Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences awarded to mRNA pioneers Drew Weissman and Katalin Karikó
2022 Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences awarded to mRNA pioneers Drew Weissman and Katalin Karikó
Weissman and Karikó are honored for engineering modified RNA technology which enabled rapid development of effective COVID-19 vaccines.
COVID-19 presents an understanding of nurses’ moral distress during crisis care
COVID-19 presents an understanding of nurses’ moral distress during crisis care
Researchers from the School of Nursing found that effective leadership and communication reduced moral distress for nurses providing patients with crisis care during the pandemic.
Penn mRNA researchers Drew Weissman and Katalin Karikó awarded the 2021 Albany Prize
Penn mRNA researchers Drew Weissman and Katalin Karikó awarded the 2021 Albany Prize
For their landmark research that set a foundation for the mRNA SARS-CoV-2 vaccines, Drew Weissman and Katalin Karikó have been selected to receive the prize after decades of work.
COVID-19 mRNA vaccine that uses fundamental Penn technology receives FDA approval
COVID-19 mRNA vaccine that uses fundamental Penn technology receives FDA approval
Pfizer/BioNTech’s vaccine to prevent COVID-19 uses fundamental modified mRNA technology created by Drew Weissman and Katalin Karikó at the Perelman School of Medicine.
Penn study details robust T-cell response to mRNA COVID-19 vaccines
Penn study details robust T-cell response to mRNA COVID-19 vaccines
The results underline the importance of a second dose and include implications for booster shots.
Engineers create faster and cheaper COVID-19 testing with pencil lead
Engineers create faster and cheaper COVID-19 testing with pencil lead
A new electrochemical COVID-19 test addresses the challenges of cost, time, and accuracy and uses electrodes made from graphite.
In the News
The Atlantic
We need a better way to talk about booster shots
Paul Offit and med student Rishi Goel of the Perelman School of Medicine spoke about the science of booster shots. Generally speaking, a booster “gets you back up to some threshold we know is important” and is intended to restore lost immunity, said Goel.
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The Washington Post
A scientific hunch. Then silence. Until the world needed a lifesaving vaccine
Drew Weissman of the Perelman School of Medicine was profiled in a series of articles about the scientists who helped create the COVID-19 vaccines. “The person who achieves his goal is the one that has faced frustration and dealt with it, understood it, and used it to their advantage,” Weissman said.
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The Washington Post
A one-way ticket. A cash-stuffed teddy bear. A dream decades in the making
Katalin Karikó of the Perelman School of Medicine was profiled in a series of articles about the scientists who helped create the COVID-19 vaccines. “I think she should be given credit for saving the world,” said her colleague Jean Bennett. Karikó’s ideas were “so ahead of her time, she had a hard time convincing people that they would actually work,” Bennett said. “They seemed too science fiction-y to people and too challenging.”
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Philadelphia Inquirer
Penn RNA scientists win Philly’s Scott award for research used in COVID-19 vaccines
Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman of the Perelman School of Medicine have been awarded Philadelphia’s 2021 John Scott Award for their research on mRNA.
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ABC News
Philadelphia doctor develops rapid COVID test with results on smartphone
A team of researchers led by Ping Wang of the Perelman School of Medicine is developing a more accurate rapid test for COVID-19 that uses smart phone cameras. “The PCR is great. It's sensitive, but at the same time it's only residing in the core laboratories,” she said. “So, you can't really do PCR at home for most settings.”
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The New York Times
Two COVID vaccine pioneers win 2021 Lasker Awards in medicine
Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman of the Perelman School of Medicine received the Lasker Award for their research on mRNA, which ultimately lead to the creation of Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccines.
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