Coronavirus Research

Understanding the expanded role of clinical ethicists

COVID-19 brought troubling ethical issues to clinical care, creating significant distress for clinicians, patients, and families. Behind the scenes, clinical ethicists managed those issues to support frontline workers.

Penn spinout Capstan Therapeutics launches with $165M and an all-star lineup of founders

Capstan Therapeutics, a Penn spinout whose founders include Carl June, Bruce Levine, and Drew Weissman of the Perelman School of Medicine, has launched with $165 million raised to develop a new type of CAR therapy that incorporates mRNA.

New private venture tackles the riddle of Long Covid—and aims to test treatments quickly

E. John Wherry of the Perelman School of Medicine says that the Long Covid Research Initiative’s greater risk tolerance and more rapid investment pivoting could enable it to outpace the National Institutes of Health.

A gloved hand holds a petri dish filled with green colored tablets. Plants in containers are shown in the background

Chewing to curb COVID

Penn Medicine will conduct a new clinical trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of a chewing gum designed by School of Dental Medicine researchers to trap SARS-CoV-2 in the saliva.

Should you get a new COVID booster? If so, when?

John Wherry of the Perelman School of Medicine advises people who recently received COVID boosters to wait for their antibodies to wane before receiving an updated one.

An “Unemployment benefits application checklist” form on a surface next to a pen.

Who wants government health care and unemployment programs to expand?

A study by Penn LDI fellows finds that people who felt most at risk from COVID-19 tend to favor expansions, regardless of their political attitudes.

A gloved hand holding a small vial of Sars-CoV2 mRNA vaccine.

Behind the scenes in the lab and the future of mRNA research

Developing new vaccines and novel mRNA delivery methods, coupled with the satisfaction of mentoring and selfless dedication to medicine, inspire the work of scientists at the Weissman Lab.

It’s not true that nearly half of pregnant women in Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine trial miscarried

An analysis by Jeffrey Morris of the Perelman School of Medicine disproved a Facebook post claiming a 44% miscarriage rate among pregnant women in Pfizer’s COVID vaccine trial.

A simple rule for planning your fall booster shot

Med student Rishi Goel of the Perelman School for Medicine says that the new bivalent vaccines will have some benefit for almost everyone who receives them.

Tweaked COVID boosters close but how much will they help?

E. John Wherry of the Perelman School of Medicine compares vaccine tweaks to periodic software updates and advises waiting four to six months between boosters.

Filters