Epidemiology

Understanding the decline in racial disparities in COVID

The School of Arts & Sciences’ Irma Elo and Samuel Preston, with a collaborative team of researchers, assessed racial disparities in U.S. COVID-19 deaths, calling for continued efforts to better understand and implement targeted strategies for addressing health inequalities.

Nathi Magubane

Medical anthropologist Fran Barg reflects on three decades at Penn

She spent her career studying the culture of medicine. Through collaborations with colleagues in medicine and anthropology, she’s pinpointed why it’s so crucial to see serious medical problems from both a scientific perspective and a patient one.

Michele W. Berger

When the message matters, use science to craft it

An interdisciplinary initiative called the Message Effects Lab aims to understand, tap into, and develop communication around what motivates specific behaviors for specific populations. Its first projects center around COVID-19 testing and vaccines.

Michele W. Berger



In the News


News Medical

Breastfeeding linked to reduced post-perinatal infant mortality

A study by Aimin Chen of the Perelman School of Medicine finds that breastfed babies are less likely to die during the post-perinatal period than infants who are not breastfed.

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WHYY (Philadelphia)

How wildfires and climate change impact headache and migraine symptoms

A study by Holly Elser of the Perelman School of Medicine and colleagues finds that poor air quality caused by wildfires is likely to increase the odds of getting a headache.

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WHYY (Philadelphia)

Penn study finds particulate matter from wildfires likely to cause headaches, migraine symptoms

A study by Holly Elser of the Perelman School of Medicine and colleagues suggests that poor air quality caused by wildfires are likely to increase the odds of getting a headache.

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Philadelphia Inquirer

One in five Philadelphia newborns is not protected from measles, CHOP-Penn study finds

A study by the Perelman School of Medicine and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia finds that one in five babies born in Philadelphia likely has no immunity against measles.

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CBS Philadelphia

Drug for common skin condition can help people lose weight: study

Research by Joel Gelfand of the Perelman School of Medicine and colleagues finds that a drug used to treat psoriasis can help people lose weight and reduce the risk of heart disease.

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Philadelphia Inquirer

Years after hospitalization, those who got sickest from the pandemic still struggle with long COVID

Michael Harhay and Benjamin Abramoff of the Perelman School of Medicine comment on the severity and prevalence of long COVID cases.

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