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Epidemiology
Understanding the decline in racial disparities in COVID
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.
Social conformity in pandemics: How our behaviors spread faster than the virus itself
Social conformity in pandemics: How our behaviors spread faster than the virus itself
Researchers led by former postdoc Bryce Morsky and Erol Akçay of the School of Arts & Sciences have produced a model for disease transmission that factors in the effects of social dynamics, specifically, how masking and social distancing are affected by social norms.
Pregnancy complications tied to higher risk of death as long as 50 years later
Pregnancy complications tied to higher risk of death as long as 50 years later
Even decades after delivering pre-term or with conditions like gestational diabetes or high blood pressure, those with complications in pregnancy or birth have a higher risk of death.
Testing, treatments, and more: A glossary for year three of the pandemic
Testing, treatments, and more: A glossary for year three of the pandemic
Penn Today adds a new installment to this series aimed at making sense of the language around COVID-19.
Medical anthropologist Fran Barg reflects on three decades at Penn
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.
Can a Penn epidemiologist prevent a bedbug-driven outbreak?
Can a Penn epidemiologist prevent a bedbug-driven outbreak?
Epidemiologist Michael Z. Levy curbed a Chagas disease epidemic in Arequipa, Peru. Can he prevent an outbreak in Philadelphia?
Kevin Johnson appointed Penn Integrates Knowledge University Professor
Kevin Johnson appointed Penn Integrates Knowledge University Professor
Johnson, the University’s 27th PIK Professor, will hold joint appointments in the Perelman School of Medicine and the School of Engineering and Applied Science, with a secondary appointment in the Annenberg School for Communication.
When the message matters, use science to craft it
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.
Evicted and infected: How the housing crisis could worsen the COVID-19 pandemic
Evicted and infected: How the housing crisis could worsen the COVID-19 pandemic
A research team found that evictions could lead to a considerable uptick in COVID-19 infections in U.S. cities. With rising eviction rates, COVID cases in Philadelphia could cause 53,000 additional infections.
Two Penn faculty named Hastings Center Fellows
Two Penn faculty named Hastings Center Fellows
Scott D. Halpern and Jennifer Prah Ruger are acknowledged for their outstanding accomplishments in ethics and health.
In the News
Healio
GLP-1s ‘modestly lower’ the risk for depression in adults with diabetes
A study by postdoc Huilin Tang of the Perelman School of Medicine and colleagues finds that GLP-1 hormones can reduce the risk of depression among older adults with diabetes.
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Philadelphia Inquirer
Is there a chemical link to memory loss? Penn researchers get $11M to study dementia causes
The National Institutes of Health have awarded $11 million to Aimin Chen of the Perelman School of Medicine to study the link between chemical exposures and dementia.
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FactCheck.org
Posts mislead about COVID-19 vaccine safety with out-of-context clip of FDA official
Jeffrey S. Morris of the Perelman School of Medicine says that many adverse medical events, even those clearly unrelated to vaccines, have been reported an order of magnitude more for COVID vaccines during the pandemic than any time before.
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WHP-TV (Harrisburg)
Pa. research will study environmental factors’ effects on children
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Good Housekeeping
Seven potential side effects from the updated COVID vaccine to anticipate
Judith O’Donnell of the Perelman School of Medicine explains why people who don’t have side effects from the COVID-19 vaccine can still rely on its effectiveness.
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Philadelphia Inquirer
CHOP and Penn get $50 million to study environmental effects on pregnancy
Heather Burris, Sara B. DeMauro, and Sunni L. Mumford of the Perelman School of Medicine and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia have won a $50 million grant to study how environmental factors affect the health of fetuses, babies, and toddlers.
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