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SHEAR James H. Broussard Best First Book Prize to Sarah L. H. Gronningsater for “The Rising Generation”

SHEAR James H. Broussard Best First Book Prize to Sarah L. H. Gronningsater for “The Rising Generation”

The James H. Broussard Best First Book Prize, awarded annually to the best first book by a new author published in the previous calendar year and dealing with any aspect of the history of the early American republic, went to Sarah L. H. Gronningsater, associate professor of history at Penn’s School of Arts &N Sciences, for “The Rising Generation: Gradual Abolition, Black Legal Culture, and the Making of National Freedom.”

Early challenges to the immune system disrupt oral health
A child at a dentist’s office.

Image: Dr. Paul Akhigbe (Courtesy of Modupe Coker)

Early challenges to the immune system disrupt oral health

Modupe O. Coker from the School of Dental Medicine and a collaborative team of researchers identified changes over time in the oral microbiome of children living with HIV, offering insights into how early immune challenges shape not only oral health but also systemic health.

4 min. read

Beneath the surface: Diving into water’s hidden carbon-cleaning capabilities
3D rendering of water molecules on a copper surface.

Water molecules become increasingly disordered at the surface of a catalyst. Researchers found that this disordered interfacial water, shown transitioning from structured (left) to disorganized (right), plays a key role in speeding up the conversion of carbon monoxide into ethylene, a valuable fuel and chemical building block.

(Image: Courtesy of Shoji Hall)

Beneath the surface: Diving into water’s hidden carbon-cleaning capabilities

Penn materials scientist Shoji Hall and colleagues have found that manipulating the surface of water can allow scientists to sustainably convert greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide to higher energy fuel sources like ethylene.

5 min. read

Measuring the impact of loneliness and social isolation on the brain
An Antarctic penguin watching a ship at sea.

A penguin watching a vessel at sea.

(Image: Michael Beaulieu—French Polar Institute) 

Measuring the impact of loneliness and social isolation on the brain

New research from Penn Medicine shows the negative, yet reversible, impact of spending time in isolated, confined, extreme environments—such as an Antarctic research station.

Eric Horvath

5 min. read

A new recipe for safer, stronger mRNA vaccines
Emily Han and Dongyoon Kim in the research lab filled with bottles and other lab equipment..

Bioengineering researchers Emily Han (left) and Dongyoon Kim.

(Image: Bella Ciervo)

A new recipe for safer, stronger mRNA vaccines

Penn engineers have found a way to redesign mRNA vaccines that sidestep the the most common side effects.

Ian Scheffler

2 min. read

2024 Booklaunch award for Nancy Steinhardt

2024 Booklaunch award for Nancy Steinhardt

Nancy Shatzman Steinhardt's book, “Yuan: Chinese Architecture in a Mongol Empire,” has won the Booklaunch award for Best Architectural History Book of 2024. Shatzman Steinhart is a professor of East Asian art at the School of Arts & Sciences. Her book is the first comprehensive English-language study of Chinese architecture during the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty.

Study finds children’s health broadly declining in the U.S.
Four teens looking unhappy on a couch.

Image: Maskot via Getty Images

Study finds children’s health broadly declining in the U.S.

Using data from 2007 to 2023, researchers from Penn Medicine and CHOP found measures like mental health and obesity, as well as infant and child mortality rose. They urge policy interventions and improved societal infrastructure to prioritize health of the country’s youngest generation.

4 min. read

Penn GSE’s global partnerships

Penn GSE’s global partnerships

Penn Graduate School of Education professors and programs are engaged in more than 150 international partnerships and projects in over 60 countries around the globe to enact positive change through education.

From Penn GSE

2 min. read

Penn Dental’s Flavia Teles receives IADR Periodontal Research Group Award

Penn Dental’s Flavia Teles receives IADR Periodontal Research Group Award

Teles, a professor in the Department of Basic & Translational Sciences at Penn Dental Medicine and a core member of the Center for Innovation & Precision Dentistry, has been recognized for her research as the 2025 recipient of 2025 IADR/IAP Ricardo Teles Clinical Research Award. Her research focuses on the oral microbiome, particularly the discovery and characterization of previously uncultivated periodontal pathogens; her lab aims to identify hidden members of oral biofilms.