Faculty | Penn Today

New drug therapy with natural compound shows promise against periodontal diseases

A translational study from the lab of Penn Dental Medicine’s Esra Sahingur shows “senotherapy” drug combination is effective in managing gingivitis and periodontitis.

Weitzman faculty to exhibit at 19th international exhibition—La Biennale di Venezia & Time Space Existence

Five members of the faculty at the Weitzman School of Design are participating in the 19th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia: Winka Dubbeldam, Randall Mason, Robert Gerard Pietrusko, Mette Ramsgaard Thomsen, and Marion Weiss.

From left: Genie Birch, Judith Rodin, and Susan Wachter

Penn IUR enters its third decade

The Penn Institute for Urban Research enters its second decade. President emerita Judith Rodin and co-directors Eugénie Birch and Susan Wachter reflect on the Institute’s history and impact.

10 min. read

A doctor speaks to a patient in a doctor's office.

Open Enrollment period kicks off with some important enhancements

Effective July 1, 2025, Penn introduces a new wellness partner, Penn Benefit Extras, and a prescription drug formulary. You must take action to secure your Flexible Spending Accounts.

4 min. read

Members of the Penn ATLAS team and others in front of the inner detector at the Large Hadron Collider.

Penn ATLAS shares 2025 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics

The team, which includes Joseph Kroll, Evelyn Thomson, Elliot Lipeles, Dylan Rankin, and Brig Williams from the Department of Physics and Astronomy, is part of an expansive collaboration studying high-energy collisions from the Large Hadron Collider.

2 min. read

Yphtach Lelkes awarded 2025 Andrew Carnegie Fellowship

The Annenberg School for Communication associate professor will study how political hostility is shaped in an overloaded information environment. His research focuses on Lelkes the structure, dynamics, and causes of political attitudes, with a particular emphasis on polarization and American politics.

Preservation Awards recognize Weitzman faculty and alum work across Philadelphia region

Several Weitzman faculty and alums are recipients of the Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia’s annual Achievement Awards, including a team from the Department of Historic Preservation’s Center for Architectural Conservation that was recognized with a Grand Jury Award for its comprehensive documentation work of the George Nakashima Family House, and Molly Lester, a lecturer in historic preservation and associate director of the Urban Heritage Project, earned the Young Friends of the Preservation Alliance Award for her monograph “Building Ghosts: Past Lives and Lost Plac

Panel assesses federal cuts to LGBTQ+ health projects

Health care experts gathered for a panel titled Breaking Barriers, Advancing LGBTQ+ Health Equity Through Policy, led by LDI senior fellow and director of Penn’s Eidos LGBTQ+ Health Initiative José Bauermeister, to discuss how funding for grants and programs canceled by the White House might be restored from other sources.

Gloved hand pouring freeze dried "transgenic" lettuce into a grinder.

Commonly prescribed medications for high blood pressure have unexpected side effects

Henry Daniell of Penn Dental and collaborators found that ACE inhibitors dramatically reduced the activity of ACE2, a critical cardioprotective enzyme.

3 min. read

Jacqueline Corcoran and her book cover, What do Social Workers Do All Day?

The intersection of storytelling and social work

A new book edited by School of Social Policy & Practice professor Jacqueline Corcoran highlights the day-to-day reality of social work through social workers detailing their experiences in the style of creative nonfiction.