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Genetics

Two-and-a-half decades of research in Malawi
Malawi Longitudinal Study of Families and Health Collaborators on the Malawi Longitudinal Study of Families and Health visited the University of Pennsylvania in October for a project meeting. Pictured are Lauren Schmitz (University of Wisconsin-Madison), Namrata Ray (Penn), Hans-Peter Kohler (Penn), Kondwani Katundu (Kamuzu University of Health Sciences in Malawi), Kazione Kulisewa (Kamuzu University), Iliana V. Kohler (Penn), and Victor Mwapasa (Kamuzu University).

(Image: Eric Sucar)

Two-and-a-half decades of research in Malawi

As the country’s life expectancy has risen, the Malawi Longitudinal Study of Families and Health has shifted its current and future research to aging.
More than skin deep: A molecular and mechanistic look at pigmentation variation
Two men sitting and smiling for a photgraph

PIK Professor Sarah Tishkoff led a collaborative team of researchers who have discovered key insights into the molecular basis of skin color differences among Africans. “There’s so much genetic diversity in African populations, but they’ve also been historically underrepresented in studies,” Tishkoff says. “Our findings offer more information on these populations and paint a clearer picture of human evolution.”

(Image: Courtesy of Sarah Tishkoff and Alessia Ranciaro)

More than skin deep: A molecular and mechanistic look at pigmentation variation

A new collaborative study offers a better understanding of genes and variants responsible for skin color, providing insights into human evolution and local adaptation.
More than 260,000 Penn Medicine patients have agreed to share their DNA for research, and the discoveries are just getting started
Philadelphia Inquirer

More than 260,000 Penn Medicine patients have agreed to share their DNA for research, and the discoveries are just getting started

More than 260,000 people have signed up to participate in Penn Medicine BioBank, co-directed by Marilyn Ritchie and Dan Rader, which cross-references DNA with electronic health records to discover genetic variants of medical conditions.

Jim Wilson has two new promising gene therapy studies, but says investment in the cutting-edge field has ‘gotten worse’
Philadelphia Inquirer

Jim Wilson has two new promising gene therapy studies, but says investment in the cutting-edge field has ‘gotten worse’

Jim Wilson of the Perelman School of Medicine has published two new studies supporting the promise of cutting-edge gene therapy, finding evidence that the genetic treatments can be beneficial for years without raising the risk of cancer.

Neanderthals carried genes acquired from ancient interactions with ‘cousins’ of modern humans
Researchers collecting ethnographic and medical information from participants in Ethiopia.

Members of Tishkoff's research team collecting ethnograpgic information from participants in Ethiopia.

(Image: Courtesy of Sarah Tishkoff)

Neanderthals carried genes acquired from ancient interactions with ‘cousins’ of modern humans

A new collaborative study led by Sarah Tishkoff shows that Neanderthals inherited at least 6% of their genome from a now-extinct lineage of early modern humans.
An unsolved mystery: Why are we sleepy when sick?
Researcher peering through microscope.

David Raizen, left, and PURM student Hina Sako working in the Raizen Lab.

nocred

An unsolved mystery: Why are we sleepy when sick?

David Raizen, a professor of neurology, alongside PURM student Hina Sako, spent the summer moving forward research examining how sickness affects sleep.
Genetic switch turns tumor suppressor into oncogene in colorectal cancer
Fluorescent microscopy of colon cancer cells..

(Image: Yuhua Tian)

Genetic switch turns tumor suppressor into oncogene in colorectal cancer

Researchers from the School of Veterinary Medicine have shown that an enzyme that suppresses early-stage colorectal cancer switches to become an oncogene as the cancer progresses.

Liana F. Wait