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Graduate Students
Identities in harmony: How Beth Burton integrates the personal with the professional
The doctoral candidate in the Perelman School of Medicine is a scientist studying the genetic causes of Alzheimer’s. She’s also a musician, a queer woman, and a voice for those with genetic disorders.
Penn Dental’s Penntorship connects with the West Philadelphia community
Amid the COVID lockdown, Penn Dental Medicine students Kylie Schlesinger and Julie Berenblum founded a mentorship program for high schoolers in West Philadelphia.
Incarceration associated with negative mental health risks for Black men
A review of literature from the past decade found that for this group in the U.S. such a detention was linked to higher levels of psychological distress, more severe symptoms of PTSD and depression, and more.
‘Oft-delayed but never deterred,’ Class of 2020 and 2021 grads celebrate
Embodying adaptability and persistence, themes of the speech by Angela Duckworth, alums from the classes of 2020 and 2021 returned to campus to make up for a missed milestone.
A celebration of the ‘resilient creativity’ of the Class of 2022
Penn’s 266th Commencement showcased graduates who Interim President Wendell Pritchett said demonstrated an “advanced ability to roll with the challenges.”
27 students and recent graduates awarded 2022 Fulbright grants
Twenty-seven Penn students and alumni have been awarded Fulbright grants for the 2022-23 academic year, including 18 seniors who will be graduating May 16.
Centuries of Penn Med student stories
Medicine has changed immensely throughout the school’s more than 250 years of history, and so has the process of becoming a doctor.
Moving away from ‘average,’ toward the individual
In a course from Annenberg’s David Lydon-Staley, seven graduate students conducted single-participant experiments. This approach, what’s known as an “n of 1,” may better capture the nuances of a diverse population than randomized control trials can.
Running to shine a light on mental health
Earlier this week, Penn’s Samantha Roecker competed in the Boston Marathon. In the process, she raised more than $45,000 to help nurses struggling as a result of the pandemic, and she broke the world record for fastest marathon in scrubs.
Earth Week offers immersive opportunities to connect with nature
Organized by Penn Sustainability, Earth Week, with nearly 50 events running April 17-24, offers a diverse slate of both in-person and online chances to learn about and engage with the environment.
In the News
Don’t let reports of racist acts by Ukrainians against Africans distract from what’s at stake
Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon, a Ph.D. candidate in the School of Arts & Sciences, spoke about reports of anti-Black racism in Ukraine and the influence of Russian disinformation. “This idea that Ukraine is solely a white country is false, and it’s harmful. Black and brown people will die in this invasion, and people really need to understand that,” she said.
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A closer look at racist biases in the coverage of Ukraine
Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon, a Ph.D. student in the School of Arts & Sciences, was interviewed about the mistreatment of Ukraine’s Black residents as they attempt to flee the country. “This is a multi-country problem we’re looking at,” she said.
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Leaders decry reported mistreatment of Africans fleeing Ukraine
Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon, a doctoral candidate in the School of Arts & Sciences, said there are thousands of Black Ukrainians living in the country’s major cities.
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The Ottawa trucker convoy is rooted in Canada’s settler colonial history
Taylor Dysart, a Ph.D. candidate in the School of Arts & Sciences, wrote an opinion piece about the legacy of settler colonialism and white supremacy in Canada. “Canada’s history of freedom then, was founded in the unfreedom of Indigenous people,” she said. “This dynamic has been unnoticed and misconstrued by organizers, attendees, and supporters of the Freedom Convoy.”
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Congress is trying to figure out what to do about crypto’s colossal carbon footprint
Zane Griffin Talley Cooper, a doctoral candidate in the Annenberg School for Communication, said “proof of work” algorithms used to mine and trade cryptocurrencies need to be “intensely regulated.”
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The biggest deep fake abuse site is growing in disturbing ways
Sophie Maddocks, a doctoral student in the Annenberg School for Communication, said society and law enforcement need to have a zero-tolerance policy for websites that sell fake nude photos of real people. “This harm is going to become part of the sex industry and is going to become profitable; it's going to become normalized,” she said.
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