Immunology | Penn Today

Solid tumors have challenged CAR-T developers. This biotech raised $216 million to test a new approach

Carl June of the Perelman School of Medicine has co-founded Dispatch Bio, a company developing a new, universal approach to try to treat any cancer using immunotherapy.

Two doctors in white lab coats in a lab.

How discoveries become cures

Public investments in biomedical research have an outsized effect, driving new scientific insights, economic growth, and ultimately treatments and cures.

3 min. read

Improving T-cell responses to vaccines

Penn Vet and Penn Medicine researchers have modified mRNA vaccines to include the cytokine IL-12 and improve T-cell responses which could improve the body’s ability to fight infections.

3 min. read

From no hope to a potential cure for a deadly blood cancer

Carl June of the Perelman School of Medicine discusses multiple myeloma.

The human brain as though it is being scanned.

Dual-target CAR T-cell therapy slows growth of aggressive brain cancer

Researchers from Penn Medicine have demonstrated encouraging tumor reductions rarely seen in recurrent glioblastoma following phase I clinical trials.

3 min. read

When measles struck, a surge of parents stepped up to vaccinate their children

According to a poll from the Annenberg Public Policy Center, 83% of Americans say that the benefits of the MMR vaccine for children outweigh any potential or perceived risk.

FDA significantly limits access to COVID-19 vaccines

Susan Ellenberg of the Perelman School of Medicine wants to avoid a situation where people who don’t fall into a “recommended” category couldn’t get a vaccine if they wanted it.

3-D rendering of chimeric antigen receptor T (CAR-T) cell therapy, a treatment for a variety of cancers

Enhanced CAR T cell therapy offers new strategy for lymphoma

A new study from Penn Medicine marks a significant development in the ongoing evolution of CAR T cell therapy, as a novel cytokine-enhanced CAR T that has been tested in patients with blood cancer shows robust response rates.

2 min. read

Top row: Dennis Discher, Michael Correa-Jones, and Cherie Kagan. Bottom row: Sophie Rosenfeld and Susan Weiss.

Five Penn faculty elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences

Dennis E. Discher, Michael Jones-Correa, Cherie R. Kagan, Sophia Rosenfeld, and Susan R. Weiss are being recognized for their contributions to engineering, political science, history, and biology.

3 min. read

RFK Jr. and the CDC disagree on a major autism study

Paul Offit of the Perelman School of Medicine says that recent claims about a link between vaccines and autism are illustrative of a fast and loose relationship with scientific fact.

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Solid tumors have challenged CAR-T developers. This biotech raised $216 million to test a new approach

How discoveries become cures

Improving T-cell responses to vaccines

From no hope to a potential cure for a deadly blood cancer

Dual-target CAR T-cell therapy slows growth of aggressive brain cancer

When measles struck, a surge of parents stepped up to vaccinate their children

FDA significantly limits access to COVID-19 vaccines

Enhanced CAR T cell therapy offers new strategy for lymphoma

Five Penn faculty elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences

RFK Jr. and the CDC disagree on a major autism study