Immunology | Penn Today

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

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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.

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.

Scientists hope far-UVC light could help stop the next airborne pandemic before it starts

Scott Hensley of the Perelman School of Medicine says that with more human infections by bird flu comes more chance of human-to-human transmission.

Immunotherapy may boost KRAS-targeted therapy in pancreatic cancer

A preclinical study from the Perelman School of Medicine and Penn Medicine’s Abramson Cancer Center that combines RAS inhibition and immunotherapy shows promise for future clinical trials in pancreatic cancer treatment strategies.

1 min. read

A child who got CAR-T cancer therapy is still disease-free 18 years later

Carl June of the Perelman School of Medicine says that neuroblastoma is the first solid tumor for which there could be curative effects with CAR T cells.

‘Anti-vaxxers existed before, but never led governments’

In a Q&A, Drew Weissman of the Perelman School of Medicine says that a rise in anti-vaxxers could lead to deaths from preventable diseases like measles and polio, reversing decades of progress.

Why do women live longer than men?

Montserrat Anguera of the School of Veterinary Medicine says that epigenetic factors like climate or chronic stress may also play a role in life span, widening or shrinking the disparities between men and women.

A researcher holding a vaccine vial in a lab next to a microscope.

Pursuing vaccines to stop celiac disease

Scientists at Penn’s Institute for RNA Innovation are using messenger RNA to stop the immune response that triggers celiac disease symptoms.

Person in gloves holding a medical bag of liquids.

No evidence that CAR T cell therapy causes secondary cancers

In a new study, researchers at Penn Medicine looked for—and did not find—examples where the process of generating CAR T cells caused malignancy.

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