Immunology

Positive results in first-in-U.S. trial of CRISPR-edited immune cells

Genetically editing a cancer patient’s immune cells using CRISPR/Cas9 technology, then infusing those cells back into the patient appears safe and feasible based on early data from the first-ever clinical trial to test the approach in humans in the United States.

Penn Today Staff

CAR T cell therapy may be harnessed to treat heart disease

Penn Med researchers used genetically modified T cells to improve heart function in an animal model after cardiac injury, a step forward in expanding the use of the technology to treating, or even reversing, heart failure.

Penn Today Staff



In the News


CBS News

The mRNA miracle workers

Nobel laureates Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman of the Perelman School of Medicine appear on “Sunday Morning” to discuss their careers, their mRNA research, and the COVID-19 vaccines.

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NPR

Blood tests can help diagnose Alzheimer’s—if they’re accurate enough. Not all are

Virginia Man-Yee Lee of the Perelman School of Medicine says it’s likely in the future that anyone older than 60 will get an Alzheimer’s test.

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Psychology Today

AI detects cancers and immunotherapy biomarker

Daiwei Zhang and Mingyao Li of the Perelman School of Medicine and colleagues have developed an AI tool called iStar that can automatically spot tumors and types of cancer that are difficult for clinicians to see or identify and can predict candidates for immunotherapy.

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Daily Mail (U.K.)

Godfather of mRNA vaccines reveals plans to immunize people against cancer years before tumors strike to ‘the disease from ever appearing’

Drew Weissman of the Perelman School of Medicine, who won the Nobel Prize for mRNA vaccines along with Katalin Karikó, is researching an mRNA vaccine against cancer.

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Stat

Is the flu shot market a slam dunk for mRNA vaccines? Experts aren’t so sure

Scott Hensley of the Perelman School of Medicine is working on a flu vaccine to provide protection against 20 subtypes of flu that may pose a pandemic threat in the future.

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RNZ/Radio New Zealand

Trial results offer hope to Kiwis with ‘incurable’ blood cancer

Carl June of the Perelman School of Medicine praises New Zealand research into a new CAR T-cell cancer treatment for patients with blood cancer.

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