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Infectious Diseases
A hopeful time for Cryptosporidium research
Boris Striepen of Penn Vet organized the First Biennial Cryptosporidium Meeting, bringing together researchers and clinicians from around the world to discuss the problems and progress around the parasite and the diarrheal disease it causes.
Initial SARS-CoV-2 vaccinations prime immune cells to respond to subsequent variants
Immunological imprinting from the original ancestral SARS-CoV-2 strain has a significant impact on the antibody responses to the variants and boosters based on them.
Understanding chronic wasting disease in deer
A new collaborative study with Penn Vet researchers analyzed fecal samples to shed light on how the fatal disease impacts the gut microbiome in deer, providing a promising tool for disease surveillance.
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.
Out-of-pocket cost increase could put HIV prevention medications out of reach
A Penn Medicine study finds that even modest increases in out-of-pocket costs for HIV prevention drugs could double the rate at which prescriptions go unfilled.
Climate, public health crises, and fertility
Letícia Marteleto, a social demographer new to Penn, does research at the intersection of fertility, Zika, COVID-19, climate conditions, urbanicity, and inequality.
A space for lifesaving, collaborative work
Gov. Josh Shapiro, President Liz Magill, and others from the University community celebrated the new home of the Penn Institute for RNA Innovation.
Uncovering the role of skin microbiome and immune response in cutaneous leishmaniasis
Two new studies led by Phillip Scott of the School of Veterinary Medicine and Elizabeth Grice of the Perelman School of Medicine demonstrate how bacteria found in leishmaniasis skin lesions and an associated immune response drive disease burden and treatment failure—and suggest new possibilities for treatment of the parasitic disease.
The best way to prevent HIV is often out of reach for women and marginalized people
LDI fellows are working with local communities to increase PrEP use through improving the message about the drug, reducing stigma, and normalizing the conversation about HIV infection.
Artificial intelligence is leveling up the fight against infectious diseases
In a new review, Presidential Assistant Professor Cesar de la Fuente and co-authors assess the progress, limitations, and promise of research in AI and infectious diseases.
In the 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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Paul Offit looks back on COVID-19, misinformation, and how public health lost the public’s trust in new book
“Tell Me When It’s Over,” a new book by Paul Offit of the Perelman School of Medicine, chronicles the initial years of the COVID-19 pandemic and the mishaps of public health agencies. Recent surveys by the Annenberg Public Policy Center find that mistrust of vaccines has continued to grow through last fall.
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Review of COVID death stats finds likely undercount in official numbers
A paper co-authored by Penn researchers found that COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. were likely undercounted in official statistics during the first 30 months of the pandemic.
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How long does the flu last? What to know
According to the University of Pennsylvania Health System, flu symptoms usually appear two to three days after contact with the virus.
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‘Holding our breath’: Philadelphia officials respond to measles outbreak from day care
Paul Offit of the Perelman School of Medicine explains why measles is so much more infectious than flu.
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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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