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Infectious Diseases
The threat of mpox has returned, but public knowledge about it has declined
A national survey conducted by the Annenberg Public Policy Center in July finds that Americans lack understanding and concern about mpox, highlighting a need for more public health outreach and communication about mpox contagion and vaccines.
Exploring the 1918 pandemic’s impact on Philadelphia’s Black and immigrant neighborhoods
Rising third-year Matthew Breier has been conducting research with public health historian David Barnes through the Penn Undergraduate Research Mentoring Program.
How deadly parasites choose to be male
Penn Vet researchers reveal the gene expression across the life cycle of Cryptosporidium and identify the determinant of maleness.
Experimental mRNA avian flu vaccine
Promising preclinical results from a new Penn Medicine study suggest an mRNA vaccine platform could limit the impact of avian flu pandemics.
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.
In the News
Serena Williams’ husband and Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian reveals shock diagnosis
According to Penn Medicine, Lyme disease is caused by bacteria that can be carried by blacklegged ticks.
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Trump vows to defund schools requiring vaccines for students if he’s reelected
Paul Offit of the Perelman School of Medicine says that anti-vaccine rhetoric will cause more children to die from infectious diseases like measles.
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A bird-flu pandemic in people? Here’s what it might look like
Scott Hensley of the Perelman School of Medicine says that the bird flu virus would have to change significantly to be able to bind effectively to human cells.
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Fueling the next epidemic of HIV in Philadelphia: the boomerang effect of curtailing syringe exchange services for people who inject drugs
Florence Momplaisir of the Leonard Davis Institute and Perelman School of Medicine and Perelman’s Ronald Collman write that the recent Philadelphia city budget removing funding for syringe exchange will harm the city’s population.
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mRNA vaccine by UPenn scientists could manage bird flu outbreak
Researchers led by Scott Hensley of the Perelman School of Medicine have collaborated with Drew Weissman to develop an mRNA vaccine to treat the H5N1 avian flu.
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RFK Jr.’s vaccine misinformation campaign started after he ignored a Philly doctor
Paul Offit of the Perelman School of Medicine and Melanie Kornides of the School of Nursing comment on Robert F. Kennedy’s misinformation campaign against vaccines.
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