11/15
Infectious Diseases
When is the best time to catch up on vaccines?
When is the best time to catch up on vaccines?
Determining the right time to get a COVID vaccine depends on medical history, age, the timing of previous COVID vaccine doses, and when a previous case of COVID occurred.
Novel mRNA vaccine prevents and treat C. difficile
Novel mRNA vaccine prevents and treat C. difficile
Penn Medicine and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia have developed the first mRNA vaccine against C. difficile to successfully ward off the bacterial infection.
What to know about the current avian influenza outbreak
What to know about the current avian influenza outbreak
Louise Moncla and Aliza Simeone of Penn Vet and Kathleen Hall Jamieson of the Annenberg Public Policy Center share helpful information for the public.
In a warming world, public needs to know more about protections from mosquito-borne illnesses
In a warming world, public needs to know more about protections from mosquito-borne illnesses
A panel survey of U.S. residents finds that only 15% worry that they or their families will contract dengue, West Nile virus, or other mosquito borne-illnesses.
The threat of mpox has returned, but public knowledge about it has declined
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
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
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
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
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
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.
In the News
Live Science
‘Any protein you can imagine, it can deliver’: AI will help discover the next breakthrough in RNA, says Nobel Prize winner Dr. Drew Weissman
Drew Weissman of the Perelman School of Medicine is launching a new RNA research hub that will use artificial intelligence to help train scientists and guide their experiments.
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The Washington Post
Keep forgetting your shingles shot? These sufferers wish they hadn’t
Paul Offit of the Perelman School of Medicine says that shingles is one of the worst pains in medicine, comparable to childbirth and corneal abrasions.
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Nature
Is bird flu spreading among people? Data gaps leave researchers in the dark
Scott Hensley of the Perelman School of Medicine says that there are fears of bird flu spreading at low levels through humans in a Missouri community.
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Daily Beast
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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PBS NewsHour
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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Philadelphia Tribune
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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