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Reflecting on a year shaped by COVID-19
Overhead view of a medical worker in full PPE discussing a COVID spit test with a student on campus.

Reflecting on a year shaped by COVID-19

Penn Today brings together noteworthy stories and images from the past year and highlights ways for individual members of the Penn community to share their personal experiences.

Erica K. Brockmeier, Katherine Unger Baillie

GRASP Lab’s coolest robot yet
A robot made of blocks of ice on a table.

IceBot’s structural components are made out of ice, which could be cut and shaped to specification in remote environments. (Image: Penn Engineering Today)

GRASP Lab’s coolest robot yet

The Lab’s latest GRASP Lab’s latest modular robotic system is a series of units made out of blocks of ice. These robots could be deployed to research in the Antarctic, or even an extraterrestrial planet.

Evan Lerner

Repurposing a proven gene therapy approach to treat, prevent COVID-19
A close-up of a person standing outside.

James M. Wilson, director of the Gene Therapy Program, the Rose H. Weiss Professor and director of the Orphan Disease Center, and a professor of medicine and pediatrics at the Perelman School of Medicine.

Repurposing a proven gene therapy approach to treat, prevent COVID-19

In a Q&A, Penn Medicine’s James M. Wilson discusses using adeno-associated viral vectors to transport a lab-made antibody cocktail into the body. This method, delivered via nasal spray or mist, has the potential to act as a “bioshield” against SARS-CoV-2.

Michele W. Berger

Organoids to rebuild the brain
Microscopic view of a brain organoid.

A brain organoid derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells that displays nuclei of cells (blue) and layers of cerebral cortex (red and green). (Image: Penn Medicine News)

Organoids to rebuild the brain

Penn neuroscientists are developing innovative ways to treat neurological diseases, including implanting neural tissue like a brain organoid to rebuild brain circuitry.
Translating groundbreaking scientific discoveries into practical technologies
a cartoon of four researchers one with a notebook, one looking through a microscope, one injecting liquid into a test tube, and one looking at two flasks

Translating groundbreaking scientific discoveries into practical technologies

Amidst the numerous challenges posed by COVID-19, the Penn Center for Innovation has continued to facilitate impactful innovations created at Penn, fostering partnerships and helping to realize new products and businesses.

Erica K. Brockmeier

Embracing digital dentistry
A gloved hands holds two small pieces of ceramic dental technology.

Embracing digital dentistry

The School of Dental Medicine is enhancing and integrating its digital capabilities, opening up new possibilities for training students, conducting research, and delivering seamless and cutting-edge patient care.

Katherine Unger Baillie

If pandemic productivity is up, why is innovation slowing down?
Person working from home, sitting at a desk with a computer, speaking on a smartphone, holding a mug.

If pandemic productivity is up, why is innovation slowing down?

A new study finds that productivity has remained stable or even increased for many companies that shifted to remote work during the coronavirus pandemic. However, innovation has taken a hit as both leaders and employees feel more distant from each other.

From Knowledge at Wharton

Uniting against an invisible foe
microscopic image of covid-19

A tiny virus has transformed life as we know it. But in nearly every corner of Penn’s campus, researchers are making remarkable progress to combat it.

(Image, also on homepage: National Institutes of Health)

Uniting against an invisible foe

All across the University, researchers have launched new areas of study, reaching across disciplinary boundaries to make stunning progress in combating COVID-19.

Katherine Unger Baillie

Using lung-on-a-chip technology to find treatments for chlorine gas exposure
Lung on a chip detail.

Huh’s organ-on-a-chip devices contain human cells, allowing for experiments that could not otherwise be practically or ethically performed. (Image: Penn Engineering Today)

Using lung-on-a-chip technology to find treatments for chlorine gas exposure

The new lung-on-a-chip platforms will help better understand how chlorine damages lung tissues and to discover specific biomarkers of chlorine gas-induced lung injury.

Evan Lerner

Penn Nursing’s innovation ecosystem
marion leary shows off a nursing prototype This is the fifth time Marion Leary, Penn Nursing’s first director of innovation, has taught Innovation in Health: Foundations in Design Thinking. Each semester, students use the design-thinking methodology to solve a real-world challenge. They start by empathizing with those facing the struggle and end by creating a prototype, like the one here meant to protect young, active people with irritable bowel syndrome against accidental bowel movements.

Penn Nursing’s innovation ecosystem

In the past five years, the school has been intentional about creating an atmosphere that rewards risk-taking and supports failures. It’s led to story slams and accelerators and a shift to an innovation-centric mindset.

Michele W. Berger