11/15
Meredith Mann
meredith.mann@pennmedicine.upenn.edu
Medicine
Blinking eye-on-a-chip used for disease modeling and drug testing
Blinking eye-on-a-chip used for disease modeling and drug testing
Penn Engineering’s Dan Huh and Jeongyun Seo built an eye model that could imitate a healthy eye and an eye with dry eye disease, allowing them to test an experimental drug without risk of human harm.
A cohort study comes of age
A cohort study comes of age
For nearly two decades, a major national study of kidney disease led and coordinated at Penn has defined key risk factors in an all-too-common silent epidemic.
Sun, sand, and medical rehab robots
Sun, sand, and medical rehab robots
As part of a new interdisciplinary Penn Global Seminar, 16 undergraduates traveled to Jamaica to test and refine robotic rehabilitation devices for patients in need.
When pediatricians become podcasters, who tunes in?
When pediatricians become podcasters, who tunes in?
Sophomore Julia Kafozoff, a Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia intern, is working with three podcasting physicians to determine how much listeners actually learn from these educational tools.
Music can be a viable option in reducing anxiety before surgery
Music can be a viable option in reducing anxiety before surgery
A new study found music to be similarly effective as the intravenous form of the sedative medication midazolam in lowering anxiety before anesthetic procedures.
Three-dimensional printing turns fiction into medical reality
Three-dimensional printing turns fiction into medical reality
One of its most significant impacts in health care is in the area of “traditional prototyping”—the process leading to designing medical devices.
A new cancer drug, thanks to a new approach
A new cancer drug, thanks to a new approach
Researchers in the Abramson Cancer Center helped bring new hope to patients with multiple myeloma with a drug that targets the command center of a cancer cell.
Five questions with Kevin Mahoney
Five questions with Kevin Mahoney
Kevin B. Mahoney, a 23-year veteran of Penn Medicine, became CEO of the University of Pennsylvania Health System on July 1. In a Q&A, Mahoney shares his expertise and inspiration on Penn Medicine’s strengths, where it can improve, and a little insight into his downtime.
Reaching millennial women ‘where they’re at’—on Instagram
Reaching millennial women ‘where they’re at’—on Instagram
Researchers in the Women’s Health Clinical Research Center at Penn Medicine began experimenting with using Instagram for clinical birth control trial recruitment in 2017, and have since seen a surge in research participants.
Cardiac genetic mutation may not always predict heart disease
Cardiac genetic mutation may not always predict heart disease
Researchers at Penn Medicine and Geisinger find only 5% of patients with a mutation of the TTN gene have dilated cardiomyopathy, despite changes in heart function.
Media Contact
In the News
The Washington Post
The latest skincare trend: Beef fat. Yes, beef fat
Bruce Brod of the Perelman School of Medicine says that there’s no evidence to show beef tallow is better than conventional moisturizers.
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CBS Philadelphia
Philadelphia doctors and scientists encourage young women to pursue STEM careers at Penn event
The STEM Goes Red event hosted at Penn Medicine showed young Philadelphia women in high school how to program miniature computers, with remarks from Helene Glassberg of the Perelman School of Medicine.
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ScienceFriday.com
CAR-T cell therapies show promise for autoimmune diseases
Daniel Baker, a Ph.D. student in Carl June’s lab at the Perelman School of Medicine, discusses the results of a study on donor CAR-T cell therapy.
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AARP.org
Fifteen things to know about the two new Alzheimer’s drugs
Jason Karlawish of the Perelman School of Medicine says that some reactions to new Alzheimer’s drugs can resemble flu-like symptoms, such as chills, shortness of breath, and rash.
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Stat
Social media misinformation is scaring women about birth control
In an opinion essay, postdoc Emily Pfender of the Leonard Davis Institute and Perelman School of Medicine cautions that social media can set back women’s health by perpetuating fear and misinformation instead of empowering informed choices.
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WHYY (Philadelphia)
Does it matter what time you take your medicine?
Garret FitzGerald of the Perelman School of Medicine says that the timing of medication dosing can substantially influence the drug levels in people’s blood.
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