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Penn Center for Innovation celebrates 10 years
Scientists holding a model of something (forthcoming)

(Image: Eric Sucar)

Penn Center for Innovation celebrates 10 years

The University’s nexus for technology transfer supports researchers in their innovative efforts, from CAR T to mRNA advancements that have dramatically reshaped the world.
Refining lipid nanoparticles for better mRNA therapies
Microscopic rendering of mRNA inside a lipid nanoparticle.

Image: iStock/Love Employee

Refining lipid nanoparticles for better mRNA therapies

A new method developed by Penn engineers for designing ionizable lipids is expected to have broad implications for mRNA-based vaccines and therapeutics.

Ian Scheffler

Novel mRNA vaccine prevents and treat C. difficile
Microscopic view of C. difficile.

Image: iStock/Dr_Microbe

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.

Alex Gardner

A year after the Nobel Prize, Penn’s mRNA research is revving up
A lab worker with latex gloves doing mRNA research.

The flurry of new innovation in mRNA beyond COVID-19 vaccines began prior to Drew Weissman and Katalin Karikó’s Nobel, but the award has only built on the wave of enthusiasm for mRNA research.

(Image: Dan Burke)

A year after the Nobel Prize, Penn’s mRNA research is revving up

In 2023, Drew Weissman and Katalin Karikó received Nobel Prize recognition for mRNA vaccines. Today, the work continues apace as successes across the University show how medicine is changing rapidly as a result of the prize-winning discovery.

Alex Gardner

Katalin Karikó, Nobel Laureate and pioneering mRNA researcher, named to Distinguished Daughters of Pennsylvania
kariko portrait

Katalin Karikó is a senior vice president at BioNTech and an adjunct professor of neurosurgery in the Perelman School of Medicine. (Image: Peggy Peterson/Courtesy of Penn Medicine)

Katalin Karikó, Nobel Laureate and pioneering mRNA researcher, named to Distinguished Daughters of Pennsylvania

Karikó was honored by Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro at a special ceremony in Harrisburg.

Alex Gardner

Understanding the cellular mechanisms driving solid tumors’ robust defense system
A 3D rendering of the tumor microenvironment with cancer cells, T-Cells, nanoparticles, cancer associated fibroblast layer of tumor microenvironment normal cells, molecules, and blood vessels.

In a collaborative interdisciplinary study, Michael Mitchell of the School of Engineering and Applied Science, Wei Guo of the School of Arts & Sciences, and Drew Weissman of the Perelman School of Medicine show that solid tumors can block drug-delivery mechanisms with a “forcefield-like” effect but certain genetic elements that can effectively “shut down” the forcefield. Their findings hint at new targets for delivering cancer treatments that use the body’s immune system to fight tumors.

(Image: iStock / CIPhotos)

Understanding the cellular mechanisms driving solid tumors’ robust defense system

Researchers from Penn have identified a “forcefield-like” defense system in solid tumors and the genetic elements that can switch it off.