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mRNA Research

A space for lifesaving, collaborative work
rna lab opening group photo From left to right: J. Larry Jameson, Liz Magill, Drew Weissman, Katalin Karikó, Gov. Josh Shapiro, Kevin B. Mahoney, Jonathan A. Epstein, and James Hoxie.

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A space for lifesaving, collaborative work

Gov. Josh Shapiro, President Liz Magill, and others from the University community celebrated the new home of the Penn Institute for RNA Innovation.

Lauren Hertzler

‘A booster for all of us’
Katalin Kariko and Drew Weissman and a crowd of people at Penn Medicine.

Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman were named winners of the 2023 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine on Monday, Oct. 2. The Penn Medicine community came together to celebrate the duo.

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‘A booster for all of us’

The Penn Medicine community gathered Monday afternoon, toasting to Penn’s new Nobel laureates.

Lauren Hertzler

A wrong number, a cryptic message, and a big Nobel win
kariko and weissman at nobel press conference

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A wrong number, a cryptic message, and a big Nobel win

Nobel Prize winners Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman share their thoughts on their newly minted honor at a University press conference.

Kristen de Groot

Can the COVID playbook help end malaria?
A Perry World House forum at the University of Pennsylvania discusses how lessons from COVID-19 can impact the fight to end malaria

A Sept. 12 Perry World House event, Can the COVID Playbook Help End Malaria?, looked at the historic fight against this disease, along with new developments in mRNA vaccine technologies and lessons learned from the global COVID-19 pandemic.

(Image: Gabby Szczepanek)

Can the COVID playbook help end malaria?

In a Perry World House conversation, Matthew Laurens, Martina Mchenga, and Drew Weissman discussed how lessons from a global pandemic could help in the fight to eradicate malaria.

Kristina Linnea García

SCALAR: A microchip designed to transform the production of mRNA therapeutics and vaccines
Silicon wafer with chips lightinhg in neon light.

Led by Michael Mitchell and David Issadore of the School of Engineering and Applied Science, a team of researchers has developed a platform that could rapidly accelerate the development of mRNA-based lipid nanoparticle vaccines and therapeutics at both the small and large scale, SCALAR.

(Image: iStock / Anatoly Morozov)

SCALAR: A microchip designed to transform the production of mRNA therapeutics and vaccines

Researchers have developed a platform that could rapidly accelerate the development of mRNA-based lipid nanoparticle vaccines and therapeutics at both the small and largescale, SCALAR.
‘In vivo’ RNA-based gene editing model for blood disorders developed
Microscopic rendering of mRNA gene editing.

Image: iStock/Ozgu Arslan

‘In vivo’ RNA-based gene editing model for blood disorders developed

Researchers from Penn Medicine and The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia show that gene editing tools can be delivered via lipid nanoparticles, which would reduce cost and increase access to cutting-edge gene therapies.

Alex Gardner

People with a conspiracy mindset resist childhood vaccination
A person with a child holds up a hand to stop a person approaching with a vaccine vial and syringe.

Image: iStock/Anna Rozhkova

People with a conspiracy mindset resist childhood vaccination

Research by Dan Romer and Kathleen Hall Jamieson of the Annenberg Public Policy Center explains the role that having a conspiracy mindset plays in adult reluctance to vaccinate children.

From the Annenberg Public Policy Center

Putting biomedical research advances within reach
A medical worker gives a person a Covid vaccine.

Image: Courtesy of Penn Medicine Magazine

Putting biomedical research advances within reach

Treatments and vaccines are only useful in the hands of the people who need them, and Penn Medicine is working toward better access and equity for biomedical innovations.

Karen L. Brooks for Penn Medicine Magazine