Penn Integrates Knowledge Professors

Interim president Wendell Pritchett interviewing Ken Burns.

Ben Franklin: A voice from the past that speaks to our time

At the 2022 Silfen Forum, Penn Interim President Wendell Pritchett chatted with filmmaker Ken Burns about his new two-part documentary on Benjamin Franklin.

Three adults rhesus macaques and two infants macaques sitting on a rock in a forest located on the island of Cayo Santiago.

Social connections influence brain structure of rhesus macaques

Researchers from Penn, Inserm, and elsewhere observed that the number of grooming partners an individual animal had predicted the size of brain areas associated with social decision-making and empathy.

An old and large book upside down on a table, being held by two sets of hands, one gloved, the other not. There are boxes and other materials all around.

Keepers of the cultural memory

In wartime, saving human lives is a top priority. But secondary considerations often include preserving the cultural heritage also under siege. Penn experts offer their thoughts as the situation in Ukraine continues to unfold.

A natural disaster made monkeys age faster

Researchers co-led by PIK Professor Michael Platt tracked the effects of Hurricane Maria on monkey populations to better understand how stress impacts humans. “The average monkey aged about two years biologically, so it’s about eight years of human life, which is pretty grim,” Platt said.

Millions of children will miss healthy school meals when pandemic relief expires

PIK Professor Ezekiel Emanuel said the initiatives that make child-nutrition programs more efficient shouldn’t be allowed to expire. “When you improve the ability for the country to deliver food to children, to families, you improve the health outcomes of Americans,” he said.

A group of older people at a restaurant clinking half-full wine glasses, with their masks pulled down around their chins to reveal a smile. Food is on the table.

New COVID-19 roadmap: Four takeaways

A report spearheaded by PIK Professor Ezekiel Emanuel, with input from other Penn experts, lays out a dozen priorities for the federal government to tackle in the next 12 months. The aim: to help guide the U.S. to the pandemic’s “next normal.”

Some hospitals ask patients, visitors to remove N95s, citing CDC

PIK Professor Ezekiel Emanuel commented on CDC guidelines that promote surgical masks over N95s, despite the latter’s superior protection. “It’s baffling,” he said. “This is something where the CDC has been on the wrong side for a long time.”

Lawmakers push legislation to protect doctors who prescribe ivermectin for COVID-19. Can they do that?

PIK Professor Ezekiel Emanuel weighed in on proposed bills that would make it easier for doctors to prescribe ivermectin, an anti-parasitic drug, to COVID-19 patients, even though the treatment has not proven effective. “It’s inevitable someone’s going to be harmed, and this is harmful to the country,” he said.

What the ‘new normal’ of living with COVID might look like

PIK Professor Ezekiel Emanuel and other public health officials issued recommendations for how the U.S. should manage the pandemic going forward. "We needed to have a new strategic plan for the country," Emanuel said. "Having an outside group, which is bipartisan, has a certain advantage."

The White House is mulling a pandemic strategy for ‘the next normal’

A team of experts led by PIK Professor Ezekiel Emanuel provided recommendations to the Biden administration as the pandemic enters a new phase. The team proposed establishing clear benchmarks for when to impose or ease emergency measures, a research initiative to develop more coronavirus therapeutics, and new air quality standards for indoor spaces, among other changes.

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