Penn Integrates Knowledge Professors

Oldest human DNA from Africa reveals complex migrations

PIK Professor Sarah Tishkoff said a new analysis of ancient DNA from six individuals from southeastern Africa is a welcome addition to the available genomes, but she expressed some doubts about the researchers’ conclusions. “There’s a lot of assumptions in that analysis,” she said.

The politics of getting to the next phase of the coronavirus pandemic

PIK Professor Ezekiel Emanuel said lifting indoor mask mandates is premature and that the public needs clearer guidance on when it will be possible to return to normal.

Lance Freeman appointed Penn Integrates Knowledge University Professor

Interim President Wendell Pritchett and Interim Provost Beth Winkelstein announce the appointment of Lance Freeman as the University of Pennsylvania’s 29th Penn Integrates Knowledge University Professor.

Person reading success story how-to book.

Do success stories cause false beliefs about success?

Does explicitly acknowledging bias make us less likely to make biased decisions? A new study examining how people justify decisions based on biased data finds that this is not exactly the case.

Inspiring people, place, and purpose

Penn President Amy Gutmann’s record tenure of nearly 18 years is the University’s most transformative.

Lynn Meskell standing in front of a glass display case at the Penn Museum.

Studying the past through a modern-day lens

In a Q & A, archaeologist and PIK Professor Lynn Meskell discusses her background, the subjects that interest her—from espionage to World Heritage sites—and collaborations that have organically arisen at Penn despite the pandemic and a mostly remote first year.

Hard barriers and soft power: Study assesses outsider perceptions of border walls

Two researchers explore how border walls damage a country’s international image, with real soft power implications.

Researchers Sara Cherry, Susan Davidson, Douglas Durian, Kathleen Hall Jamieson, Katalin Kariko, I. Joseph Kroll, Mingyao Li, Hongjun Song, Duncan Watts, and E. John Wherry

Ten from Penn elected 2021 AAAS Fellows

Ten scholars representing five schools across the University of Pennsylvania have been named to the 2021 class of American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellows, recognized for their “scientifically and socially distinguished achievements.”

Alexis McGill Johnson and Dorothy Roberts

Anti-racism and reproductive justice

PIK Professor Dorothy Roberts joined Alexis McGill Johnson, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood, in the 21st annual Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Lecture in Social Justice. They addressed the intersectional nature of anti-racism and reproductive freedom.

PCR COVID tests are not very useful. Focus on rapid antigen tests instead

PIK Professor Ezekiel Emanuel and other members of the Biden administration’s transitional COVID-19 advisory board wrote an op-ed advocating for more reliance on rapid antigen tests. They argued that PCR tests can have slow turnaround times, which can render the results moot.

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