Penn Integrates Knowledge Professors

Biden’s new health challenge: Find another Francis Collins

PIK Professor Ezekiel Emanuel said Francis Collins’ departure from the NIH was an opportunity to restructure the agency. Apart from its organizational inefficiencies, the NIH awards too few grants to young and/or Black researchers, said Emanuel. “That's not a good thing for innovation.”

University of Pennsylvania flag flying with campus and the city of Philadelphia in the background.

Penn concludes landmark fundraising and engagement campaign with extraordinary results

The Campaign exceeded its initial goal, making this fundraising and engagement effort the most successful in Penn’s history.

Medical ethicists criticize doctors refusing to treat the unvaccinated

PIK Professor Jonathan Moreno commented on some doctors’ decisions to not treat unvaccinated adults with COVID-19, saying, “We have to find ways to take care of people, even if we don’t agree with their actions.”

COVAX was a great idea, but is now 500 million doses short of its vaccine distribution goals. What exactly went wrong?

PIK Professor Ezekiel Emanuel said now that COVAX has been built, the international community must commit to funding it ahead of any future crises.

Penn spinout Cogwear gets funding to develop ‘anxiety thermometer’ headband

Cogwear, a startup based at the Penn Center for Innovation and founded by PIK Professor Michael Platt and former postdoc Arjun Ramakrishnan, is developing a wearable device that monitors mental health.

How CDC data problems put the U.S. behind on the delta variant

PIK Professor Ezekiel Emanuel said the CDC’s decision to stop monitoring breakthrough COVID-19 infections was a mistake. “I’ve been arguing to do more monitoring, not less, and the CDC has been going in the wrong direction,” he said.

empty street of a small town Main Street with a church on one side of the street.

In rural America, religious attendance reduces compassion regarding opioids

Rural areas—particularly those in Appalachian and Midwestern states—are hard hit by the opioid epidemic. However, many individuals in those same states do not support policies scientifically proven to help, like medically aided treatment and syringe exchanges.

Biden administration considers withholding funds and other measures to spur vaccinations

PIK Professor Ezekiel Emanuel spoke about the need for federal leadership in the fight against COVID-19. “If you look through history, there are presidents who—even in the absence of legal authority—influence people, you might say,” he said. “We keep referring to this COVID thing like it’s an emergency, and then we don’t behave like it’s a wartime emergency.”

Defense secretary weighs recommending vaccine mandate for troops

PIK Professor Ezekiel Emanuel said that service members, if required to be vaccinated, could positively influence others to follow suit. “People admire our military,” he said.

Behind the U.S. military's 'complicated history' around vaccinations

PIK Professor Jonathan Moreno spoke about President Biden’s decision not to extend the federal worker vaccine mandate to members of the military. “The military does have a complicated history around requiring, especially people in uniform, to take certain medications or to be vaccinated,” Moreno said.

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