Penn Integrates Knowledge Professors

PIK Professor Ezekiel Emanuel commented on a recent ruling that found the Affordable Care Act and its enrollment mandate to be unconstitutional. “People don’t like going without health care insurance. The big barrier isn’t compulsion; the big barrier is it’s very expensive and hard to afford,” said Emanuel.

PIK Professor Dorothy Roberts said the child-welfare system is biased against poor parents, especially incarcerated women of color. “Instead of actually responding to the struggles of poor families …. we’ve decided that it’s simpler to take their children away,” said Roberts.

PIK Professor Philip Tetlock was cited for his expertise on forecasting future events.

PIK Professor Jonathan Moreno said that the new leaders of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology will need to focus on making sure that “the agencies that are responsible for worrying about climate and the environment are doing their jobs.”

On a list of most influential books, PIK Professor Dorothy Roberts’ Killing the Black Body: Race, Reproduction, and the Meaning of Liberty was described as an “interdisciplinary tour de force” that contains “more than a few lessons for our current moment.”

PIK Professor Sarah Tishkoff’s recent presentation at the American Society of Human Genetics meeting emphasized the important of engaging with diverse communities when studying genetics.

PIK Professor Jonathan Moreno offered comment on now debunked claims that heart cells could be regrown and replaced, contrary to an accepted belief in cardiology. Moreno said, explaining the fraud’s persistence in spite of contested evidence, that “people can see what they want to see.”

PIK Professor Ezekiel Emanuel discussed the debate surrounding changes to the U.S. health care system. “Unlike a single-payer plan that forces people into a government system, Medicare-for-all offers lots of choices,” said Emanuel.