Postdocs

Mapping words to color

Researchers led by postdoc Colin Twomey and professor Joshua Plotkin developed an algorithm that can infer the communicative needs different linguistic communities place on colors.

Katherine Unger Baillie

U.S. airstrikes in Iraq and Syria, explained

Sara Plana, a 2021-22 Postdoctoral Fellow at Perry World House, shares her thoughts on the airstrikes targeting Iranian-backed militias and the bigger picture of what’s happening in the region.

Kristen de Groot

Black in Marine Science is building a community

Postdoc Camille Gaynus of the School of Arts & Sciences and colleagues formed a nonprofit dedicated to lifting up Black voices in marine science and inspiring a new generation to follow their curiosity about the ocean.

Katherine Unger Baillie

Hate crimes against Asians in Italy linked to economic woes

Research by political scientists Guy Grossman, Stephanie Zonszein, and Gemma Dipoppa shows hate crimes in Italy increased at the pandemic’s onset in areas where higher unemployment was expected, but not in places with higher infections and mortality.

Kristen de Groot

The backlog in mammograms during the COVID-19 pandemic

The backlog of diagnostic mammograms is not expected to return to regular operations for nearly six months at best, and a lack of early detection will have health implications on cancer management for years to come.

From Penn LDI

Dynamic plants

Led by School of Arts & Sciences prof Brian Gregory and postdoc Xiang Yu, researchers have uncovered one way plants respond to hormonal cues. A similar process is likely at play in mammals.

Katherine Unger Baillie



In the News


The Washington Post

Dogs may be able to communicate by pressing buttons, research suggests

Postdoc Amritha Mallikarjun of the School of Veterinary Medicine says that dogs use buttons as a trained behavior to try and get the things they want.

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Popular Science

Dogs really are communicating via button boards, new research suggests

Postdoc Amritha Mallikarjun of the School of Veterinary Medicine says that dogs are using button boards to communicate non-randomly and with intent, although they don’t necessarily have formal language ability.

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HealthDay

Keto diet supplement could boost a cancer treatment's effectiveness

A study by Perelman School of Medicine student Puneeth Guruprasad and postdoc Shan Liu suggests that a component of the keto diet could boost CAR T cell therapy to help treat cancer.

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Philadelphia Inquirer

Is an Alzheimer’s blood test right for me?

Postdoc Claire Erickson and Emily Largent of the Perelman School of Medicine and the Leonard Davis Institute discuss which people should take an Alzheimer’s blood test.

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Live Science

The brain may interpret smells from each nostril differently

A study by postdoc Gulce Nazli Dikecligil in the Perelman School of Medicine suggests that the smells flowing through each nostril are processed as two separate signals in the part of the brain that receives smell inputs.

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The New York Times

One graceless tweet doesn’t warrant cancellation

Elle Lett, a postdoc in the Perelman School of Medicine, wrote about how the word “freak” has been used to dehumanize Black women. “There is a history that dates back to the antebellum South” of “fetishizing, hypersexualizing and otherizing Black women in freak shows and displays to media and even medical textbooks,” Lett wrote. “Black women are consistently dehumanized in America. By using ‘freak of nature,’ you separate Black women from the rest of human existence.”

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