Skip to Content Skip to Content

Postdocs

Recreating the adrenal gland in a petri dish
A pink stained microscopic image shows the round structure of adrenal organoids growing together

The structure and function of adrenal gland ‘organoids’ grown in a petri dish at the School of Veterinary Medicine closely replicated that of the human adrenal gland, according to a new study. (Image: Courtesy of the Sasaki laboratory)

Recreating the adrenal gland in a petri dish

A School of Veterinary Medicine–led team coaxed stem cells to take on the characteristics and functions of a human adrenal gland, progress that could lead to new therapies for adrenal insufficiencies and a deeper understanding of the genetics of such disorders.

Katherine Unger Baillie

Physics of disaster: How mudslides move
A few people walk along a mountainside as some vegetation regrows after a wildfire

The Thomas Fire charred the hillsides above Montecito in late 2017, setting up conditions for mudslides in early 2018. (Image: Douglas Jerolmack)

Physics of disaster: How mudslides move

Researchers led by Douglas Jerolmack and Paulo Arratia used samples from the deadly 2018 Montecito mudslides to understand the complex forces at work in these disasters.

Katherine Unger Baillie

Defining neural ‘representation’
A computer screen displays the brain activity of a man with electrodes on his head.

Neuroscientists use the word “represent” to encompass multifaceted relationships between brain activity, behavior, and the environment.

Defining neural ‘representation’

Neuroscientists frequently say that neural activity ‘represents’ certain phenomena, PIK Professor Konrad Kording and postdoc Ben Baker led a study that took a philosophical approach to tease out what the term means.

Marilyn Perkins

Environment influences coral’s resilience to acidification
Postdoc Kristen Brown diving in the reef to obtain samples

Postdoctoral researcher Kristen Brown (above) collected coral samples from a reef slope to see how they fared in acidic conditions. (Image: Courtesy of Kristen Brown)

Environment influences coral’s resilience to acidification

Ocean acidification is an effect of climate change that threatens the health of coral. A new study examines how coral samples from the Great Barrier Reef fare in acidic conditions.

Marilyn Perkins

Targeting impulsivity early in adolescence could prevent later behavioral disorders
Four adolescents sitting on the top of a skate ramp.

Targeting impulsivity early in adolescence could prevent later behavioral disorders

Tendencies toward impulsivity in early adolescence are linked with a variety of poor outcomes in later adolescence. By mid-adolescence, it may be too late to target impulsivity to prevent those developments.

From the Annenberg Public Policy Center

A novel method for monitoring the ‘engine’ of pregnancy
fetus in the uterus showing connection to placenta

A novel method for monitoring the ‘engine’ of pregnancy

By combining optical measurements with ultrasound, researchers were able to study oxygen levels in the placenta, paving the way for a better understanding of this complex, crucial organ.

Erica K. Brockmeier, Katherine Unger Baillie

Marrying models with experiments to build more efficient solar cells
Solar panels with sunlight shining on the top right corner.

Marrying models with experiments to build more efficient solar cells

Penn chemist Andrew M. Rappe, in collaboration with former postdoc Arvin Kakekhani and researchers at Princeton University, has gained insight into how the molecular make up of solar cells can affect their properties and make them more efficient.

Luis Melecio-Zambrano, Michele W. Berger

Can nature-inspired designs affect cognition and mood?
Farhan Jivraj sits at a desk and looks at the topographic rug in the biophilic room

Can nature-inspired designs affect cognition and mood?

A team from the Center for Neuroaesthetics created a biophilic room to test the idea. Preliminary findings from a small pilot show promise, but also spur many questions about how to best use such a space.

Michele W. Berger, Kelsey Geesler , Michael Grant

Art museums plant seeds of human flourishing
A view of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, a long building of orange brick and blue angled roofs. The Schuylkill River flows in the foreground.

A view of the Philadelphia Museum of Art from the Schuylkill River. A recent review shows the many ways that art museums benefit human flourishing. 

Art museums plant seeds of human flourishing

Researchers from the Humanities and Human Flourishing Project in the Positive Psychology Center at Penn have found that art museums are associated with wide-ranging benefits to human health.

Luis Melecio-Zambrano