Campus & Community

America touts its business bona fides by trumpeting companies like Apple, Microsoft, GE, IBM, and Google, which are among the most admired, successful, and innovative corporations in the world. Although they have grown into large, multinational conglomerates, each was born right here in the United States.

Tucked behind old factory buildings on Penn’s South Bank campus stands a gleaming greenhouse. The $2 million structure, completed late last year, is state-of-the-art.

Leah Seifu, a second-year University of Pennsylvania medical student, says that her Ethiopian heritage and Catholic school education instilled in her a deep cultural awareness and drive to help others through social activism.

New research by Andrew Stokes, a doctoral student in demography and sociology in the School of Arts and Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania, suggests that many obesity studies substantially underestimate the mortality risks associated with excess weight in the United States. His study, “Using Maximum Weight to Redefine Body Mass Index Categories in Studies of The Mortality Risks of Obesity,” was published in the March issue of the open-access journal Population Health Metrics.

WHO:              Alan Greenberger                         Deputy Mayor for Economic Development and Director of Commerce                         City of Philadelphia

On April 3, 600 members of the Penn community gathered in Irvine Auditorium at the University of Pennsylvania to honor the 2014 Models of Excellence, Pillars of Excellence and Model Supervisor Award winners. Penn President Amy Gutmann, Provost Vincent Price and Executive Vice President Craig Carnaroli were on hand to make the presentations and applaud the honorees.

Carrying extra weight increases a person’s risk of developing diabetes, heart disease, and other serious illnesses. Studies have shown, however, that being overweight or at the low end of obese on the body mass index (BMI) may not necessarily shorten lifespans in the United States, resulting in the obesity paradox.

When stroke patients are brought to a hospital, one of the critical aspects of their care is to make sure there is adequate blood flow to their brains. A standard of that care has to been to keep patients resting totally flat for at least 24 hours, rather than with their heads elevated. 

Surviving a heart attack means coping with the damage it leaves behind. Even if blood flow to muscle tissue in the heart is promptly restored, the injury causes an inflammation response, and the accompanying enzymes can wreak havoc that can persist for months and even years.

The annual Disabilities Symposium, hosted by Penn’s Weingarten Learning Resources Center, attracts a mix of new and veteran attendees who are excited to use their collective brainpower to best serve individuals with disabilities, says Susan Shapiro,