Health & Medicine | Penn Today

3D visualization showing a reddish-blue tumor mass with internal vasculature, surrounded by blue CAR T cells and small extracellular vesicles against a dark background.

Armoring CAR T cells to take on cancer

Wei Guo of the School of Arts & Sciences and colleagues from the Perelman School of Medicine, School of Veterinary Medicine, and School of Engineering and Applied Science have uncovered how solid tumors manipulate cancer-fighting CAR T cells through extracellular vesicles, causing the engineered CAR T cells to commit fratricide—essentially turning against each other instead of attacking the cancer.

3 min. read

New drug therapy with natural compound shows promise against periodontal diseases

A translational study from the lab of Penn Dental Medicine’s Esra Sahingur shows “senotherapy” drug combination is effective in managing gingivitis and periodontitis.

COVID vaccine protected kids from long COVID

New research from Penn Medicine biostatistics professor Yong Chen finds that vaccines kept children and adolescents from developing long COVID by blocking COVID-19 infections from the start, instead of special protection against the virus.

Dental student outside of university building

A nontraditional journey to dental school

Kendra Domotor may have “zigzagged” her way to dentistry, but her journey helped her find her center in dentistry, helping her blend her love of science, teaching, and service.

5 min. read

Wyss donation creates Penn orthoplastic surgery hub

The $4.9 million donation from the Wyss Medical Foundation will create the Wyss Orthoplastic Global Education and Innovation Hub at Penn Medicine. The Hub will conduct research, create fellowships, and establish a conference in the emerging field of orthoplastic surgery, which combines expertise from both plastic and orthopaedic surgery.

Study reveals worse patient outcomes in Black-serving hospitals

A new study from researchers at Penn Nursing has uncovered concerning disparities in patient outcomes, specifically related to nursing care, within hospitals that predominantly serve Black communities.

1 min. read

Gloved hand pouring freeze dried "transgenic" lettuce into a grinder.

Commonly prescribed medications for high blood pressure have unexpected side effects

Henry Daniell of Penn Dental and collaborators found that ACE inhibitors dramatically reduced the activity of ACE2, a critical cardioprotective enzyme.

3 min. read

Panel assesses federal cuts to LGBTQ+ health projects

Health care experts gathered for a panel titled Breaking Barriers, Advancing LGBTQ+ Health Equity Through Policy, led by LDI senior fellow and director of Penn’s Eidos LGBTQ+ Health Initiative José Bauermeister, to discuss how funding for grants and programs canceled by the White House might be restored from other sources.

Shelley Berger honored by AACR for cancer research

Berger, the Daniel S. Och University Professor with appointments in the Perelman School of Medicine department of Cell & Developmental Biology and a Penn Integrates Knowledge Professor in the School of Arts & Sciences, is recognized for her outstanding contributions to cancer research by the American Association for Cancer Research with the 2025 AACR-Women in Cancer Research Charlotte Friend Lectureship.

New guidance on diagnosing malnutrition in critically ill adults

The Global Leadership Initiative on Malnutrition has published new guidance statements for diagnosing malnutrition in adults with critical illness co-authored by Penn Nursing’s Charlene Compher in the Journal of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition.

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